2025 All-New Lincoln Navigator Gets Sanctuary Treatment

While the Lincoln division continues to battle for survival, parent company Ford sees an opportunity for growth in the fullsize luxury SUV segment, namely boosting sales of the Lincoln Navigator.

The Navigator has long lingered in the shadow of the Cadillac Escalade, which has outsold it so far in 2024 five to one. Lincoln designers and engineers have brought a new level of class and comfort into the interior, mimicking what we’ve already seen in the smaller, China-made Nautilus, which is currently Lincoln’s top-selling model.

There’s no battery-electric or hybrid version of the Navigator to crow about for 2025, but there is the sweeping high-def panoramic screen in a clever and aesthetically pleasing execution in the two-tier dashboard design that began with the Nautilus. Lincoln has also introduced the “Rejuvinate” system, which includes aromatherapy and relaxing moving images and sounds displaying on the wide screen via a content partnership with Calm (the sleep-app people.)

Lest anyone think Lincoln is promoting drowsy driving, those Calm effects, an attempt to deliver on Lincoln’s promise of providing a “sanctuary” and “third place” environment for people outside of home and work, only play when the car is stationery; ditto if the driver wants to watch a football game or movie via a streaming service.

Lincoln Rejuvenate, the company’s ad writers say, is meant to be “a spa on wheels that automatically adjusts seat position – with heat and massage options, climate control, scenting, sound, lighting and expansive visuals to reduce stress and create a relaxing experience inside the vehicle.”

The all-new 2025 Navigator comes, for example, pre-loaded with a Calm Waterfall Meditation experience, as well as two other Rejuvenate themes – Aurora Borealis and Elements. Navigator clients will enjoy a complimentary one-year subscription to Calm. How does it work? While in park, a tap of the touchscreen activates a 5- to 10-minute Rejuvenate experience. The driver’s seat slides rearward, reclines, warms slightly and begins massaging. Easily personalized, the system allows for the most important vehicle information to be shown where it’s easiest to see. And profiles can be created for each driver and are associated with either a key fob or Phone as a Key, so personal preferences are displayed as the driver enters the vehicle. Profiles can be tailored to include favorite apps, as well as preferences for seat settings and steering wheel and mirror positions.

Google Assistant serves as the default voice assistant to control climate, navigation and music. Voice commands and steering-wheel thumb controls help make it easy to operate the system – and the 11.1-in. (28-cm) touchscreen also serves as a control panel.

“Navigator is the flagship of the Lincoln brand and represents our ultimate expression of sanctuary,” says Lincoln President Dianne Craig. “The all-new Navigator is more than just a vehicle; it can become a home away from home and a third space that rejuvenates clients in an entirely new way on and off the road.”

The basic exterior silhouette is not radically different. The rear half of the roofline tapers a bit for a sportier look. The chassis is a modified version of the existing one, with the front-end borrowed from the current F-Series pickup and the rear half revised to support a multi-link suspension.

The rear deck is new, as well. Think station wagons of the 1970s, like the Ford Country Squire (Ford also tested a Lincoln concept in 1978 called the Mark V station wagon). The Navigator’s rear hatch now opens in two halves. The lower half folded flat provides an extremely handy flat surface for resting a cooler or picnic basket in a tailgating situation, or a seat holding up to 600 lbs. (272 kg).

To better cultivate the chauffeured-car market, Lincoln has enhanced the second-row experience. The power-adjustable, heated, ventilated and massaging captain’s chairs or bench seat have rear-entertainment options, a wireless charging pad and USB and USB-C outlets, as well as settable climate controls. We reviewed the Black Label trim with Black Onyx leather interior, Ebony headliner and Khaya wood accents.

The powered Power Pitch and Slide second-row seats make accessing the third row as simple as the press of a button. A semi-powered second-row bench seat is optional. A class-exclusive 40/20/40 folding third-row Lincoln Soft-Touch bench seats three – or two, while still enabling cargo space for long objects such as skis.

The Enlighten theme interior put together by Lincoln’s design team is outfitted in Warm Horizon leather seating surfaces, a light beige with gray piping and stitching and laser-etched birch-wood accents. Espresso carpeting and Ebony headliner complete the Enlighten environment. Chrome has been replaced by satin aluminum accents as the chroming of metal has a harsh impact on the environment. Full-width taillamps spread across the liftgate fronted by 3D badging that lights up as part of Lincoln logo and backed by stars laser-etched into the rear panel.

Twenty-two-inch wheels are standard, with 24-in. high-gloss Ebony or Luster Nickel aluminum wheels available. The optional Jet Appearance Package offers 22-in. high-gloss Ebony black aluminum wheels, plus black exterior accents on the belt molding, grille, front bumper fascia and roof rack.

Lincoln BlueCruise hands-free highway driving is standard on the Navigator. The system includes new features such as Lane Change Assist, which allows a driver to switch lanes hands-free with a tap of the turn signal when the path is clear, and In-Lane Repositioning, which helps provide more space by subtly shifting away from vehicles in adjacent lanes.

Lincoln executives admit it is the interior experience and design that sells the Navigator, but the engine and towing specs are still important for the spread of customers, from rich hedge-fund managers in the city and suburbs to government officials and wealthy cattle ranchers.

The 2025 Navigator is powered by Ford’s twin-turbocharged 3.5L V-6 with Auto Start-Stop Technology mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission producing 440 hp and 510 ft.-lbs. (691 Nm) of torque. The standard-wheelbase Navigator has a 23.6-gallon (89.3L) fuel tank, while the long-wheelbase version has a 27.8-gallon (105.2L) tank. The chassis is a fully boxed steel frame. All-wheel drive is standard across all trims. Towing capacity is up to 8,700 lbs. with Lincoln’s available tow package.

The 2025 Navigator has excellent hardware and comfort. What it could use to bolster Lincoln’s chances of survival in the premium/luxury space is some greater street cred with wealthy buyers, whether they be urban clubbers or Texas cattle barons.