Lincoln is in the midst of a product Renaissance with models like the
well-received navigator full-size luxury SUV and next up is the all-new 2020 a
v-8 er it's a midsize three row luxury SUV that's designed to compete against
models like the Audi q7 and Volvo xc90 we're here in Napa Valley to drive both
the gas only and plug-in hybrid versions of The Aviator for the first time to see
if it has what it takes to compete with true luxury SUVs we spent much of the
day driving on winding two-lane roads and it really allowed the Aviators twin
turbocharged three litre v6 powertrain to shine the engine makes 400 horsepower
415 pounds feet of torque and it is really strong and helped power the
Aviator uphills had good passing power when you needed
it and it works with a responsive 10 speed automatic transmission that makes
smooth refined shifts the plug-in hybrid version of The Aviator is even more
powerful but there are some differences in terms of the driving experience it's
rated at 494 horsepower 630 pounds-feet of torque so it's
definitely a performance-oriented hybrid but the drivetrain is not as crisp as
the gas only version it still works with the 10 speed automatic transmission but
it has an electric motor integrated with it and also the brakes have a different
feel they're not as linear as the traditional brakes are the plug-in
hybrid offers a pure evie mode which lets you operate the vehicle in
electric-only mode and it'll stay in electric-only mode even if you floor the
gas pedal which is different than some other plug-in hybrids you get moderate
acceleration in an indicator on the dash saying if you want to switch out of it
for greater performance now the plug-in hybrid is estimated about 18 miles of
range on a full charge in about 23 miles per gallon come
mind which is a few miles per gallon greater than the gas only version both
the regular and plug-in hybrid aviator had Lincoln's available air glide air
suspension and it offers a comfortable ride but at the same time these vehicles
were equipped with 22 inch wheels on the gas model in 21 inch wheels on the
plug-in hybrid version and these wheels had low-profile tires that kind of
counteract what the air suspension is trying to do the air suspension wants
you to give you this comfortable ride where these low-profile tires really
pick up some of the bumps and breaks in the pavement where they exist so kind of
two things working against each other but the different drive modes really
allow you to see how adaptive this suspension can be there's the normal
drive mode which allows some body motions but when you switch it to the
Excite mode which is Lincoln's version for like a performance setting the
Aviator really hunkers down and it was great to have this mode when we were
taking to all the winding roads on the drive route and it really turned it into
a much better handling SUV and made it a lot more fun to drive the combination of
adaptive cruise control and Lane centering steering manage a lot of the
functions a driver would otherwise be responsible for though you still have to
be engaged in the act of driving because the system is quick to remind you if
your hand is off the steering wheel for too long the interiors of both aviators
were the same we drove high-end Black Label versions of the SUV and its really
nicely finished on the inside with a lot of soft touch surfaces and high-end
materials throughout the driver faces a configurable digital instrument panel
and there's also a large screen in the center of the dash that's easy to reach
and operate our Aviators had the available perfect position 30 Way active
motion seats and some of those adjustments include a power adjustable
head restraint an upper backrest angle side bolster and a massage feature and
even though they had all these adjustments it still took me a while to
find a comfortable seating position and even then I thought the seats were kind
of narrow and that also applied to the second row
chairs which are kind of on the small side for being a captain's chair design
they're narrow you kind of sit with not a lot of thigh support moving back to
the third row it's definitely an occasional use space I climb back there
but there's not a lot of legroom for adults and you sit with your knees
elevated and not the most comfortable position as mentioned we were driving
high-end expensive versions of the aviator but in this form it stacks up
well to the q7 and xc90 thanks to its interior quality technology and
performance the aviator starts at around fifty two thousand dollars before a
Black Label plug-in hybrid version the price tag can approach ninety thousand
dollars the aviator is starting to hit dealerships as we speak and if you'd
like to learn more about the vehicle head over to cars.com