Growing up in the 1960s I was aware primarily of two luxury car makes, Cadillac and Lincoln.
Sure, Mercedes-Benz and others existed, but in my hometown of Indianapolis, Caddy and Lincoln ruled, much as they did across the US.
Both makes still create luxury vehicles, mostly SUVs now, and Lincoln is still rebounding from some lean years. Yet the 3-row Navigator I drove last summer and the new mid-size Nautilus tested this week prove Lincoln is solidly back in the luxury game.
Nautilus Black Label not only is slathered in leather and soft sensuous cashmere inside, but equipped with a massive amount of high-tech features, everything from useful BlueCruise, its hands-free driving system, to the Rejuvenate system that coddles its occupants both visually and literally through the seat of their pants.
In case you missed my Navigator review, here’s how Rejuvenate works.
First, Lincoln incorporates a 48-inch-wide digital display screen across the dash’s top, so stretching basically door to door, or A-pillar to A-pillar. Press a dotted button on the dash and the 11.1-inch info screen offers up 20 apps for the driver to use, everything from games and messages to Apple Car Play and Android Auto. Ah, but the hero here is Rejuvenate.
Tap that and you’re off to Never-Never Land, sort of.
Watch our video of the Rejuvenate system:
Pick one of four visual options from waterfalls, water droplets, a chirpy forest, to the glowing Aurora Borealis. Pick a 5- or 10-minute relax session. (You must be stationary and the SUV in Park!) The screen displays the natural wonders you selected and will engage your massaging front seats while talking to you in a very relaxed voice, suggesting you breathe deeply, relax, etc.
All this is designed to help Center a driver, or relax them on a long drive, or after a stressful day. There’s also an app labeled Elevated Journey with various playlists of motivational talk therapists giving you a relaxed pep talk to lighten your spirits.
That’s just the beginning.
There also are heated and cooled massaging front seats one can engage at any point, again through the info screen. And those seats are 24-way adjustable up front, with heating for the outer rear seats too, but no massage.
Prefer music to calming yoga master monologues? Lincoln covers you in this Black Label edition with a 28-speaker Revel Ultima 3-D audio system. Devine sound!
But there’s more sensory soothing with premium leather seats, gray in the Gray Matter Metallic ($750 extra) test Nautilus. The outer edges are soft-touch leather with the center seating cushions coated in suede. This along with the sound deadening materials create a peaceful interior.
One more thing, over your noggin is a cashmere headliner. I don’t recall that in any previous luxury SUV.
Wrapping up the luxury interior the gray leather swooshes onto the door panels along with piano black gloss trim and jewel-like satin chrome speaker covers. The driver gets three memory settings too and a leather-wrapped heated oval steering wheel delivers the message that this is not your grandpa’s Lincoln. The oval shape leaning more toward a Tesla steering yolk.
With all that focus on the interior one might think the Lincoln is trying to disguise some older mechanical tech, but au contraire, this Black Label model adds a hybrid powertrain for $2,500 extra.
But it’s a gem combining hybrid technology to extend gas mileage and provide more power, with an already muscular 2.0-liter turbo I4. This nets 310 horsepower, up from the standard 250 horses in the non-hybrid Nautilus models. Coupled to a silky CVT the power is delivered smoothly and in Excite mode, with plenty of oomph. Several other drive modes allow for more economical gas use and dealing with slick or snow-covered streets.
As gas prices soar currently this hybrid system helps make the mid-size Nautilus more economical, even with the added up-front cost.
I got 27.1 mpg in a mix of driving and the EPA rates this at 29 mpg city and 31 highway, pretty awesome for this size SUV. According to dash gauges roughly 25% of my driving was with electric power, thanks to the hybrid.
Ford and Lincoln also excel at providing hands-free driving for those who want or need it. BlueCruise is the system and I’ve had predictable results with it now in several vehicles. It keeps the vehicle centered in lanes but will drive long distances on freeways without need of a driver’s input. Impressive!
Ride is well controlled as one would expect in a luxury SUV with a 114-inch wheelbase. Some jiggle on the worst city streets, but never a harsh ride and not the bounce one sometimes gets in longer more truck-like SUVs.
Safety features are primo here too with all the expected pre-collision warnings and braking, blind-spot and backup alerts. Automatic high-beam headlights are standard too.
Not much to whine about other than the usual giant A-pillars that all trucks and SUVs have. The passenger-side pillar being the one that sometimes intrudes on side vision at intersections.
And I’m not sure what Lincoln’s thinking is on stationary air vents, but it seems to be a trend. I’d like to be able to adjust them sideways or down so cold or hot air is not pouring out on either of my hands on the steering wheel. During a warm spell I turned the climate controls off to keep my fingers from freezing.
A few other strong points though include the power tilt/telescope steering wheel making it easy to position for any size driver, plus the 24-way power seats helped there too. There’s also a wireless charger, panoramic sunroof, touchless power hatch, and buttons in the massive cargo area to power down the rear seats. They do not power them back up though.
Amazingly there’s also a spare tire under the cargo floor.
Nautilus is assembled at Ford’s Hangzhou, China, facility, so could be subject to our on-and-off tariffs. But price still is on the Lincoln’s side compared to many competitors.
The Black Label starts at $78,725, including delivery, and with options hit $85,875. In addition to the paint color and hybrid upgrade, the biggest add-on was $3,500 for the Jet Appearance package. No wings, but it does black out the grille, fenders and roof rails while color-keying the bumpers and wheel arches along with other body cladding to the chosen color. The package also adds snazzy looking 22-inch satin dark luster nickel wheels with satin chrome inserts.
Admittedly $85 grand is a luxury price tag. But a base Nautilus Premier edition starts at a more modest luxury price of $55,990 and adding the hybrid puts it at $58,990. A mid-level Reserve trim goes for $65,590 and $68,590 for the hybrid version, and while naturally adding some luxury goodies most buyers would desire.
Price all this against the competion, including the BMW X5, Genesis GV80, Lexus TX, Mercedes GLE Class, and Volvo XC90, all available with hybrid power too. But none have Rejuvenate and few offer a world-class hands-free driving system.
Lincoln = Luxury: still a working mantra.
FAST STATS: 2026 Lincoln Nautilus Black Label
Hits: Plush mid-size SUV loaded with tech, including Rejuvenate, BlueCruise hands-free driving system and massaging front seats. Smooth power with hybrid assist for good MPG, comfy ride, stylish interior, and AWD. Heated/cooled front seats, heated rear seats, power tilt/telescope oval steering wheel, big info screen, giant sunroof, 48-inch digital display screen, heated steering wheel, power-down second row seats, wireless charger, and quiet interior. Good safety gear.
Misses: Front air vents not adjustable, giant A-pillar can block side view.
Made in: Hangzhou, China
Engine: 2.0-liter turbo I4, 310 hp
Transmission: CVT automatic
Weight: 4,714 lbs.*
Wheelbase: 114.2 in.
Length: 193.2 in.
Cargo: 35-69 cu.ft.
Tow: 1,750 lbs.
MPG: 29/31
MPG: 27.1 (tested)
Base Price: $78,725 (includes delivery)
Invoice: $74,097
Major Options:
Gray Matter metallic paint, $750
Hybrid 2.0-liter I4, $2,500
Jet Appearance pkg. (black fenders, grille, roof rails, color-keyed bumpers, lower body cladding and wheel arch molding, 22-inch satin dark luster nickel wheels w/satin chrome inserts), $3,500
Sirius 4-yr. subscription, $400
Test vehicle: $85,875
Sources: Lincoln, www.kbb.com
*Car and Driver
