There’s a new Lincoln Aviator coming and it’s a more interesting vehicle than you’d think. The outside says Range Rover, the inside says Mercedes and under the skin is a new rear-wheel drive unibody we haven’t seen yet.
This is a weird moment in time as every major car company that wasn’t selling a crossover is finally getting on the wave, and every car company that was is now doubling down with more crossover models. VW finally has the Atlas out and is getting more there. Cadillac had the SRX/XT5 and is now backing it up with the XT4. Now Lincoln, with the smaller MKX and the bigger Navigator, is slotting the Aviator back in the middle.
Obviously this is a concept car so one shouldn’t get too worked up about how it looks, but it’s a super clean design. It’s like a Range Rover with a different face.
Clean lines run the length of the vehicle.
The interior is the good part, though. Honestly, there’s a lot here that looks like the Mercedes S-Class I was last in. That’s... fine? That’s fine. These speaker grilles and seat controls look right out of a Benz, as do the wide center controls.
Lincoln is showing this Aviator concept as a plug-in hybrid, which is a nice gesture but feels kind of weak in this day of electric SUVs. Lincoln also says that you can unlock the car with your phone. As someone who spends too much time on my phone, this is the devil’s work. I trust nothing with regards to my phone and security. Also I don’t want to ever fiddle with my phone to get things in my car to work. Some things are nicer in analog.
In any case, I do look forward to seeing these things clog upper-class driveways in neighborhoods where a Velar would be seen as too ostentatious.