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Payne: Sailing the screen-tastic Lincoln Nautilus land yacht
Posted by Talbot Payne on March 19, 2024
Palm Springs — Welcome to the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus. Call it the Lincoln Not-like-any-cabin-you’ve-seen-before.
A handsome, high-definition 48-inch screen wraps the front cabin from A-pillar to A-pillar. Like the twin screen sitting on your office desktop, its expanded space allows you to run multiple applications. Which means you can keep your eyes on the road while scanning information including speed, navigation map, Sirius XM channels, range and more.
Cruising hands-free in Blue Cruise down Interstate 10, I rested my hands on my knees and settled back in the comfy leather thrones. Ahhh, a comfortable day at the office.
With its emphasis on quiet luxury (current slogan: “Power of Sanctuary”), Lincoln has been about comfortable cabins rather than carving corners. Let Bimmer, Alfa and Caddy fly around Nürburgring setting lap records, Lincoln wants to fly you First Class. Now, with its Lincoln Digital Experience, the brand has created a high-tech environment to rival other transformative interiors from Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS and Cadillac Lyriq.
I first saw a pillar-to-pillar design on the Byton M-Byte, a Chinese electric vehicle, at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. It was a showstopper. Byton promised its 48-inch jumbotron would come to market in 2020. Didn’t happen.
With Nautilus, this is Lincoln’s chance to shine. At a dealer in North Miami Beach recently, I heard audible gasps from customers as they opened the Nautilus doors. I haven’t seen butts jump into seats so fast since the Model S screen wowed at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.
Tesla opened boutique stores at high-end malls (think Somerset) across the country so casual shoppers could try on their interiors as easily as fitting pants at J.McLaughlin. Lincoln, which has dabbled in the boutique store market, should do the same.
The 48-inch display works as well in practice as it looks. Like a TV screen paired with remote control, the touchless jumbotron is controlled via a console-mounted 11-inch tablet. Lincoln’s native navi system is run by Google — like Android Auto — and either can be used in the panoramic display’s center.
“Hey, Google, navigate to Idyllwild,” I barked, and the route populated the command tablet and megascreen. I gripped the wheel and eased into Palm Springs traffic for my trip to the San Jacinto Mountains.
The simple steering wheel (Tesla simple and square like a Corvette C8) is slick. It’s squared-off so as not to obstruct the megascreen. Like a head-up display, instrument and navigation information is always in your line of sight. The wheel’s simple interface is anchored by twin touchpads (Tesla uses scroll wheels): volume on the right, adaptive cruise control to the left. It shames over-engineered, button-infested wheels like Mercedes.
My instinct was to glance at the closer console pad for directions, but, with time, my eyes focused on the big screen. Its right half contains three more “pages,” which I filled with radio, trip information and clock. Want to change the selection to include tire pressure? Simply drag ‘n’ drop the icon on the command screen and — bingo! — it’s mirrored on the megascreen. A muscular Qualcomm chip makes for smartphone-fast touch speeds, a key to Tesla’s early popularity.
Also like Tesla, the Lincoln system is so cool you forgive Nautilus its dissonate notes.
Lincoln’s engine lineup is weak compared to competitors like Genesis and Mercedes (more on that later). Blue Cruise drive assist is sketchy — turning off multiple times during my interstate test. And there’s a wonky Drive Mode button on the console that doesn’t actually control the modes — it just gives you access to them in the command screen. It’s an awkward process not unlike Tesla’s two-button chore to open the glovebox. Happily, most Lincoln drivers will rarely use SPORT mode. Nautilus is no BMW M4.
Like the Bimmer, however, Nautilus is gas-powered. Lincoln teased a Star Concept EV two years ago, but has resisted the Sirens’ call to full-electrification like other small premium brands. Instead of tearing up its playbook, Lincoln’s refining it.
Nautilus’s state-of-the-art interior is executed atop a familiar gas-powered drivetrain lineup. Customers (Nautilus is part of an SUV family including Corsair, Aviator and Navigator) prize the “utility” in sports utility vehicle for summer trips up north or out west.
For all of Tesla’s innovation, the Silicon Valley brand copied Lincoln’s electronic button transmission for its 2024 Model 3 Highland. Tesla’s shifter buttons, naturally, are in the screen, whereas Lincoln offers hard buttons on the console. I played them like piano keys, shifting the DRIVE button with my middle finger and the REVERSE button with my forefinger as I backed in and out of a parking space.
The 2024 Lincoln Nautilus can compliment its big screens with striking materials and a quiet cabin. Henry Payne, The Detroit NewsOnce on the road, my hybrid turbo-4 cylinder purred along — a distant heartbeat from the hush-quiet cabin wrapped in acoustic glass and insulation. Despite the premium ride, the engine is Nautilus’s weak link.
The base 2.0-liter sounds like the Ford Escape egg-beater it’s shared with, and the hybrid lacks the visceral authority of a Detroit machine. Genesis, Acura, BMW — even Mazda’s premium CX-70/CX-90 — offer six-cylinder mills. Lincoln follows Lexus to hybrid fours, and it’s worth the $1,500 upcharge over the base engine. Coupled with a smooth CVT transmission, the battery provides good low-rev torque-fill to offset turbo lag.
Also worth the extra cents are the seven cabin scents on offer.
The electronic scent cartridges — standard Mystic Forest, Ozonic Azure, Violet Cashmere and additional Cloud Balsam, Serene Seashore, Twilight Embers and Sunlight Retreat — are loaded, three at a time, into a hidden chamber beneath the armrest. I hesitated at dispensing them, fearing my cabin would be doused in incense.
But the odors were mild and pleasant and complemented my refreshing interstate drive.
Passengers will enjoy the ride, too, as Nautilus offers best-in-class rear legroom (43.1 inches) and a giant panoramic roof so they can enjoy the treetops/sky/stars overhead. The hybrid’s 600-mile range will get you to Mackinaw City and back without ever having to stop at a gas station. Or, ahem, sit at an electric charger.
This rolling yacht is wrapped in a bold Lincoln exterior, including soft-squeeze, Packard-like door handles along the shoulder line. Mirroring the brand’s signature horizontal rear taillight, the front LED lamp now wraps ‘round the front. Lincoln also is hell on wheels (remember the turbine wheels on the Navigator?) and offers head-turning 22s that come with the Jet Package.
Big as it is, Nautilus sweats the little things.
Start with the door handles, then note the no-cap gas filler and double-pull hood tab under the dash so you don’t have to fish around the engine bay for the hood latch.
Buy it and you’ll be that guy giving neighbors interior tours.
Next week: 2024 Ford Ranger
2024 Lincoln Nautilus
Vehicle type: Gas-powered, all-wheel drive, five-passenger luxury SUV
Price: $52,210, including $1,595 destination charge (as tested)
Powerplant: 2.0-liter, turbocharged inline 4-cylinder; hybrid-electric drivetrain with 2.0-liter, turbocharged inline 4-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed transmission (2.0L); CVT (hybrid)
Weight: 4,517 pounds (hybrid, as tested)
Power: 250 horsepower, 280 pound-feet torque (2.0L); 295 horsepower, 310 pound-feet torque (hybrid)
Performance: 0-60 mph, NA; towing, 1,750 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA est. 21 city/29 highway/24 combined (2.0L); 30 city/31 highway/30 combined (2.0L);
Report card
Highs: Inspired interior tech, roomy, detailed design
Lows: Uninspired 4-cylinder engine lineup; Blue Cruise a work-in-progress
Overall: 4 stars
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne