About a month ago, Cadillac pulled the covers off the new Escalade. It’s a heavy update of the current model, looking even bolder than before. But let’s not forget that there’s another full-sized luxury SUV from America that also wants your attention.
The Escalade’s longtime rival is the Lincoln Navigator, and it too is also due for a bit of a revamp this year. The timing is just right too and a perfect response to General Motor’s luxury division.
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For the 2025 model year, the Lincoln Navigator gets a refreshed exterior design, an overhauled interior, and a barrage of new tech and luxuries. It also gets a feature that we wish the Toyota Land Cruiser kept in its latest generation.
Before we get to that, what’s been changed on the outside? For starters, the headlights are slimmer with a new LED pattern that runs across the entire front end. The grille is also bigger than before, and all those changes meant a new set of fenders, as well as a reshaped bumper and hood.
Towards the rear, the quarter panel has been changed to accommodate the new full-width tail lights. The bumper has also been given a nip and tuck for a more cohesive look. As for the bit we wish the Land Cruiser had, the new Navigator comes with a split tailgate, just like those LCs from the past. Toyota, please bring back the split tailgate for the facelifted 300 Series.
If you think the exterior redesign is a big change, the interior is a complete overhaul. For starters, there’s now a massive 48-inch panoramic curved screen display. It spans the entire width of the new dashboard, and most of the buttons have been banished in favor of an 11.1-inch touchscreen on the center stack.
Lincoln aims to create an even plusher atmosphere in the new Navigator, and it’s not just through acres of wood and leather in the SUV. It has something called a Rejuvenate mode that activates the seat massagers, ambient lighting, air-conditioning, and even the built-in perfume diffusers all at the same time. Mind you, this can only be used while the vehicle is in park and lasts for 10 minutes.
Another highlight is the 22-way adjustable seats for the front passenger and 24-way for the driver. If that’s not enough, the Black Label variant ups the adjustability for the driver to 30-way. Heated, cooled, and massage seats are available for second-row occupants, and even the third-row can be specified with heated perches.
Black Label models come with captain chairs as standard, along with a 28-speaker Bose audio system. Also, the 14 USB ports in there mean there’s no fighting over charging on road trips.
Standard across the range is BlueCruise. Aside from integrating all the advanced driver assist systems available, it allows this luxury land yacht on wheels to perform hands-free driving on the highway. That said, it should always be supervised and the driver must always be ready to take control if needed.
What isn’t changed is the engine. Under the hood is a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 that makes 440hp and 692Nm of torque. It’ll need all of that as it weighs from 2,670kg to 2,742kg when empty. The transmission is a ten-speed automatic transmission, and four-wheel drive is standard.
