2024 Lincoln Navigator And Navigator L Review: Laid-Back Land Yacht

Full-size body-on-frame SUVs have been part of the USA's motoring landscape for decades. The Lincoln Navigator started the segment in 1997 and its success prompted Cadillac to join the fray. With its tank-like dimensions, today's Navigator towers over more car-like European SUVs such as the BMW X7 and Mercedes GLS, especially in long-body L format, and the terrible gas mileage of its potent 440-horsepower twin-turbo V6 is not for the faint of heart. Its true competition comes in the form of the Cadillac Escalade and its ESV derivative and Jeep Grand Wagoneer (and Wagoneer L)- rivals of similar construction and size. The price of the 2024 Lincoln Navigator starts at nearly $83k and soars to $114k for the most expensive grade, but you do get a lot of car for that princely sum. However, the aging Ford Expedition bones underneath the Navigator make for a somewhat dated driving experience; the newer Escalade and Grand Wagoneer feel fleeter of foot and beat it on trunk space, so it's no longer a class leader. Is it worth all that money?

New for 2024

The 2024 Navigator's base trim gets renamed Premiere but otherwise stays identical to last year's model. Rear-wheel drive is dropped entirely from the range, with all trims now coming standard with four-wheel drive. Ocean Blue is replaced with Flight Blue on the paint palette. Lastly, the BlueCruise 1.0 semi-autonomous driving feature is now also optionally available on the base trim. When fitted, its subscription period is now extended from two to four years. The mildly updated 2024 car goes on sale in the USA at a new base price of nearly $83k for the Premiere - up more than $3k on account of the newly standard 4WD.

2024 Lincoln Navigator and Navigator L Price: Which One to Buy

The new Lincoln Navigator's base price rises to $82,765 this year for the base Premiere configuration. The Reserve's MSRP is $95,325 and the Black Label will set you back $110,750. The Reserve and Black Label can also be had in long-wheelbase 'L' format, which will cost you an additional $3,025 on the Reserve and $3,045 on the Black Label. These prices don't include the $1,995 destination fee that applies to Navigators.

For a reasonable $12.5k premium, the Reserve makes the most sense. It adds big-ticket features such as a power panoramic sunroof, leather upholstery, 24-way power seats, 22-inch wheels, and a head-up display to the base trim, while still staying under $100k. The size of the body will depend on how much trunk space you need, as passenger space is the same. Just beware that opting for the L body will send the total price to nearly $100k, which is a lot of money if you still want to add extras.

Interior and Features

The cabin is a quiet and refined place to spend time, with low noise levels and very comfortable seats, though the suspension lets through a few too many vibrations.

The overriding impression inside the Navigator is that of expansive interior space, especially in the top two trims with their panoramic sunroof flooding the cabin with natural light. There's a big touchscreen in the center of the dashboard and a wide center console between the front passengers. The materials are of high quality, with real wood trim - and leather on the seats of the two top trims. The Black Label can choose from several exclusive interior themes such as Yacht Club and Central Park. With a ground clearance of nearly 10 inches, it's a big step up into the cabin, but all trims come with convenient power-deploying running boards. The car's massive size and height create various blind spots, so it's great news that all-round parking sensors, a surround-view camera, and automated parking are standard on every trim. The L's additional length is dedicated to trunk space.

Space

With two standard second-row captain's chairs, the default seating capacity is seven, but a three-seater bench can be specified for the second row instead, upping the total capacity to eight people. The L's extended wheelbase and body don't increase passenger space, but it's hardly necessary, as there is so much of it that even the Escalade can't match it. The second row can power-fold and can also slide for and aft, so the ranges of legroom for the second and third rows we show in the table take into account the space available with the second row in its foremost or backmost positions.

Cargo

Trunk space is very good, but this is one area where the Escalade is decisively better. The 19.3 cubic feet available behind the third row is with that row in the normal seating position, but its backrest can be set to a more uncomfortable, upright angle to provide a maximum of 20.9 cu-ft. Depending on the position of the sliding second row, the total trunk volume with the 60/40-split power-folding third row down varies from 57.5 to 63.3 cu-ft. With the two captain's chairs or 40/20/40-split second-row bench folded, a maximum of 103.3 cu-ft is realized. The longer L body expands these figures with 34.3 to 36 cu-ft behind the third row, 73.3 to 79.6 cu-ft behind the second row, and 120.2 cu-ft behind the first row. The Escalade has a minimum of 25.5 cu-ft behind the third row with the normal body and a cavernous 142.9 cu-ft behind the first row of the long-body ESV.

Passengers get many in-cabin storage solutions as well. There's a lockable glovebox and you get four door pockets and cupholders for every row of seating. In the center console, there's a storage bin and wireless charging pad and in the overhead console, you'll find a sunglasses holder.

Materials and Colors

The Premiere trim has Lincoln Soft Touch leatherette on the seats and the cabin is available in two interior colors - Sandstone or Black Onyx. The Reserve upgrades to genuine leather upholstery in the same two colors, in addition to Black Onyx/Roast. In all trims, the steering wheel is trimmed in leather.

In the Black Label, you must choose between four interior themes, all using perforated Venetian leather on the seats and leather with contrast stitching for the other interior surfaces. The first is Chalet, an Alpine/black interior with Alpine seats, Alpine leather with black stitching for the other interior surfaces, a Dinamica faux-suede Alpine headliner, and Silverwood Recon trim. The Yacht Club theme is Coastal Blue and gets an Alpine Dinamica headliner and White Washed Teak trim. The Invitation theme comes with a Black Onyx interior with Brandy stitching on the interior surfaces, an Ebony Dinamica headliner, and Khaya with Laser Branch trim. Last is the Central Park theme, which is an Urban Geen cabin with Light Flint stitching on the interior surfaces, a Light Flint Dinamica headliner, and Walnut with Laser Etch trim.

Features and Infotainment

Even the Premiere trim is extremely well-equipped and, even though it misses out on leather upholstery in favor of leatherette, it does get push-button start, 10-way power front seats with driver's memory, heated and ventilated front and second-row seats, a power adjustable and leather-trimmed tilting/telescoping steering wheel, power-adjustable pedals, tri-zone climate control, remote start, and a 12-inch digital gauge cluster. The higher trims add features such as a panoramic power sunroof, leather upholstery, 24- or 30-way power seats, the latter with massaging and, in the case of the Black Label, trim-exclusive themes and Venetian leather. Massaging for the second row is optional in the top two trims.

The same infotainment system is shared by all trims. It comes with a 13.2-inch touchscreen, SiriusXM with 360L, HD Radio, Alexa Built-In with a three-year subscription, navigation, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 5G/LTE Wi-Fi hotspot capability, a wireless charging pad, voice commands, personal profiles, Lincoln Connect, and a 14-speaker Revel audio system. Optional on the Premiere and standard on the top two trims is a 28-speaker Revel Ultima 3D audio system. In trims with the second-row captain's chairs, a console with a 5.8-inch auxiliary touchscreen is optionally available on the top two trims.

Performance

Outright grip and handling are good, but the Navigator doesn’t offer the polished road manners of the best rivals and still feels a little like the truck it is underneath.

Thanks to a 440-hp/510-lb-ft twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine, the Lincoln Navigator's performance is excellent. From this year, RWD is dropped and 4WD is the standard drivetrain on all trims, while a 10-speed automatic transmission still does duty. The boosted six-cylinder engine beats the power and torque figures of the Escalade's naturally aspirated V8 and gives the Lincoln Navigator a 0-60 sprint of around 5.6-5.8 seconds. Its top speed is governed at 124 mph. Trailering is important in a big SUV and here, the Navigator puts up good numbers with a maximum towing capacity of 8,300 pounds for the SWB and 8,100 pounds for the LWB body. The discontinued 2WD Navigator could tow as much as 8,700 lbs. Ground clearance is an ample 9.6 inches, but the big wheels, the one-speed transfer case, the long wheelbase, and the L's sizeable overhangs preclude any serious off-road driving.

The behemoth can be intimidating to pilot but the controls are light, the driver assists will park it for you, and you have a commanding view of the traffic - all factors that boost driver confidence. Ride quality is generally very good, with big shocks ably filtered out by the adaptive suspension. Still, some secondary shudders typical of ladder-frame construction remain, which is more evident on the bigger 22-inch wheels. The big wheels can feel underdamped at times but the Navigator generally keeps occupants comfortable; it's just not quite as polished as the latest Escalade. The handling isn't much fun, which is to be expected, even though grip limits are surprisingly high and it changes direction with more agility than you would expect in the bruiser class. The steering is expectedly anesthetized and a little vague. The powertrain is impressive, with a deep well of torque from the turbocharged V6 making the ten-speed auto's job easier, and swift responses when merging or overtaking.

Fuel Efficiency

Gas mileage is expectedly poor, as is that of other cars in this class, but the Lincoln Navigator's mpg figures are still better than those of its typical rivals. The EPA estimates for the sole 4WD powertrain's city/highway/combined cycles are 16/22/18 mpg for either body length, compared to the combined figure of 16 mpg for the 4WD Escalade and 17 mpg for the latest turbocharged six-cylinder Grand Wagoneer.

The regular Navigator has a fuel capacity of 23 gallons, giving it a range of around 414 miles, while the Navigator L can get up to 486 miles out of its larger 27-gallon tank.

Safety

Lincoln threw the whole book at the Navigator, fitting it with every single driver assist you can think of, including automatic parking, though BlueCruise costs extra.

There isn't a comprehensive recent NHTSA safety review of the Lincoln Navigator. Since the 2022 model year, the agency has only performed the side crash and rollover test on it, for which it earned a full five stars and four stars, respectively, the latter not unexpected for a tall SUV. The last time the Navigator was fully tested was 2021, when it received a five-star overall rating. The IIHS has not tested the Navigator.

Lincoln fits the all-encompassing Lincoln Co-Pilot360 2.0 & 2.0 Vision driver-assistance suites to every Navigator trim. Some of the most basic features include automatic adaptive Pixel Projector LED headlights with auto high beams, rain-sensing wipers, auto-dimming features for the interior and driver-side rearview mirrors, hill-start assist, hill-descent control, automatic reverse braking, and parking sensors front, side, and rear. A head-up display is standard on the top two trims.

The more advanced range-wide standard features include front-collision alert with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop & go and lane centering, intersection assist, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, evasive steering assist, post-collision braking, automated parking, a surround-view camera, lane-departure alert with lane-keep assist, road-edge detection, speed-sign recognition, and driver-alertness monitoring. Lincoln BlueCruise 1.0 is optionally available on all trims. It enables hands-free driving on 130,000 miles of compatible North American highways called Hands-Free Blue Zones.

US NHTSA Crash Test Result

Reliability

JD Power has not rated the reliability of the Lincoln Navigator in recent years, but the recall stats are quite good. The 2024 Navigator hasn't been recalled and last year's model was recalled just twice - for a fractured pinion that can cause the loss of 4WD and lead to wheel lockup and for missing headrest instructions. The 2022 model was recalled for the same headrest issue, as well as for failing side marker lights and trailer brakes.

Suiting its premium status, the warranty of the 2024 Lincoln Navigator is a cut above what you'd expect from mainstream brands. The limited warranty is valid for four years/50,000 miles and the powertrain warranty for six years/70,000 miles. Complimentary maintenance is included for a full four years/50,000 miles.

Warranty

Design

The Navigator can be nothing other than a Lincoln with its distinctive waterfall grille, blacked-out glasshouse, and slimline, full-width horizontal taillights. The headlights are of the adaptive pixel-LED variety across the board, while the taillights and foglights use LED technology as well. The Premiere gets 20-inch alloys, a power liftgate, rear privacy glass, roof rails, power-deployable running boards, and automatically power-folding side mirrors, while the top two trims get 22-inch wheels and add a power panoramic sunroof and illuminated running boards. The Black Label gets a trim-exclusive grille with an illuminated Lincoln star.

Verdict: Is The 2024 Lincoln Navigator A Good SUV?

If interior space isn't that important and you're a keen driver, you'd be much better off with a European unibody SUV like the Mercedes GLS or BMW X7. Among the homegrown body-on-frame brutes, the Navigator is now playing catchup against the newer Cadillac Escalade and Jeep Grand Wagoneer, which offer a more polished ride and have more trunk space. The Navigator still looks the part, is extremely well-equipped, and offers punchy performance, but it's starting to feel its age now and would certainly benefit from an update.