For much of the 20th century, the Cadillac-versus-Lincoln thing mattered. It had significance well beyond quarterly earnings and the automotive industry. For many, it was about national pride.

Today, nobody really cares. For too long, that rivalry has been a fight for last place. It’s like the Bengals–Browns game; there are a few die-hards still sitting in the stands, but America has tuned out.



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Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop the clock. One look inside the 2018 Navigator’s comprehensively overhauled interior—particularly that of our ne plus ultra Black Label example—shows that this is not badge engineering business as usual; Lincoln appears to be trying like it cares again. And Cadillac knows it, refusing to make an Escalade available for a comparison test.

The Navigator is not just the largest, most opulent, and most powerful Lincoln ever; it delivers what an American luxury vehicle should in this day and age, in the market segment where luxury buyers have gathered. And Lincoln charges for the privilege. With only a few options, including a rear-seat entertainment system, our Navigator L Black Label 4x4 test vehicle cost $101,765.

Shaped with restraint, the Navigator’s lines are clean and its exterior chrome bits are tastefully applied, starting with the recessed grille that’s large but proportional to the vehicle. The grille’s design is familiar from Lincoln’s MKZ and Continental, as is its grate, which features a pattern of Lincoln’s star logo—itself an adaptation of the emblem used on the Continental Mark II in the mid-1950s. The larger star in the grille’s center lights up, which is a little over the top and derivative of Mercedes-Benz, but it’s a welcome shot of pizazz.

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The Lincoln’s horizontal taillights add visual width. Unfortunately, its exhaust is hidden from view under the rear bumper on the passenger side, just as it is on the Ford Expedition. This may be a design choice or a cost-cutting measure. Either way, it’s an opportunity for the aftermarket: This thing begs for a couple of large chrome exhaust pipes.

At 221.9 inches long, the Navigator L is still a few inches shorter than the Escalade ESV, but park it next to a Mercedes GLS or a Land Rover Range Rover and it dwarfs the Europeans. Its long, smooth flanks mimic the look of the Navigator concept that stole the 2016 New York auto show. The concept’s understated badging, blacked-out pillars, and turbine-style wheels also made the cut, although its massive gullwing doors, which wowed show goers and highlighted the concept’s impressive interior, did not.

Much of the Navigator has been plucked from the parts bin. Large chunks of its aluminum body, which Lincoln claims saves some 200 pounds over the 2017 model, are taken from the Expedition. On our scales, though, the difference between our Black Label tester and a 2016 Navigator L 4x4 amounted to just 31 pounds. The front of the steel ladder frame is similar to that of the Expedition and F-150 pickup. The rear of the frame and the design of the Navigator’s independent multilink rear suspension are shared with the former, and they’re essentially unchanged from last year’s model. Cadillac’s Escalade still uses a solid rear axle, just like a 1967 Chevy C10.

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Under the ’Gator’s hood is the Ford F-150 Raptor’s twin-turbocharged DOHC 3.5-liter V-6 and 10-speed automatic transmission. As in the pickup, this engine makes 450 horsepower at 5000 rpm and 510 lb-ft of torque at 3500 rpm, which shades the output of the Caddy’s 420-hp 6.2-liter V-8.

With EPA ratings of 16 mpg city and 21 mpg highway, the Lincoln is also more fuel efficient than before. Making liberal use of its nonintrusive stop/start system, we averaged 15 mpg during two weeks of mixed driving around Los Angeles.

The V-6 is smooth and refined and fires with a mild rasp. A strong bottom-end punch and a 5900-rpm redline make it a perfect match for the 10-speed automatic, a unit engineered and built in a Ford/GM partnership. Its programming is spot on in the Navigator. Part-throttle gearchanges are tight and snappy, and the transmission always seems to be in the right gear at the right time.

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We prefer Caddy’s V-8 rumble, but the Lincoln’s V-6 has a pleasing, deep burble. And you can hear it inside the cabin, but only because Lincoln pipes it in through the speakers.

There’s more chrome inside the Navigator than out and more perforated leather than we’ve ever seen in one place. The headliner and pillars are covered in yards and yards of faux suede, and the huge front and rear consoles present an array of wood, piano-black trim, brightwork, and knurled knobs. Even the dash-mounted push-button shifter is trimmed with chrome, as are the parking-brake and engine-start buttons. And this is not a case of simply layering better materials on top of Expedition bits; the Navigator’s interior is impressively differentiated from the Ford’s, with an entirely different dash and center-console design, gear selector, and even Lincoln-specific turn-signal and wiper stalks.

The gauges and infotainment arrangement are Navigator specific, too; a configurable 12.0-inch screen displays the elegant instrumentation, and a 10.0-inch touchscreen atop the dashboard handles the infotainment and navigation duties. The features list seems endless and yet par for the segment, from rear audio controls and onboard Wi-Fi to a 360-degree camera setup. There are also illuminated, power-operating running boards; a heated steering wheel; power-folding second and third rows; and a gargantuan panoramic sunroof. Our truck’s optional Perfect Position Seating package offered 30-way adjustment, three heat settings, three ventilation settings, and massage for the front seats. The second-row captain’s chairs are not quite as lavish as the fronts, but they’re heated, they recline, and they slide forward easily to provide access to the spacious third-row bench that can seat three. There are also air-conditioning vents throughout the headliner and buttons in the cargo area that drop the second and third rows flat for maximum cargo capacity.

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That said, Lincoln could work on simplifying things a little. A few too many features and setting options are buried in a sea of menus between the truck’s two screens.

At 6330 pounds, the ’Gator shouldn’t be quick, but it is. Half throttle leaves traffic for dead and handles most highway passes easily, as the transmission is quick to give you a few downshifts and a burst of power. Full throttle shifts the load back and unweights the front suspension, raising the truck’s big beak in the air like a ’60s muscle car. Upshifts are firmer now and right on redline as the closely spaced gears click off quickly and the full-size SUV pushes past 100 mph with little effort.

At the test track, the Navigator produced drama-free launches and a zero-to-60-mph time of just 5.5 seconds. That’s a full second quicker than its predecessor and 0.3 second quicker than the last Escalade we tested, in 2016, a lighter standard-length truck equipped with an eight-speed automatic. Cadillac has since upgraded its SUV with the same 10-speed found in the Navigator, which will no doubt help its launch times and its fuel-economy numbers, too. The Lincoln’s quarter-mile run of 14.2 seconds at 98 mph isn’t AMG quick but is plenty spry for a vehicle standing taller than six feet and weighing more than three tons.

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The Navigator’s ride is compromised by the Black Label’s standard 22-inch rollers. It isn’t uncomfortable, per se, but it’s busier than it should be, with too much road intrusion into the seat, pedals, and steering wheel. Considering the Lincoln’s 131.6-inch wheelbase, we expected the Navigator to glide effortlessly over the road, but it doesn’t. It can’t help that, with the Black Label’s 22-inchers, each corner of the truck carries 93 pounds’ worth of wheel and tire. The Range Rover and Mercedes-Benz GLS, as well as luxury sedans such as the Porsche Panamera and Mercedes S-class, do a better job of isolating you from the pavement’s nooks and crannies.

Body motions are well controlled, but large impacts reveal the Navigator’s truck-based roots. The SUV also suffers from occasional cab quiver and surprisingly audible groans from its cargo area as its structure flexes.

In Normal mode, the Lincoln’s steering is lifeless on-center, but it tightens up if you switch over to Excite, which retunes the transmission for more aggressive gearholding and stiffens the dampers. There’s also a Conserve mode to help increase fuel efficiency, and there are settings to adjust the all-wheel-drive system for slippery surfaces and deep snow. Each is confirmed with an elaborate graphic that momentarily takes over the SUV’s sizable instrumentation screen.

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Despite its name, Excite mode does not turn the Navigator into a Porsche 911. On twisty sections of California State Route 74 south of Palm Springs, it proved confident and capable, but a cooking podcast is more exciting. So the Navigator may not be fun to toss around, but push it in the corners and it does hang in there, even at an enthusiast’s pace. The guy in the E-class couldn’t believe we were glued to his tail.

The 20.5:1 steering ratio should be quicker to give this barge more athletic response, but there are some elements of sportiness here: The transmission does match revs when you ask for a downshift with the paddle shifter, and the Navigator turns in well and takes a positive set. Reach the limits of its Hankook Dynapro HT tires, though, and it understeers mildly to warn you away from further speed. By then you’ve fried its brakes anyway, which are wooden and cook quickly under the Navigator’s bulk. The smaller Mercedes GLS can't tow 8100 pounds like the Lincoln, but it’s a far more engaging drive for about the same money.

Although the 2018 Navigator isn’t exactly our jam, there’s no doubt it redefines the top of the American-full-size-SUV game. The gang responsible for the Escalade better strap on the pads and lace up their cleats good and tight, because this rivalry is about to retake the field. And for the first time in a generation, maybe two, people will be tuning in.

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