2024 Lincoln Navigator Reserve
Price: $129,050 CAD
Colour: Pristine White Metallic Tricoat
Driving a different car every week means I’ve become a little numb to the “newness” of each vehicle. I suppose that’s inevitable given the constant churn of my driving experience. I therefore rely on the general public to keep me informed when a particular vehicle has real impact. When the people I work with or otherwise encounter on a daily basis are moved by a car I know it’s something special. The 2024 Lincoln Navigator is just such a beast.
I am a big fan of the American full-sized SUV. It’s something done almost exclusively by the Americans mostly for the North American market. There really aren’t many of them and they have a strange, ethereal charm that, while hard to pin down, is strong and hypnotic. I’ve been seduced by the Cadillac Escalade several times and it’s been a while since I’ve climbed behind the wheel of a Lincoln Navigator, I was stunned by how quickly it wrapped its arms around me and whispered sweet nothings in my ear.
The 2024 Lincoln Navigator is only available in one trim (with a special “L” long wheelbase variant that will cost you $5k CAD). Of course, you can add various packages if you have more money than sense, but the offering is pretty linear. At $120k CAD without additional packages, I’d expect everything including the kitchen sink and a chauffer to be included but never let it be said that carmakers won’t take every opportunity to squeeze a buck or three when they think they can.
The Lincoln Navigator is only offered with one drivetrain. You get the 3.5L Twin Turbo (read “Ecoboost”, but that’s only for the blue oval) mated to a 10-speed automatic. This powerplant delivers a respectable 440hp and 510 lb/ft of torque. This is needed of course as the Navigator clocks in at nearly 6,000lbs. There is a smoothness to this drivetrain that I deeply respect. It feeds into the entire design ethos behind this car. It’s intended as a limousine for the transportation of people. That the drivetrain is so buttery smooth reflects this. I never felt like the Navigator needed more power and that suits the car perfectly. The trade-off for this fascinating combination is that you are punished at the fuel pump. During my time with the Navigator I drove approximately 700kms. This was about 70% city and the balance on the highway. I returned an average consumption of about 17.5L/100kms (13.5mpg). This is way higher than the posted combined fuel consumption figures from Lincoln which are pegged at 13.2L/100 (17.8mpg). If you drove from Vancouver to Thunder Bay in 10th gear and mountains didn’t exist, you might be able to hyper mile your way to that combined figure but in the real world it isn’t going to come close.
Talking about the driving dynamics of a vehicle like the Lincoln Navigator is silly. Cars like this are typically huge and handle like cruise ships. While this is absolutely true, the Navigator is a little different. I’m not sure how they’ve done it, but they’ve given it a nimble feel. It feels narrower than something like the Escalade. I was amazed at how I could slot this thing into a seemingly impossibly tight parking spot at the local McDonalds while on my way to yet another poor dietary choice. It slipped right in with ease (I’ll ignore the three feet that stuck out the back of the parking spot). I went so far as to compare the vehicle widths of the Escalade and the Navigator and imagine my surprise when I learned the Navi is only 2” narrower. I’m impressed, very impressed indeed.
The 2024 Lincoln Navigator is a proper full-sized, 7-seater SUV. It is designed solely for transporting people in absolute comfort. It features massaging seats in the front and second row (optional equipment for the second row), independent controls for the second row, power and nice cupholders for the third row that comes with tolerable but not stellar access. You also get a full panoramic roof that also opens to allow a little of the world into your cocoon of isolation on a nice sunny day. The Lincoln Navigator also features, as standard, a thumping Revel stereo. I turned out my synthesizer based musical selection and it never failed me once. I can’t hear anything anymore and I have a perpetual ringing in my ears, but it was worth it. There’s a lot of equipment in this car and plenty to keep you busy on the long road trips it’s designed for.
The Lincoln Navigator features a 13.2” Infotainment screen is a good size and features high-definition video from the 360-degree camera system. The HVAC controls are split between a small portion of the right side of the screen and manual buttons and dials on the centre console below. Certain functions like the heated steering wheel would have been better as a button but the compromise is tolerable. The Lincoln Navigator also features wireless CarPlay and Android Auto that worked flawlessly during my time with the car. Wireless functionality is hit and miss with certain cars, and it was nice to see it work so well here.
Wireless charging pads are becoming something of a non-starter for me. When they first started coming equipped with vehicles, I thought it was a great way to keep your phone charged while not clogging up your centre console with a rat’s nest of cables. Unfortunately, most wireless chargers are too slow to be effective. Others, like the one in the Lincoln Navigator, are worse still as they are a slot-like design. This means the phone can’t breathe and they compulsively overheat. Numerous times while I was using the wireless charger in the car the screen would tell me my phone was getting too hot. I had a similar issue with the charging slot in the Toyota Prius (which got the phone so hot you couldn’t hold it in your hand) and I can’t imagine this is in any way good for your phone. It also means you’re relegated to attaching a cable anyway.
The 2024 Lincoln Navigator is due for a re-design. This iteration dates back to 2018 and we will soon have an all-new version. We shall see then if they can improve the car without losing the things that make it special. The sense of size and vulgar ostentatiousness must remain as it’s the hallmark of a vehicle like this. While it isn’t perfect, I really enjoyed my time with this car. If I could sell my body parts on the Pakistani dark web to pay for the fuel and cruise around all day like the sexy, liverless baller I imagine myself to be I would.
