The new Navigator is indeed new. Lincoln's revival and the "quiet luxury" approach hasn't meant that the SUV replicated everything we saw on the concept vehicle, but what we have here is a very large machine that's also quite suave, loaded with technology and a high level of luxury for the price, and outwardly much more urbane and stylish than the previous generation.
The Navigator continues to be a Ford Expedition under the skin, but the overall impression isn't one of a badge-engineered premium upgrade. The Navigator continues to maintain its own identity.
Power junkies might wonder how the 3.5-liter twin-turbo mill stacks up against the 5.4-liter V8 from the previous generation, but Lincoln did add the smaller engine to the lineup in 2015, so the market was prepared.
I thought it performed admirably, and in my testing, I worked my way through all the drive modes and explored the various dimensions of the foul-weather setup, as a snowstorm swept into the New York and New Jersey area (the four-wheel-drive system can be tweaked to handle both moderate and deep snow). The Navigator brushed it off. The turbos also exhibited no lag, as the power came on strong no matter what.
I pushed the limits of this big rig's people-toting capacity: six adults and two teenagers at one point. The six adults also made the run to Brooklyn and there were no complaints about comfort. Jaunts to the grocery store to provision my family of five were sort of comical. "Is that all you've got?" the 'Gator seemed to be asking. It might have been happier if I'd been trying to load an upright piano.
Navigators are popular for high-end livery service, so the new SUV should make those buyers happy, as it has before. For civilian families, the thing is a dream: so big, so comfortable, so many entertainment options. And the 10-speed auto coupled with the V6 motor and lighter weight mean that while MPGs still aren't great, the Navigator provides some relief at the pump.
With the new Navigator, following the debut of the flagship Continental sedan, Lincoln has nearly completed its comeback in the luxury market. Navigator was an important part of this process, and Lincoln has basically done everything right. The classic has been updated, gracefully, without sacrificing its functionality. It now stacks up much better against the Cadillac Escalade, and Caddy will be under pressure to keep pace.
If really, really big rides are your bag, you can't go wrong with the 2018 Navigator. Lincoln created this segment, and it's clear that they still know exactly what they're doing.