2023 Lincoln Navigator Reviews, Pricing & Specs

When Lincoln will turn the page and start a new chapter by transforming the Navigator into an electric SUV remains unclear, but now that arch-rival Cadillac has introduced the 2025 Escalade IQ, the pressure to act is building. In the meantime, you can bet the current fourth-generation Navigator won’t change much before an electric version arrives.

Last redesigned in 2018 and freshened up for the 2022 model year, the Navigator rolls into 2023 without significant updates. This SUV tops Lincoln’s lineup size-wise, slotting in above the Corsair, Nautilus, and Aviator. A single trim level of Navigator remains available in Canada, the Navigator Reserve, which comes with standard four-wheel drive (4WD).

Our test vehicle was a triple-black 2023 Lincoln Navigator Reserve model. In addition to the 201A option package, the test vehicle featured the Monochromatic Package, which adds the black 22-inch wheels and body-colour trim. Since it was impossible to keep our Infinite Black test vehicle clean, we recommend getting the Monochromatic Package with one of the other colours with which it is available: Pristine White or Ceramic Pearl.

Our Navigator also had a Lincoln Play rear-seat entertainment system with Amazon Fire TV streaming capability, a pricey option that went utterly ignored by two teenagers preferring to use their iPhones. In addition to the packages mentioned above, Lincoln Play was the only additional option, and it brings the test vehicle’s Canadian manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) to $131,614, including a $2,495 destination charge and more than $5,000 in federal luxury tax that’s charged on new vehicles priced above $100,000. The Lincoln Black Label membership program offered in the United States is not yet available in Canada.

Like the exterior, the interior was all black, save for the real wood trim panels and chrome accents. At night, the ambient lighting that comes in the 201A package added some needed contrast and character. Overall, the Navigator Reserve’s cabin looks upscale and uses quality materials, but in some cases the chrome plastic on the switchgear fails to convey luxury.

We hope you like the Navigator’s twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 engine, because it’s the only one available. It supplies power specs of 440 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque, and pairs with a 10-speed automatic transmission and a 4WD drivetrain. The test vehicle carried a Natural Resources Canada fuel economy rating of 13.2 L/100 km in combined driving. On our testing loop, the SUV averaged 15.0 L/100 km.

Drivers can choose between five Lincoln Drive Modes including Conserve, Normal, Excite, Slippery, and Deep Conditions. With the optional towing package, Hill Climb is an available mode. An adaptive damping suspension is also standard. It includes Road Preview, which uses the front camera to identify upcoming bumps and prepare the suspension for the changes in the pavement surface.

We used Normal mode most of the time, and didn’t find the Navigator’s ride agreeable. With the 22-inch wheels and 285/45 tires, and between the added unsprung weight and low-profile tire sidewalls, the Navigator rode like a truck over smaller and sharper cracks and bumps while floating and wallowing over whoops and dips. Simply put, the SUV’s ride quality was a hot mess and the Navigator didn’t drive like it had an adaptive damping suspension at all.

Then, while tackling the twisting and undulating roads laced across the mountains, we chose the Excite driving mode. That stiffened the suspension, solving most of our complaints about the ride while quickening the powertrain’s pulse. It also switched the Navigator into automatic 4WD. As you might guess, Excite mode had a detrimental effect on fuel efficiency. So, as is often true in life, with the good comes a little bad.

Unexpectedly, the Navigator somehow felt smaller while driving on those mountain roads. Outward visibility is excellent, which helps. And those big wheels and wide tires provide impressive grip. But the steering is relatively slow and lifeless, and the SUV’s more than 2,700-kilogram curb weight proved challenging to the brakes. Halfway down the return from the mountains, the pedal got soft and the brakes didn’t bite quite as hard.

Expectedly, in the city and suburbs, the Navigator’s size proved a liability. In a downtown parking garage, it took some time to find a space that could accommodate the SUV. And, while exiting that garage, a curve with narrow curbing was challenging to navigate, even with all of the onboard cameras. The Lincoln felt enormous in drive-thru lines, too.

Full-size SUVs are all about functionality, and the 2023 Lincoln Navigator is an excellent example demonstrating it. From its roomy seats in all three rows to its available extended body style and cavernous cargo area, the Navigator delivers comfort, utility, and luxury in equal doses.

Power-deploying running boards make it easier to climb up into and down out of the Navigator’s cabin. Our test vehicle had Lincoln’s 30-way Perfect Position power-adjustable front seats with heating, ventilation, and massage, ensuring that you can find absolute comfort for trips ranging from running local errands to driving across the country. The second-row captain’s chairs are also roomy with wide armrests, and they provide a pass-through to the third-row seat, where even taller and larger adults will be happy to spend their time with their plenty of headroom and legroom.

While the front seats are comfortable and wrapped in soft, quality leather, we think they might offer too many adjustments. We never quite got them right and spent days fiddling with them to resolve small irritations, often forgetting to hit the memory button to save the changes. But, when you’ve got them dialed in and you’re piling on the klicks with the massagers turned on, they’re satisfying.

Storage space is generous throughout the Navigator, ranging from the large tray under the centre console to the smaller ones for the third-row passengers. Lincoln equips the Navigator with covers to hide the cupholders and wireless charging pad, preserving the interior’s clean look.

As for cargo space, if you’re going to carry lots of people and lots of luggage at the same time, you’ll want the long-wheelbase Navigator L model. It costs more, but provides substantially more room behind the third-row seat (546 vs. 971 litres in the Navigator L). Naturally, the Navigator L also gives you more cargo space behind the second row (1,628 vs. 2,075 litres) and the front seats (2,925 vs. 3,403 litres).

Have you noticed the ongoing battle for digital display supremacy? From integrated instrument and infotainment panels to separate screens for front passengers to use, automakers are bragging about the size and number of screens inside their vehicles (as though it’s a good thing). Mercedes-Benz has even transformed the entire dashboard into something called a Hyperscreen.

Lincoln is, for now, staying out of this game. The Navigator has lots of them, of course, but the company isn’t making a big deal out of its 12-inch digital instrumentation display, 13.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system, available widescreen head-up display, dual-screen Lincoln Play infotainment system, or the control screen mounted on the back of the centre console. Remember, this is the “quiet luxury” brand.

Featuring a twilight-inspired Constellation theme, the digital gauges and infotainment system are graphically pleasing and easy to use. The Sync 4 infotainment system includes Bluetooth, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, SiriusXM 360L satellite radio, Lincoln Connect services with access to a Wi-Fi hotspot, a navigation system with an enhanced voice recognition system, and Alexa Built-in.

We had no trouble pairing an iPhone, running CarPlay, streaming music, making and receiving calls, etc. However, the Navigator’s wireless smartphone charger baked the phone, making it disturbingly hot. So, we quit using it.

The digital assistant proved excellent, easily understanding our long list of test commands, and promptly and accurately responding to specific requests and less detailed demands. As a result, it effortlessly passed the voice recognition evaluation, a rare occasion because most modern vehicles stumble at some point.

Our test vehicle also had an impressive 28-speaker Revel Ultima 3D Audio System, filling the Navigator’s cabin with lush sound. Through the Lincoln Way smartphone app and Phone As A Key technology, Navigator owners can also unlock, start, and drive this SUV using a digital key instead of the sizable key fob.

Lincoln Play installs two touchscreens for use by rear-seat passengers. We carried teenagers in this SUV, and they didn’t express any interest in using this expensive option, preferring instead to view content on and listen to music through their smartphones and ear buds. Most likely, you don’t need this option.

As you might expect, Lincoln fortifies the 2023 Navigator with a long list of advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) as part of the Co-Pilot360 suite of safety features such as automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and blind spot monitoring. The more unusual ADAS included an Evasive Steering Assist system, an Intersection Assist feature that tries to prevent unsafe left turns across traffic, and BlueCruise (previously called Lincoln ActiveGlide).

BlueCruise is a hands-free driving assist system that works on more than 200,000 kilometres of North American highways that Lincoln designates as Hands-Free Blue Zones. When you’re driving on one of these roads, you trigger BlueCruise activation, let go of the steering wheel, and the Navigator will handle the driving while you remain alert, pay attention, and take control when necessary.

Based on our testing experiences, you’ll be called upon regularly. BlueCruise struggles with curves, mixed pavement surfaces, and construction zones, and it lacks a lane-change assist function. That means you’ll need to take control to pass slower vehicles.

As we discovered, BlueCruise can also fail when another motorist suddenly cuts in front of the Navigator. This happened to us when someone who wasn’t paying attention dove into our lane just before their lane became an exit ramp.

The Navigator responded to this situation with sudden and excessive braking, which introduced suspension dive, which then must have caused the SUV to start waggling about in the lane. BlueCruise panicked, issuing a strong audible and visual alert to take control immediately.

If you’re wondering how the Navigator fares in crash tests, we can’t provide a full answer. Unfortunately, neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) provides a full assessment of this Lincoln’s crashworthiness. However, the NHTSA does give the Navigator a 5-star side-impact protection rating and a 4-star rollover resistance rating.

Buying a new full-size luxury SUV is not a cost-effective use of your money, especially if you have no plans to use one for its intended purposes. They’re expensive to buy, fuel, maintain, and repair, and they rapidly lose their value starting the moment you drive one off of the dealer’s lot.

So, don’t seek value from a vehicle like the 2023 Lincoln Navigator. Instead, choose this model for its sense of style, its roomy and comfortable cabin (including the most accommodating third-row seat in the segment), its cavernous cargo hold, and its robust maximum towing capacity of 3,950 kilograms (8,700 pounds).

We like the Navigator for what it is. It has a distinctly different vibe compared to a Cadillac Escalade or a Jeep Grand Wagoneer, both of which carry a higher base price. And while the BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS are easier to maneuver and more fun to drive, they cannot match the Navigator for outright size and capability. You can get a cheaper full-size luxury SUV in the Infiniti QX80. But like the BMW and Benz, the Infiniti can’t match the Lincoln for size and scale.

So, within its class, the 2023 Lincoln Navigator is a decent deal.

Note: Images show a US model.