The Lincoln Navigator is part of a select group of large luxury SUVs that quietly prowl the more affluent areas in the U.S. It is in the same class as the BMW X7, Range Rover, Cadillac Escalade, and Merc GLS and AMG-GLS. With a starting price of double the average new car price, up to eight luxury seats, and the fuel consumption of a medium tank, the Lincoln Navigator is aimed firmly at the buyer without budgetary constraints. The Navigator has entered popular culture with the excellent Lincoln Lawyer series on Netflix, although in the books, the main character drives an old Lincoln Town Car. Product placement wins the day again.
Lincoln is the luxury division of Ford, much like Cadillac is to GM, but it now only makes luxury SUVs, a couple with hybrid or plug-in hybrid options. The Navigator is the biggest of the range. The Navigator has a range of three trims, each available as either standard or long wheelbase. Even the most basic Navigator is pretty well loaded with luxury features, with the next two trims becoming progressively grander. So what will happen if you take the eye-wateringly most expensive trim and fully load it? We did just that, and here are the results.
The Lincoln Navigator Range Tops Out At Over $116,000 Before Options
The Lincoln Navigator has been around since 1998, and the current fifth generation was launched in 2024 for the 2025 model year. It has an aluminum body on a ladder frame, which it shares with the Ford F-150, so it sits on a seriously solid chassis.
The engine is basically the Ford Eco-boost 3.5-liter Twin-turbo V-6, making 440 horses and 510 pound-feet, not as much as 510 horsepower of the Grand Wagoneer or the 682 horsepower of the Caddy Escalade, but still able to shift the 6,000-pound truck to sixty in around 5.3 seconds. The transmission is a slick 10-speed automatic.
The thing about the Navigator is that it’s not trying to be the most powerful big SUV, or the one with the most off-road chops. Yes, it has power, and it can probably go somewhat off-road-ish, and it can tow a fair load. But the main character trait of this car is spacious luxury.
Three Trims On Offer
There are three options in the Navigator range:
- The Reserve starting at $99,995
- The Reserve with Jet Appearance starting at $103,495
- The Black Label starting at $116,995
These options are available in normal and L, for long wheelbase. The normal wheelbase is 210 inches long, 94.6 inches wide, and 78.0 inches high. The L is 11.9 inches longer, which is a lot even in a car of this size. The normal can get cramped in the back row and works better as a two-row SUV when lots of cargo has to be hauled, while the L has the ability to seat all three rows in comfort and carry a full load of cargo.
The L version is around $3K more than the standard wheelbase options. Although it does add a lot of interior space, it also makes a vehicle that is already very big even longer, and more difficult to drive in traffic and to park.
But then, nobody buys a vehicle like the Lincoln Navigator for practical reasons. You buy it because it is the biggest, most flashy SUV in town, and you will be seen driving it. And you’ll park where you want.
The Black Label Trim Is Already Pretty Much Loaded
The Black Label features various style themes, all using leather, wood, and metal detailing, all perfectly lit by the superior interior lighting. The front seats are 30-way power adjustable, even to the level of giving more or higher support to one leg vs the other. The second row also has powered seats, while all three rows are heated.
There is rear seat entertainment, and more USB ports than most families can use. The middle row also has wireless charging.
Technology
Technology highlights include a 48-inch panoramic display with customizable instrument cluster and themes, a rear-seat entertainment system, 28-speaker Revel Ultima 3D sound, a thing that diffuses scents into the cabin, and a thing that combines light, sound, and scent for a ‘spa-like experience’. On a practical level, this Navigator has 5G Wi-Fi hotspot capability, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and SiriusXM.
Split Tailgate
The Navigator has all the exterior features expected of a car in this price range, including all LED lights, color-coded body panels, wipers that react to the velocity of the raindrops on the windscreen, themed tires, and more.
New for this fifth generation is the split tailgate, with the lower coming down like a pickup truck, while the upper half raises up like most SUVs. This is practical because of the sheer size a single tailgate would have had, and because the bottom gate creates a great table surface.
Loading The Black Label To The Max
We are starting with the Lincoln Navigator Black Label standard wheelbase at $116,995. Change it to a long wheelbase, and the price goes up to $119,995. We will change the color to Chroma Caviar Dark Gray Metallic for $2,000. Add the Atmospheric Theme, and the price is now $128,910.
The Black Label Atmospheric Special Edition takes the price to $136,760. Add various small items like a first aid kit, floor liners, and cargo dividers, and the price creeps up to $138,258.
An SUV tent and privacy curtain barely moves the price to $138,833. Exterior area lighting and speaker, and a dashcam with a rear-facing camera bump the price to $140,081. Various trailer hitch additions only add a couple of bucks and take the price to $140,299.
Final Price $146,258
You can go mad with Thule accessories like cargo carriers, canoe mounts, bike racks, roof rail shower, and the like, and this takes the price up to $144,100. Add an ashtray/coin holder, various seat covers, floor mats, cargo mats, jump start kits, and the like, and the final price of your fully loaded Lincoln Navigator Black Label is around $146,258.
Alternatives To The Lincoln Navigator
There are a lot of great alternatives to the Lincoln Navigator, including those from Merc, BMW, Audi, Land Rover Range Rover, and Lexus. But Lincoln is an iconic American brand, so why not look at what other local vehicles the buyer can consider in their quest for very big and super luxurious?
Cadillac Escalade
This is Cadillac’s flagship SUV, and it offers the same kind of features you would get with the Navigator. It is a three-row, seven-seat, ultra luxury, body-on-frame construction based on the Tahoe and Suburban. It also shares the rather startling dimensions of the Navigator, both in standard and long wheelbase modes.
The Cadillac Escalade is available in six trims, ranging from the ‘affordable’ Luxury, to the super powerful, super expensive V-Series. The standard engine is a 420 hp V-8, but the buyers can opt for the supercharged V-8 that makes 682 horses. Prices for the Escalade range from mid-90s to nearly $170,000.
Jeep Grand Wagoneer
If the Navigator and Escalade are not quite big enough for your upmarket pursuits, have a look at the giant Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Like the other two cars mentioned, it comes in a standard wheelbase, which is pretty big already, but you can get the L, which adds a foot of length and 16 cubic feet of cargo space. It can also carry seven or eight passengers, depending on the configuration of the middle row.
There are four trim levels available in the Jeep Grand Wagoneer Range. The bottom trim is already seriously luxurious, and as you go up the ladder, the amount of real walnut trim, the quality of the leather, and the level of luxury tech increase. The engine is the 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six Hurricane. For the Grand Wagoneer, it is tuned to 540 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque. Transmission is an eight-speed automatic, and this monster can go 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds. Combined fuel consumption is 16 MPG.
You Can Get A Tesla Model Y For The Price Of A Lincoln Navigator’s Add-Ons Alone
The MSRP of the basic, already very luxurious Lincoln Navigator is $100K, while the fully loaded top trim adds $46K to that. Many, if not most, of the options and packages that make up that extra $46K are superfluous, ostentatious, and conspicuous displays of wealth. Well, your money, buy what you want.
But $46K is $4K less than the average new car price in the U.S. right now. With $46K, you can buy a Tesla Model Y Premium RWD and have some change left over. If you have to have a three-row SUV, the Toyota Grand Highlander starts at only $41K, while the surprisingly luxurious Crown Signia is $44K.
That is not how it works, though. A buyer who insists on super luxury in a super-sized SUV will look for the likes of the Navigator or Escalade, and will load their cars with as much stuff as they can get.