Car Reviews: 2007 Lincoln Navigator

The 2007 Lincoln Navigator has been substantially redesigned in an effort to re-establish itself at the top of a category it more or less invented. It remains a big, heavy, luxurious sport-utility vehicle, with most of the advantages and disadvantages that go with big sport-utility vehicles.

The Navigator is now offered in two versions: the standard size, and an even larger, longer, Navigator L. With the exception of its 300-hp, 5.4-liter V8 engine and six-speed automatic transmission, everything inside and out has been thoroughly revised. It's still available with rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive.

We'd call the 2007 Navigator an across-the-board improvement, except perhaps in the very subjective area of styling. Yet it's an incremental improvement, and it doesn't restore the clear edge Lincoln once had among full-size luxury SUVs. While Navigator hits the basic targets set for such vehicles, it's not loaded with emotional appeal.

The Navigator is essentially a truck, with a ladder-type box frame and separate body. As such, it's not as responsive, certainly not as sedan-like, as the unit-body sport-utilities proliferating at the high end of the market. But it's a smooth, quiet truck, with lots of noise- and vibration-mitigating technology and a fully independent rear suspension.

The Navigator also is very big. That means lots of passenger room and a full-size third seat, acres of cargo carrying space and impressive towing capacity. It's well equipped with safety features, including full-cabin head protection airbags, electronic stability control and a rollover protection system. Its styling seems deliberately retrogressive, probably in an effort to recreate the romance of Lincoln's glory days. Those who embrace the styling will find a nice finish inside, with rich wood and leather, and nearly all the bells and whistles available in luxury sedans.

With the upward trend in gasoline prices, big, luxurious sport-utility vehicles have lost some of their luster as a group. Still, the strengths that made them popular to begin with remain: real space for eight passengers, high bling factor and the comfort and convenience of an expensive sedan with the towing and load potential of a truck. The Lincoln Navigator shares those strengths at a competitive luxury-class price, and it doesn't even require premium fuel.

The 2007 Lincoln Navigator is available with a standard or long wheelbase, and rear-wheel or four-wheel drive. Any version of this full-size sport-utility vehicle can seat either seven or eight. All are powered by a 300-hp 5.4-liter V8 with a six-speed automatic transmission.

The Lincoln Navigator 4x2 ($45,755) and Navigator 4x4 ($48,655) come with features expected in the luxury class. Leather upholstery and a choice of Dark Ebony or lighter Anigre wood trim are standard. Two second-row captain's chairs also are standard, though a three-place split bench seat is available at no charge.

Standard features include a high-watt stereo with six-CD changer and auxiliary jack, three-zone automatic climate control with rear-seat fan and controls, leather-and-wood steering wheel with audio and climate controls, front seat position memory, power-deploying running boards, rear park sensor warning, roof rack, high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, fog lamps and complimentary maintenance for one year.

The Navigator L 4x2 ($48,775) and Navigator L 4x4 ($51,655) are 14.7 inches longer than the standard models. Passenger accommodations are essentially the same, but the Navigator L provides an additional 25 cubic feet of cargo volume behind the third seat.

The most popular option grouping is the Ultimate Package ($2,000), which adds heated and cooled front seats, Lincoln's power-folding third seat, power liftgate and power moonroof. The Elite Package ($5,575) is the full ride, and includes a voice-activated navigation system, rear-seat DVD entertainment package with eight-inch screen, and the Preferred Appearance package, which adds custom seat stitching, contrasting piping and embroidered Lincoln logos.

The navigation system ($1,995) and rear-seat DVD entertainment ($2,485) are available separately. Other stand-alone options include Sirius Satellite Radio hardware ($195) with a six-month subscription, a remote starter ($445), 20-inch chromed wheels ($1,495) and a heavy-duty tow package ($595).

The Navigator's standard safety features meet the luxury-class baseline: dual-stage front airbags, front occupant side-impact airbags and curtain-style head protection airbags for all outboard seats. The curtain bags feature a rollover sensor, and all Navigators are equipped with Lincoln's AdvanceTrac anti-skid stability program. This system features Roll Stability Control, which uses a gyroscopic roll-rate sensor to enhance rollover resistance. Four-channel antilock brakes (ABS) and a tire-pressure monitor also are standard.

Lincoln calls its 2007 Navigator all-new, and extensive changes inside and out might warrant that description. Even the smaller of the two 2007 models is larger than the 2006 Navigator, which already was a very large vehicle. Indeed, the 2007 is the largest luxury-class sport-utility available, and one of the largest passenger vehicles on the market.

The Navigator remains what we'd call a truck. It's built on a pickup-style ladder frame, with a separate body bolted to that frame, rather than welded into one unit. But unlike most truck-based vehicles, the Navigator features a fully independent rear suspension, which tends to promote smoother ride and handling than the solid rear axle on the typical truck.

The Navigator L is nearly 15 inches longer than the standard model, extending its full length to almost 19 feet. The extra length does not significantly change passenger accommodations, however. Besides making this big sport-utility even more challenging to park, the Navigator L's additional size translates entirely into an additional 25 cubic feet of storage space behind the third seat. That extra space (by itself) is about 30 percent larger than the trunk in a full-size luxury sedan like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or Lexus LS460.

In general, the 2007 Navigator looks longer than its predecessors, perhaps lower and even a bit sleeker. The basic shape is clean, if slightly bland. It's mostly sheer, tapered surfaces, consistent across the vehicle, with a chrome strip running below the windows. The profile is tidy for such a big vehicle, almost lean. Our issues with the styling rest in the details.

The ends of this sport-utility were clearly designed in Lincoln's new, retro-style brand theme. The eye is immediately drawn to the big, intricate grille in front. Its horizontal and vertical lines are supposed to inspire thoughts of Lincoln's Star logo, and the high-intensity beam headlights on either side add a jeweled, classy look. A second, thinner grille below the bumper replicates the bigger one above, flanked in this case by the fog lights.

The taillights could be lifted from Lincoln's MKZ sedan. They're shaped like wings that cut into the liftgate and wrap around the rear corners, with chrome edging and a hard contrast between the red and white sections.

The details seem to be an attempt to spice up an otherwise staid look, as if Lincoln is trying to out-bling popular competitors like the Cadillac Escalade. The optional chrome hood accent is basically a thick piece of chrome tacked on the end of the hood above the grille. We'd call it hideous, and find the Navigator much more attractive without it. We don't care much for the shiny steel plates at the bottom of the doors, either, but you might. Look at both options.

The Navigator comes standard with 18-inch double-spoke alloy wheels. The optional chromed 20-inch wheels aren't as disturbing as the chrome hood schnoz, and we like their size. They do, however, have an adverse effect on ride quality and interior noise.

Two exterior features have definite benefits. The outside mirrors are large, with repeating turn signals along the bottom edge and approach lamps underneath. The lamps light when the doors are unlocked with the remote key fob, and cast a nice circle of visibility around the doors. More than that, the big mirrors retract against the windows with the touch of a button. You'll appreciate this convenience when you pull a vehicle as large as the Navigator into a garage.

This Navigator also retains its trademark retractable running boards. When the doors open, these drop and extend about five inches, creating a step that makes climbing in and out easier. Now, they are more artfully integrated into the overall exterior design, almost impossible to detect when the doors are closed.

strengths. It will actually seat adults approaching six feet in reasonable comfort, as long as they're willing to climb back. The longer Navigator L does not increase rear seat legroom, though it does add a few millimeters more hip and headroom.

Lincoln's optional power-folding rear seat is an exclusive among luxury sport-utility vehicles. It's easy to use and can be handy, but it could be even better. The seat is split, and operates with a pair of toggle switches just inside the power liftgate. Simply press one or both, and one or both seat halves fold flat to the load-floor level. We'd like it better if there were redundant switches on the dash, as there are for the rear sliding doors on a minivan, for example. And if the rear-seat headrests are up, the driver has to lean into (or climb into) the rear to manually release them before the power folding mechanism will work.

Presumably size matters when it comes to full-size sport-utility vehicles, and the Navigator's advantages in passenger accommodations also extend to cargo capacity. With the Navigator L, for example, there is 42.7 cubic feet of storage space behind the upright third seat. That's considerably more than any other luxury sport-utility, and almost as much as in the typical mid-size wagon with its rear seats folded. There's also a standard cargo divider that folds up out of the floor behind the seats. It essentially splits the load area in half, and limits the space over which packages or bags might slide back and forth.

Fold both the second- and third-row seats, and the Navigator L opens a whopping 129 cubic feet of cargo space. For perspective, that's more space than the entire interior volume of most passenger vehicles on the road. It's tops among luxury SUVs, beating Infiniti's big QX56 by three cubic feet. Moreover, the dimensions of the Navigator L's load floor are largest in the class, with enough space for four-by-eight sheets of building material.

The 2007 Lincoln Navigator and Navigator L are very large vehicles, with advantages and disadvantages that go with large vehicles. One of the advantages is the view forward from the driver's seat. Very few fellow motorists will be able to obstruct your sight lines when you're driving a Navigator.

Another advantage is space. The Navigator is as big or bigger inside than any luxury-class sport-utility vehicle. The driver almost needs an intercom to converse with someone sitting waaay back in the third seat.

Well, not really. The Navigator is very quiet inside for a truck, and generally quite smooth, almost placid. If you tend to drive placidly you will probably like this vehicle. Initially, the brake pedal feels a little soft, but it's very progressive in application and easy to master for smooth, even stops, despite a curb weight exceeding 6,000 pounds for all-wheel drive models. With a little practice, the driver can avoid the fore-aft bobbing that can make motion-sensitive passengers feel car-sick in big trucks.

The Navigator is full of noise-mitigating technology, including acoustically dampened glass in the windshield and side windows. The body boom familiar in vehicles that are essentially big steel boxes, which often comes across as pulses of air hitting the eardrums, is nearly eliminated in the Navigator. The quiet seems to emphasize noise generated by the tires, which is the only noticeable encroachment on the solitude inside. The optional 20-inch wheels and low-profile tires are plain noisy, be it whacking over bumps and pavement joints or just the steady hum of tread on the road surface. Typically, we prefer the appearance of larger wheels, but the price of style is high in the Navigator. We recommend the standard 18-inch wheels and higher-sidewall tires.

The Navigator is as smooth inside as any body-on-frame truck we've tested, and generally free of annoying vibration. The ride is smooth, too (except for the effect of the 20-inch wheels), thanks partly to the fully independent rear suspension. Moreover, the rear suspension helps keep the rear tires pressed to the pavement on bumpy surfaces, eliminating most of that skipping feeling familiar in trucks with solid rear axles. There's no axle tramping over bumps or undulations, and a reasonably smooth driver can keep the Navigator's body (and those inside) nice and level through turns.

Steering is on the heavy side, perhaps surprisingly so in this type of vehicle. The good news here is that, for tracking curves or changing lanes, the steering feels responsive, direct and reasonably quick. The bad? In big, slow-speed turns, such as trying to whip into a parking space, the heavy steering feel can slow things down. Those who like the steering in smaller sedans will probably like the Navigator's. Those expecting airy, old-school Lincoln Towne Car response may not.

All Navigators come standard with Lincoln's AdvanceTrac stability control system, which monitors factors such as yaw rate and steering-wheel position to determine whether the truck is turning as its driver intends. AdvanceTrac can reduce engine power or selectively apply the brakes at individual wheels to correct a skid almost before it starts. Roll Stability Control, another component of AdvanceTrac, monitors body roll with a gyroscopic sensor and takes corrective action to reduce the chance of rolling over. Neither can defy the laws of physics, but in many cases they can prevent a moment's inattention from turning to disaster. An increasing number of studies seem to validate the value of such skid-management systems in the real world.

Bottom line, the Navigator rides comfortably and handles competently in nearly every situation. Just don't try to get racy. This vehicle amounts to a lot of mass to move, and in quick, hard, left-right turns, all that weight wants to sway in the direction opposite of your choosing. There's not a lot of ultimate grip in the all-season tires, either, and it doesn't take too violent a maneuver to get them to slide. A skilled driver could probably make the Navigator go faster than it should, but it wouldn't be fun and passengers wouldn't like it one bit. This big sport-utility is pleasant enough to command, but by nearly any definition of fun-to-drive, it isn't.

The engine won't let you get too racy in any case. In 2001, Navigator was the first full-sized luxury sport-utility vehicle to hit the 300-hp barrier. Six years later, its 5.4-liter single-overhead cam Triton V8 still generates a maximum 300 horsepower, and virtually every other big SUV has passed it by. The Triton delivers torque evenly, with similar thrust whether the engine is already turning 1,000 or 4,000 rpm, and the six-speed automatic transmission is a definite plus. There's more than enough acceleration in the Navigator to merge safely or turn quickly across traffic, and it's probably quicker than what we considered a fairly quick car in the mid-1990s. Yet at the bottom line, the Navigator accelerates more slowly than just about any luxury sport-utility we've driven in the last few years.

The automatic transmission, on the other hand, might be the best. The Navigator's six-speed comes from ZF of Germany, and it was the first of its kind in a full-size SUV. This is the same transmission used in Jaguar's flagship XJ sedan and other big luxury cars, and it's both smooth and responsive. It performs almost exactly as we like, shifting up or down when we would if we were doing it with a gear-change and clutch, and almost never shifting inappropriately. It will hold a gear when going downhill, for example, maximizing engine braking and reducing the need to use the wheel brakes.

And while Navigator is down on power compared to competitors, a combination of factors, including the transmission, give it excellent towing capacity. Its 8,950-pound maximum tow rating is surpassed only by the Infiniti QX56, and only by 50 pounds. Moreover, its Triton V8 runs on 87-octane regular, while nearly all the other vehicles in this class demand premium fuel.

Navigator's size will appeal to some buyers, but it also brings some obvious disadvantages. It's not an easy vehicle to park (even the shorter model), and if you can parallel park this truck with any kind of consistency, you deserve some sort of award. Rear park distance control is standard, but the system offers only an electronic beep, without the graphic indicators available in some vehicles. It does not offer the increasingly popular (and effective) back-up camera.

The 2007 Navigator hits the most important marks for a full-size sport-utility vehicle. It's relatively smooth, quiet and huge both inside and out. While the styling is hard to peg, all models come equipped with lots of safety features and nearly all the luxury bells and whistles. Its base price is lower than most of its competitors, before dealer incentives, and it runs on regular gasoline where nearly all others require premium. Its tow rating is among the highest in the class. Some will find Navigator bland. Those who regularly transport lots of passengers and stuff, and those who tow heavy loads, should find it worthy.

NewCarTestDrive.com correspondent J.P. Vettraino filed this report from Detroit.