The 2020 Lincoln Aviator takes flight with plug-in hybrid power
Cars
Looking for a luxurious three row American SUV but don't want something so large as a navigator?
Well, maybe the 2020 Lincoln Aviator should be on your list.
It boasts sitting for up to seven, and it's a much smaller package plus it looks a lot better than the MKT that it replaces.
Grab shot go me and I'll explain everything.
That's new.
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The 2020 Aviator debuts a number of first technologies for the Lincoln brand, starting with the ability to leave the key fob at home and just use your Bluetooth enabled smartphone as the key.
Now we go into detail about how this technology works How you can use your phone to enter and start the car, and why you want it, why it's so awesome.
So be sure to check out that separate video for that.
This is also the first Lincoln model to use this three liter twin turbo-charged V6 plugin hybrid powertrain.
That's a lot to digest, so let's unpack it a bit.
Now the base engine for the Aviator is a three liter twin turbocharged V6 engine.
And that's gonna make 400 horsepower and 415 pound feet of torque which it puts through a ten speed automatic transmission on its way to either the rear wheels or an all wheel drive system.
Now I drove that car earlier today and it is no slouch.
For this Black Label green touring that I'm in right now steps the game up with a plug in hybrid power train added on top of that.
Power steps up to 494 horsepower and a whopping 630 pounds of torque.
That is a significant upgrade in passing power.
This is a lot of fun to drive this car.
But not just that, with a 16 kilowatt hour lithium ion battery pack, we also have about 20 miles of fully electric range at the beginning of each fully charged trip, and that's got the potential to greatly increase the efficiency of this SUV, as well.
Aside from a pretty significant price hike, which we'll talk about later, I can't actually think of any reason not to go with the hybrid version of The Aviator.
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Now another first for Lincoln in this vehicle is a system that balances a controlled ride with the comfortable one.
The so called adaptive suspension with road preview, uses cameras to scan the road ahead, looking potholes and bumps in the road.
And when it detects one is coming, it can temporarily soften the suspension to better absorb that blow, without bothering the passengers who ar on board.
The best thing that I can say about this system is that I barely notice that it's working.
And that's a really good thing.
And you're just left with a ride that feels good in the corners but isn't punishing over the bumps.
Now the 2020 Aviator is also gonna come standard with Lincoln's Co-pilot 360 suite of driver aid features, and that's gonna roll in things like blind-spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alerts And more.
However we've upgraded to Co-Pilot 360 Plus, which upgrades to a number or active safety features.
Things like adaptive cruise control that works in stop and go traffic, and lane centering steering assist.
We've also got an advanced Parking Assist plus system that automatically steers this vehicle into a parking spot but it also handles all of the direction changes in braking that you would normally need to do in that situation.
It's really interesting to watch it do its thing.
Now all of that technology and performance is wrapped in a package that is very attractive.
This car sort of takes the Lincoln Navigator design language and just distills it down to a much more athletic and smaller appearance.
And personally, I prefer the proportions of this vehicle a lot more to the big old Navigator.
Meanwhile the driver is wrapped in a very nice cockpit, with high quality leather on the dashboard, nice stitching here, some interesting finish on the center console, and all the touch points feel really nice.
I'm sitting on Lincoln's perfect position seat which features 30 way adjustability and massage function for the driver and front passenger.
Really comfortable.
In front of me, I got a 12-inch digital cockpit and just to my right, there is a 10-inch version of the latest generation of think Infotainment.
It's a really nice looking screen with crisp graphics and I really like the new sync interphase.
But the way that the screen just pokes up out of the dashboard makes it seems like a bit of a sore thumb in an otherwise really high-quality cabin.
On the other hand, the way that it pokes out means that it's very easy to reach and that's very important with it being a touchscreen that I don't have to stretch very far to hit the upper corner.
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Overall I'm really impressed with this new link Navi Behavior.
Especially the very powerful plug in hybrid version that I'm in right now.
I think it's going to compare nicely with the likes of the kind of like XT6 and the long wheelbase Lexus RX when it hits the road later this year.
Heck I think it'll actually be a really strong alternative to what Audi and Mercedes Benz are also doing in this space.
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Now I know you didn't think I forgot about the price.
The 2020 Lincoln aviator takes off at 52000 for the base model with that 400 horsepower v6.
However, it climbs to a cruising altitude of 88000 bucks for our black label grand touring gear.
That's a lot of money but 630 pound feet of torque should make you feel a little bit better about it.
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