By Joel Feder
If you were a fan of the cigar lounge-like Lincoln Navigator interior, you’re going to be disappointed, because we’ve moved into the luxury automaker’s spa era. The 2025 Lincoln Navigator arrived earlier this year and brought forth meaningful design, technology, and functionality updates that dramatically change the way you interact with and use the luxury SUV.
Most of it is for the better, though, not all of it, and no matter what, it’ll cost you dearly.
The 2025 Lincoln Navigator isn’t new, far from it. But the front and rear ends have been redesigned, and there’s a new dashboard along with new tech that really pushes the whole spa look and feel.
The exterior updates refine the formula rather than rewrite it. The headlights are slimmer, feature more intricate detailing, and are connected by a pair of horizontal LED strips that form the daytime running light running full width of the front end. The new grille appears to be taller, wider, and just larger overall. Huge 24-inch wheels are now a thing, and yet somehow, they don’t even look so big due to the size of the SUV. The 22s might even look small, while the bronze accents on the 24s are lovely.
In back, the Navigator continues with a horizontal LED lighting array, but with the new split-tailgate design the entire thing looks a bit droopy compared to the previous one. The laser etching in the rear side glass helped break things up on my long wheelbase tester, which is 11 inches longer than a standard Navigator, and added a nice touch of subtle detailing. The chrome trim’s all gone with everything now featuring a satin silver or black finish. The look is still more understated and less in-your-face than the Escalade, but it’s polished. Except for one detail: The horizontal LED light bar on the rear end has small dimples in it where the plastic is formed and injected into the molds. These ruin the flow and seem like pimples on an otherwise luxurious package.
Inside, the cigar lounge has been morphed into a leather-lined cocoon aiming for Resort Spa vibes. Though, this is the most tech-filled spa I’ve ever seen. The dashboard now features a 48-inch screen spanning the dashboard tucked in at the base of the windshield. The interface consists of multiple sections where different widgets, such as navigation, audio, weather, fuel economy, a clock, and more can be set. It’s not a touchscreen, rather it’s controlled by unmarked touchpads on the steering wheel, which bring up corresponding controls on the screen as your finger moves across them. It’s… confusing at first, hard to maintain with muscle memory, and at best, could be described as clumsy to use. That’s before noting the fact these are on a two-spoke steering wheel with a flat top and bottom.
The entire tech array is augmented by an 11.1-inch touchscreen mounted on the center of the dashboard, but it’s positioned low, requiring the driver to look down at it frequently. Few buttons remain, but the console-mounted pushbutton gear selector lives on, and Lincoln’s mounted a giant volume knob that looks like a chunk of crystal on the center console within easy reach of the driver. I’m positive it’s plastic, but Lincoln calls it “crystal-inspired.”
The new rejuvenate feature, which engages the spa experience wraps this tech into a five- to 10-minute session that slides the driver’s seat back, reclines the backrest, engages the seat warmer and massage function on the 30-way power front seats. This is the beginning of the treatment, far from the end. The cabin is filled with a corresponding scent and sounds, the latter from the 28-speaker Revel Ultima 3D Audio System, while the front screens display visuals based on whether the Waterfall Meditation, Aurora Borealis, or Elements journey is chosen. Personally? I liked the Aurora Borealis as a Minnesota boy who’s seen the northern lights. The entire thing seems a bit cheesy and unrealistic as something I’d engage in after a long day of work, but the idea of using this to chill out at my son’s soccer practice, now there’s an idea. Guessing that was probably not Lincoln’s intended use case.
The second row of the top-shelf Black Label L model I tested featured heated, cooled, and massaging captain chairs along with dual 10.1-inch touchscreens with YouTube built in. Not a complaint was heard throughout the week. The third row? Because it’s the L model, it’s spacious, with plenty of room for an adult to ride back there, while still offering 36.1 cubic feet of cargo space with eight passengers seated in all three rows.
The new split tailgate is convenient, as the lower portion prevents items from rolling out when unloading from a Costco run. Even better, Lincoln gives it the same tailgating features as the 2025 Expedition, such as the ability to turn the setup into a bench seat, a bar, or a shelf.
Every Navigator is powered by a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 engine rated at 440 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque, paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. Four-wheel drive is standard, but there’s no low-range transfer case.
The carryover powertrain doesn’t provide a different experience behind the wheel than the last Navigator. The engine has plenty of power to move the 6,044-pound SUV with haste, but this doesn’t sound like a luxury powertrain from the outside. Inside, most of the sound is kept at bay, thanks to a presumably healthy chunk of sound deadening. But from outside, the injectors’ high-pitched electrical noises don’t instill an air of elegance and aren’t befitting a $126,480 price tag.
The steering is appropriately light, but it’s direct and doesn’t require corrections while sailing down the highway. Which, at 18.50 feet long, is precisely the best way to describe piloting the Navigator L. It’s like a land yacht, and the squished two-spoke steering wheel sells that vibe. It’s awkward at times due to the flat top and bottom, but it forces proper nine-and-three hand placement while driving.
The adaptive dampers aren’t paired with air suspension like a high-end Escalade, and it’s softly tuned. The Navigator exhibits a healthy body lean around corners and noticeable up and down motions when going over undulating pavement. While it’s controlled, it’s less so than an Escalade. Broken pavement doesn’t upset the Navigator, even on 24s, but the Escalade seems to smother imperfections with more poise.
Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free driver-assist system comes standard, but still to this day, it isn’t as smooth as GM’s Super Cruise system, with more ping-ponging within a lane.
No one is going to claim the Navigator is efficient. With EPA fuel economy ratings of 15 mpg city, 22 highway, and 17 combined, it’s not a horrific guzzler given its size. Over the course of 252 miles of mixed suburban driving the Navigator averaged 16.2 mpg according to the onboard trip computer, and it likes the good premium stuff to boot.
With a price of $105,580, including a destination fee of $2,595, every 2025 Navigator now costs over $100,000. A first for an American car, and notably thousands more than a Cadillac Escalade. My loaded tester? It cost a lot more at $128,085 with those gorgeous 24-inch wheels, $2,000 Chroma Caviar Dark Gray Metallic paint, and copper accents.
Whether the Navigator is worth the price of entry is a matter of opinion. Still, neither the Mercedes-Benz GLS nor the Cadillac Escalade will provide a rejuvenation session at the kids’ soccer practice while waiting in the parking lot. The Navigator will, and it will do it with class, grace, and understated style that isn’t as attention-demanding as the Escalade. Do you want to command attention with your presence, or would you prefer a moment of relaxation in the parking lot?
Less brash than an Escalade, the Navigator aims to be a rolling spa right down to the sensations.
As Director of Content and Product, Joel draws on over 15 years of newsroom experience and inability to actually stop working to help ensure The Drive shapes the future of automotive media. He’s also a World Car Award juror.
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