{"id":34404,"date":"2025-04-25T17:08:42","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T21:08:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=34404"},"modified":"2025-04-25T17:08:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T21:08:42","slug":"payne-flying-first-class-in-the-lincoln-navigator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/payne-flying-first-class-in-the-lincoln-navigator","title":{"rendered":"Payne: Flying first class in the Lincoln Navigator"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carlsbad, California<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 On April 14, San Diego County experienced an earthquake that made national news. It registered 5.2 on the Richter scale. Residents recounted hearing a rumble as loud as a freight train. Floors rattled. Vases fell off tables.<\/p>\n

Riding on top of the smooth, adaptive suspension inside the whisper-quiet, three-row Lincoln Navigator, I didn\u2019t feel a thing.<\/p>\n

New for 2025, the Navigator land yacht isn\u2019t so much a vehicle as it is a rolling sanctuary. Like a \u00a0basement entertainment room, it comes with multi-way lounge chairs, wood accents, 48-inch jumbotron screen and remote voice control. Heck, in San Diego, developers may want to start building homes to Lincoln spec.<\/p>\n

Navigator drivers don\u2019t even have to drive.<\/p>\n

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The 2025 Lincoln Navigator comes standard with AWD as well as adaptive cruise control and blind-spot assist, and Blue Cruise self-driving.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

On Interstate 5, I selected Blue Cruise hands-free drive assist, and Navigator … navigated itself. I settled back into my 24-way La-Z-Boy-like seat, adjusted the headrest and spoke to the Google Built-in assistant:<\/p>\n

Hey, Google, tune to Sirius XM Comedy Greats Channel.<\/em><\/p>\n

A favorite Brian Regan bit popped up on the jumbotron, lighting the cabin with laughter. I selected Mystic Forest from the smaller control screen (one of three odors on offer) and its subtle scent filled the cabin.<\/p>\n

Hey, Google, order a Shake Shack burger. With fries, please?<\/em><\/p>\n

Just kidding, Navigator can\u2019t accept food deliveries. Yet.<\/p>\n

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The 2025 Lincoln Navigator cockpit includes a cool, simple steering wheel with haptic buttons that mirror controls on the screen.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Since it inaugurated the super-sized, three-row, truck-based SUV segment in 1998, Navigator has been the patriarch of the Lincoln brand. It\u2019s weathered market storms like $4 gas prices, \u201cWhat Would Jesus Drive?\u201d activism and government electric-vehicle mandates.<\/p>\n

Now it leads a transformed Lincoln family of four SUVs into the high-tech, digital age. Its $100,000 price tag is as exclusive as a six-figure, three-row Tesla Model X \u2014 but, like Model X and its entry-level $40K Model 3 sibling, Navigator promises a unique brand experience that should trickle down into every Lincoln, including the entry-level $40K Corsair. On sale now, the Navigator and two-row, midsize Nautilus are the first family members to share the Lincoln Digital Experience.<\/p>\n

Like Tesla, the experience centers around a screen, steering wheel and simplified interior.<\/p>\n

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With three rows of seats, a 48-inch screen and Blue Cruise hands-free driving, the 2025 Lincoln Navigator is the definition of land yacht.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Elon Musk\u2019s brand reimagined the automotive interior with its Apple phone-simple layout and big center screen. Lincoln has done the same while maintaining lush leather, wood and stitched materials synonymous with the brand. Black Label trims turn up the decadence \u2014 for example, the Atmospheric theme wows with quilted seats, ash wood, and copper accents echoed in its 24-inch wheels.<\/p>\n

The sleek cabin is uncluttered by door-mounted seat controls or climate knobs. These features have been moved on to the console controller screen and steering wheel. Like a Tesla, the ergonomics take a moment to learn (and drive some traditionalists mad), but the reward is one of the coolest interiors in autodom.<\/p>\n

While the A-pillar to A-pillar screen is the focus, the steering wheel is a work of art. Lincoln took a page from Corvette\u2019s book by designing a square wheel so the driver can better see the horizontal screen. The two-spoke steering wheel is clean and deceptively simple.<\/p>\n

I moved my thumb over the left spoke touchpad and avatars illuminated on the jumbotron to adjust Blue Cruise speed, radar distance. On the right spoke touchpad, my right thumb adjusted mirrors, steering wheel, even pedals. Like a Tesla.<\/p>\n

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Genius. The 2025 Lincoln Navigator reaches to its truck roots with a split tailgate. The upper two-thirds is a hatch, the lower third works as a tailgate that can be turned into a seat holding up to 500 pounds.<\/em><\/div>\n
Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Why the Tesla obsession? The digital generation has made the Model Y SUV and 3 sedan the nation’s No. 3 and No. 12 best-selling, respectively, non-pickup vehicles. After a year in the market, the redesigned Nautilus’ buyers are already trending eight years younger. Want traditional ergonomics with a dash jumbotron? Buy a Cadillac Escalade.<\/p>\n