2015 Lincoln Navigator Returns Class-Leading Fuel Economy

2015 Lincoln Navigator (Credit: © Lincoln Motor Company)

Big and burly luxury SUVs are fading fast, as manufacturers move toward leaner, more balanced models based on car chassis. Lincoln, one of the founding members of this odd segment, has been long overshadowed by the Cadillac Escalade and imports, thanks to the automaker’s failure to keep the model up with the times. But this is all changing for 2015, as the Navigator starts moving away from its warmed-over-Ford feeling to more of a standalone SUV that is set to battle to regain its heavyweight belt.

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Sure, the first thing you’ll notice about the 2015 Navigator is its revised face, which now features a more Lincoln-like split-wing grille to better match the rest of the lineup, but you’ll also notice a revised set of headlights, a new lower grille, and a few other nips and tucks. With these changes, it’s obvious that the main issue at hand when refreshing the 2015 Navigator was to eliminate that feeling of it being an Expedition with a Lincoln badge slapped on the grille, and Lincoln did just enough to make that happen.

Whereas the exterior mods are slight but immediately noticeable, the under-the-skin modifications are more drastic, but take some driving to really notice. The biggest change for 2015 is the elimination of the fuel-hungry, 5.4-liter V-8 and the installation of the 3.5-liter, EcoBoost V-6. This V-6 powerplant injects 380 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque into the large SUV — a 70-horsepower and 95-pound-feet bump over the old V-8.

The engine is mated to a six-speed auto transmission and a 4.10-to-1 axle to deliver excellent torque, helping the Lincoln boast a best-in-class 9,000-pound towing capacity. Likewise, the Navigator also receives best-in-class fuel-economy ratings, as its standard-wheelbase, two-wheel-drive variant delivers 16 mpg city, 22 mpg highway and 18 mpg combined. That’s a huge bump over the 2014 model’s 14 mpg city, 20 mpg highway and 16 mpg combined ratings.

Good fuel-economy numbers continue throughout the Navigator’s range, as the four-wheel-drive, standard-wheelbase model returns 15 mpg city, 20 mpg highway and 17 mpg combined. Also available are long-wheelbase models in two-wheel and four-wheel drive, and the former gets 15 mpg city, 20 mpg highway and 17 mph combined, while the latter gets 1 mpg less on the highway and combined.

The 2015 Navigator will go on sale later in 2014 with a base price of $62,475.