eful, obstacles are not as easy to spot as they are in systems that show their images on six- or seven-inch dash-mounted screens.
Access to the third seat is easy, with a one-hand flip lever that folds the second seat forward and clears a wide path to the rear. Passengers already in the third seat have a strap release that reverses the process. The third seat is another of the Navigator's strengths. It will actually seat adults approaching six feet in reasonable comfort, as long as they're willing to climb back there. The longer Navigator L does not increase rear seat legroom, though it does add a few millimeters more hip and headroom.
Lincoln's power-folding rear seat is 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. 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 2008 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 way 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 conservatively 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.
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 Town Car response may not.
Bottom line, the Navigator rides comfortably and handles competently in nearly every situation. Just don't try to get racy. This vehicle is 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.
In 2001, Navigator was the first full-sized luxury sport-utility vehicle to hit the 300-hp barrier. Seven 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 past 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.
While Navigator is down on power compared to competitors, a combination of factors, including the transmission, give it excellent towing capacity of 8,950 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. Again, the rear back-up camera can help, but the image it displays is very small.
The 2008 Lincoln Navigator is available with a standard or long wheelbase. 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. Navigator is available with either rear-wheel drive (2WD) or electronically engaged four-wheel drive (4WD) that can be driven on dry pavement and includes low-range gearing. A Class III trailer hitch is standard.
The Lincoln Navigator 4x2 ($47,755) and Navigator 4x4 ($50,655) 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 and a third-row bench seat are also standard, though a three-place second-row split bench seat is available at no charge. For 2008, the front seats add a standard heating and cooling feature, and power-folding third-row seat and power liftgate come standard. Other standard features include a high-watt stereo with six-CD changer, 14 speakers and auxiliary input jack; three-zone automatic climate control with rear-seat fan and controls; leather-and-wood steering wheel with audio and climate controls; 10-way adjustable front seats; power-adjustable pedals; keyless entry keypad; remote keyless entry; front seat position memory; power-deploying running boards; roof rack; high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights; power-folding mirror with memory; fog lamps; and 255/70R18 tires on alloy wheels.
The Navigator L 4x2 ($50,755) and Navigator L 4x4 ($53,655) 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, and has power-deploying running boards and a rear cargo management system.
The Elite Package ($5,460 base, $4460 L) is the full ride. It includes a voice-activated DVD-based navigation system, rear-seat DVD entertainment package with eight-inch screen, power sunroof, power running boards (standard wheelbase) and the new rearview camera. The navigation system ($1,995) and rear-seat DVD entertainment ($1,295) are available separately. Other stand-alone options include a remote starter ($445), 20-inch chromed wheels ($1,495) and a heavy-duty tow package ($595). Added for 2008 is the Monochromatic Limited Edition Package ($995), which includes unique badging and body-color exterior accents.
The Navigator's standard safety features meet the luxury-class baseline. They include 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. 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), rear obstacle detection and a tire-pressure monitor also are standard. The only optional safety item is the rearview camera.