2025 Lincoln Navigator Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Lincoln has toned down the Navigator’s glitz in favour of a more understated glamour. It still sparkles, but it isn’t as gaudy. And if you add the Black Label Special Edition package, the blacked-out wheels and details leave the Lincoln announcements to the illuminated star logo on the grille and the front and rear light bars.

Overall, the new Navigator’s look is simpler, cleaner, and more cohesive, less reliant on traditional American luxury themes involving chrome-plated this and that. New 24-inch wheel designs are available, and they add flash and presence to the SUV. So too does the Sunrise Copper paint colour available for only the Black Label models.

Inside, the 2025 Navigator trades in the previous model’s shiny switchgear and cluttered execution for a clean, architectural, minimalist cabin design. The result is improved perceptions of quality but also more confusion about how to adjust vehicle settings.

To distract you from any ergonomic shortcomings, Lincoln dazzles you with the 48-inch panoramic display tucked close to the base of the windshield. Attractive Revel speaker grilles bookend the display. Below the top layer of the dashboard, air vents are hidden within a stylish divider interrupted only by the 11.1-inch touchscreen infotainment display and a small steering wheel with simplified touch-sensing controls.

Quality materials decorate the Lincoln Navigator Black Label’s interior, though some cheap-looking and clumsy bits remain, like the tweeter speaker housings and front door defogger vents. The farther back you sit in the cabin, the more plastic of questionable origin you’ll encounter. But, generally speaking, the Navigator’s materials meet expectations.

After years of availability in the U.S., Lincoln’s Black Label top trim finally makes its Canadian debut in the 2025 Navigator. The base version is known as the Navigator Reserve. Two lengths are available, and the longer version of the SUV is called the Navigator L. It offers more cargo room behind all three rows of seats, allowing you to carry plenty of people and luggage at the same time. For a blacked-out look, get the Black Label Special Edition Package.

Our Black Label test vehicle had the bright Sunrise Copper paint, Enlighten interior theme, and the Special Edition Package. In Canada, this produces a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $179,434, including the $2,595 destination charge and other fees, plus the applicable federal luxury tax. Some photos accompanying this review may depict a Navigator L Black Label with the Atmospheric theme.

Lincoln continues to use a twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 engine in the 2025 Navigator. It makes 440 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque, bolts to a 10-speed automatic transmission, and has a towing capacity of up to 3,950 kilograms (8,700 pounds) with the Heavy-Duty Trailer Tow Package and 22-inch wheels. Four-wheel drive (4WD) is standard on the Navigator, which boasts 22.6 centimetres of ground clearance.

Our first drive was on a route that dropped about 1,200 metres (4,000 feet) in elevation and was mostly highway driving. That gave us an observed fuel economy of 13.9 litres per 100 kilometres, not far off the official Natural Resources Canada rating of 13.5 L/100 km in combined driving.

Despite its three-ton curb weight, the Navigator moves with haste when you want it to. Better yet, the twin-turbo V6 sounds good while doing it. Various driving modes adjust powertrain response, steering effort levels, and suspension firmness. We tried switching from Normal to Excite and the Navigator did feel more responsive, but mostly the adaptive damping suspension magnified the already rough ride quality.

Most likely, the test vehicle’s 24-inch wheels and 285/40 tires were to blame. Undeniably, the 24s look great on the Navigator. But the shorter tire sidewalls also transmit more road shock into the cabin. In our test vehicle, in Normal mode, the steering wheel constantly thrummed to the beat of the road surface, and Excite mode simply amplified it.

We aren’t fans of the steering wheel size and shape, either. It’s too small for a huge SUV like this one, and the flattened rim at the top and bottom make it feel strange in your hands. With time, we might acclimate to the design, which is necessary to ensure good sightlines to the 48-inch panoramic display screen.

On mountain roads, the Navigator offered good grip and decent body motion control. The brakes are stout, too, but we didn’t exercise them hard. Without a full load of people, cargo, or a trailer, they effortlessly handled their two-person payload.

While the Navigator is reasonably maneuverable, thanks in part to its standard surround-view camera system and front and rear parking sensors, the SUV shines brightest on the open road. There, especially on smooth highways, the Navigator is quiet and composed. Turn on the BlueCruise, and you can pile on the klicks in comfort and style.

Full-size SUVs are all about interior room and cargo capacity, and the Lincoln Navigator delivers plenty of each dipped in a coating of luxury. However, taller people may find the rear seats less accommodating than expected, and the Navigator’s primary rivals offer more cargo space.

Starting in the front, Lincoln equips the Navigator with standard Perfect Position seats with up to 24-way power adjustment. They’re wrapped in leather, heated, and ventilated, and the steering wheel is also heated. Upgrade to the Black Label for 30-way adjustment and massage functionality.

Lincoln includes several comfort-enhancing features. Our favourite is the Lincoln Rejuvenate system. Through scent, sound, imagery, and massage, the Rejuvenate wellness programs can relieve stress and help you to press a mental reset button. We tried the standard Waterfall Meditation, and that’s what it did for us. Your mileage may vary.

Black Label models have power-adjustable, heated, and ventilated second-row captain’s chairs separated by a large centre console. They face a standard dual-touchscreen Lincoln Play entertainment system and are extremely comfortable. However, because the Perfect Position front seats are so thick and have hard seatback panels, knee room in the second row is tighter than expected.

The same is true for adults sitting in the Black Label’s heated third-row seat. The bottom cushion sits high off the floor for good leg support, and passengers riding in this location enjoy a commanding view out. But the hard plastic second-row seatback panels intrude on knee room.

Storage space abounds within the Navigator, and the cargo area in the Navigator L is accommodating without folding the third-row seat down. Navigators boast a new 40/20/40-split third row, giving you more flexibility to carry people and long items simultaneously. This is especially helpful on ski trips.

You access the cargo area through a new Split Gate tailgate design. The upper 75% rises like a traditional liftgate, while the bottom 25% drops like a pickup truck’s tailgate. Lincoln also offers an available cargo management system that can serve as a shelf, a table, or a backrest when you’re sitting on the tailgate, which can support up to 225 kilograms (500 pounds). However, especially with the Navigator L, the Split Gate design makes it harder to reach items located near the third-row seatbacks.

A standard-length Navigator holds 611 litres of cargo behind the third row, 1,721 litres behind the second row, and a maximum of 3,030 litres behind the front seats. In the Navigator L, those volumes expand to 1,022, 2,135, and 3,443 litres. The Cadillac Escalade and Jeep Grand Wagoneer offer more room for cargo.

For 2025, the Navigator adds the company’s Lincoln Digital Experience infotainment system with a 48-inch panoramic display and an 11.1-inch centre touchscreen control centre. The tech blends native Lincoln features with Google Built-in and Alexa Built-in, providing a remarkably intuitive interface that should prove easy to learn for to anyone who is familiar with a modern smartphone.

With that said, Lincoln may have gotten a little too far out over its skis regarding interior control reduction. For example, if you want to adjust the dashboard air vents, you must go into the centre touchscreen, find the adjustment menu, and make the change there. Likewise, many of the seat adjustments are available only through the screen. Attempting changes while driving is distracting and potentially dangerous.

A more robust conversational digital assistant could help. While the infotainment system’s Google Assistant works well for typical commands, when we requested help activating the seat ventilation system, it was of no use.

Pairing an iPhone 16 to the system and using the wireless Apple CarPlay proved simple, and streaming Apple Music was easy. With everything centred and the sound stage on Stereo, the 28-speaker Revel Ultima 3D audio system produced a satisfying listening experience.

When the Navigator is parked, you can surf the internet using the Vivaldi web browser and Lincoln Connect 5G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot. YouTube and Prime Video apps show programming on the panoramic display, and a Webex app provides access to video calls. Gaming is possible, too. Additional tech includes Phone As A Key. This digital key system turns your smartphone into the Navigator’s key, allowing you to unlock, start, and drive the SUV using your device.

For towing, the Navigator has Pro Trailer Backup Assist. It takes control of the steering, braking, and accelerator when reversing a trailer, and you guide the process by turning a dashboard knob in the direction you want the trailer to go. This tech can make a difficult driving task easier. Several other trailering-related technologies are also available for the Navigator.

You’ll notice that a head-up display is not available on the Navigator due to the panoramic display. The SUV also lacks a digital rearview mirror, which it could definitely use, especially when you’re driving with a full load of people or cargo. Night vision technology is also unavailable, an upgrade offered by Cadillac and Jeep.

If you think the Lincoln Digital Experience offers a long list of features, the menu of standard advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) is equally impressive.

The basics are all present and accounted for: adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assistance, and lane-centring assistance. The Navigator also has a post-collision braking system that brings the SUV to a halt as soon as possible following a collision.

Additional, more unusual features include intersection assist, which can help prevent unsafe left turns across traffic. Evasive steering assist gives you support if you need to make a sudden maneuver to avoid an obstacle. Turn Signal View provides a live video feed showing what’s in the Navigator’s blind spots on the panoramic display.

BlueCruise is also standard and comes with a complimentary four-year subscription. It provides hands-free driving on approved roads, taking full control of the SUV as long as the driver continues paying attention and is ready to assume command of the Navigator at any time.

In the 2025 Navigator, Lincoln uses BlueCruise 1.4, the latest version with driver-signaled automatic lane changes and in-lane repositioning to give large trucks traveling in an adjacent lane a little more room. Lincoln also says it works on more roads with fewer requests for the driver to re-take control. And when it self-cancels, BlueCruise now provides a reason why it is no longer operational.

High clouds were the only weather phenomena, and traffic was light. Understandably, in these conditions, BlueCruise excelled in our testing.

As of this writing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have not performed crash tests on the 2025 Navigator.

With a Canadian base price of nearly $130,000 (including the destination charge and other fees), the 2025 Lincoln Navigator is more expensive to start than the BMW X7, Cadillac Escalade, Infiniti QX80, Land Rover Defender 130, and Mercedes-Benz GLS. Only the Lexus LX, Jeep Grand Wagoneer, and Range Rover Long Wheelbase cost more.

That’s not a good look.

Importantly, several of those alternatives are smaller inside and can’t tow as much weight as the Navigator. Though the Grand Wagoneer is a Jeep, it is just as luxurious inside as the Navigator, offers more cargo capacity, and tows more weight. The tech isn’t as impressive, and the Jeep isn’t quite as fuel efficient, but the Grand Wagoneer doesn’t fall so far behind the Lincoln that it deserves to drop off your list.

In any case, when you’re spending this kind of money on an expensive tool for carrying plenty of passengers, hauling a bunch or cargo, or towing a heavy load, choosing between these large luxury SUVs is a matter of personal preference.

The tech-infused, twin-turbocharged 2025 Navigator brings plenty to this elegantly set table, including three-year complimentary access to its connected services, infotainment platforms, and BlueCruise. Is it worth what Lincoln is asking? We think it might be.

Note: Images show a US model.