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Haven't been in an Aviator, but I vividly remember riding in a current-gen Navigator. The interior was mind blowing. I think I was just really surprised as I hadn't been inside a modern Lincoln for years. We were all impressed. The Aviator interior design predictably looks very similar. Congrats!
Thanks all for the compliments! I'm still stoked about this vehicle. More importantly, I haven't seen my wife this impressed with any car. She even said, "this is way better than the Range Rover (Sport)". I could end it right there (job done), but as promised here are my initial impressions of our 2020 Aviator.
First off, here is the shortlisted vehicles we were considering to replace our 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited.
Range Rover Sport: My wife has always loved these, but we couldn't bring ourselves to the still high cost of leasing it, something we've never done and still haven't. XC90: This was the "for sure" option until we saw the Aviator, then I had to do the comparison and the Aviator came out on top in most if not all categories. Stelvio: This was the wildcard, under budget, and a sweet vehicle, but at the end of the day it just wasn't "the one" for a number of reasons.
First Impressions
Exterior Styling - The side profile of the Aviator is my favorite styling aspect. You can clearly see some Land Rover influence there, which isn't a bad thing. Twenty two inch wheels, when you say it out loud sounds ghetto but they were a must have for us when we were specing out our Aviator. The wheel design is much better than the standard twenty inchers, which look small on this vehicle for some reason. The front of the Aviator is my second favorite styling aspect. The grill isn't modern day gigantic, and the placement of everything up front just looks right. I particularly like the low positioned LED fog lamps. Another small detail I like is the black mirror caps that compliment the floating roof design that the black A, B, and C pillars provide. That won't be a complete look until we get those front windows tinted. My least favorite exterior styling aspect is the rear. It's not bad but it doesn't invoke the same emotion as when you look at the rest of the vehicle. It's simply the back end of a luxury SUV. I do like how the rear wiper is hidden behind the rear roof spoiler. Nice touch to keep things out back clean!
Interior Styling - One word. Impressive. What's interesting to me is that initially my eyes are drawn to the seats. They look the part of a luxury SUV. They look like Lincoln spent a lot of time on the design of these seats (tech aside). It's almost like everything in the interior was designed around the two front seats. Then my attention is drawn to the dashboard. Yes, the modern day "stick the screen right here" is there but it seems to work a little better in this interior, as you can follow the line from the center console up to top of the screen. The rest of the dash layout is very nice. I'm a buttons kind of guy, and the Aviator has buttons too, which I think add some elegance to modern interiors. I particularly like the piano black trim and aluminum accents. I didn't want wood. The black and silver makes it look more modern. The second row captains chairs are also a nice departure from a bench seat, which you can also get on an Aviator. Captains chairs look cooler IMO. The third row is, well, a third row.
Tech and Comfort - I'll roll these up in one category, otherwise this post would be way too long. Maybe I'm easily impressed but the tech and comfort amenities on this Aviator are truly what seals the deal for me. To sum it up, I can't think of a piece of car tech that this car doesn't have. Maybe I'm not thinking hard enough, but if I have to think that hard about it then isn't that also a good thing? The one thing that has to grow on me is that lit Lincoln badge in the grill. A little too over-showy for my taste but we couldn't not get it. I'm pretty sure it can't be turned off too. Buried in all the packages of the Reserve II trim, and the additional Convenience package are cool items such as:
Configurable HUD
Android Auto and Apply Carplay
Lane Keep Assist
Premium, 28 speaker sound system. This sound system is loud and clear! I was impressed. The standard system is 14 speakers.
Rain sensing wipers
360 cameras
Seats that are so adjustable that you can't possibly not find a comfortable position. Even the headrest electronically moves up/down and forward/backward, and the thigh cushions adjust individually.
Heated and cooled seats in the front and back
5 different massage options with 3 intensity levels for the front seats
Power up and power down (individual or together) folding third row
Whatever the "put your foot here to open the liftgate" thing is called
There is much more but those are the ones I thought were worth mentioning.
The Drive
The steering is heavy, which I welcome. You can certainly feel the heft of those 22s while steering. The braking is on par for midsized SUVs. Nothing interesting there. But what you really want to know is how does that 400 horsepower engine feel? In short, this twin turbo V6 is more than ample to make this hippo dance. However, it's no rocket ship. Honestly, I was hoping that it felt faster. We put the drivetrain selector in "Excite" (read: Sports mode) and there is a noticeable difference in throttle response and gearing though. It handles like a midsized SUV. Nothing special there either. I guess I can sum it up by saying that the Aviator drives like a luxury SUV. It's relatively quiet inside, not fussy, and the ride is as smooth as you can get on those 22s. Not harsh but not floaty either.
Overall
This is the obvious part. I can't think of a better midsized SUV for the price (albeit pricy).
In Conclusion
This is the end of a year long journey of looking at, test driving, contemplating and comparing vehicles. Actually, we decided on the Aviator in January. We had a totally different spec on order but COVID-19 left the Chicago plant idle for quite some time. We tried to work with our original salesman to discover other options while we waited but nothing ever panned out. That's when I started looking elsewhere and found the vehicle above. Four months is a long time to wait for a car, especially when your wife is getting antsy with you. But it ended better than expected, as the one we got is better than the one we ordered. Happy wife....
These look very nice. Just wondering how this was better in almost every category than the Volvo? I have an older one, and it's no tech god (actually, 15 year old tech in a 2013). But I thought Volvo really hit it out of the park with their newest XC90.
These look very nice. Just wondering how this was better in almost every category than the Volvo? I have an older one, and it's no tech god (actually, 15 year old tech in a 2013). But I thought Volvo really hit it out of the park with their newest XC90.
Thanks mrmako. This is mostly subjective but I ranked the Aviator over the XC90 in:
exterior design - The XC90 is a gorgeous vehicle but it's design appeal is slowly fading as it's getting a little long in the tooth. Personally, I think good designs should be mostly preserved over time (ie: 911) but the appeal of an all new design captured my interest.
interior styling and amenities - The XC90 has a very clean interior design but it was something I was always iffy about. I prefer a little more going on in the dash / center console area. Also, IIRC the XC90's captains chairs don't have armrests which I think is an oversight on Volvo's part.
power - The T6 Inscription has 315 HP from a 2.0 four cylinder turbo. We test drove this and it was ample but to get 400 HP, you have to go to the Excellence, which was way over budget. Also, I prefer a 6 cylinder for smoother revs.
value - Basically, for a little less in amenities and power than the Aviator we would have paid more for the XC90, or best case the same. I haven't checked out the 2021 XC90s but it was a slight refresh so I imagine that they improved the infotainment and such.
Very nice purchase. Agree these things look fantastic. I feel like the interiors are a step back to the Lincoln of old and not the Lincoln of recent. I remember growing up and my Grandpa always had Lincolns. The new front grills look great. Didn't realize they lit up so much of the outside.
Thanks mrmako. This is mostly subjective but I ranked the Aviator over the XC90 in:
exterior design - The XC90 is a gorgeous vehicle but it's design appeal is slowly fading as it's getting a little long in the tooth. Personally, I think good designs should be mostly preserved over time (ie: 911) but the appeal of an all new design captured my interest.
interior styling and amenities - The XC90 has a very clean interior design but it was something I was always iffy about. I prefer a little more going on in the dash / center console area. Also, IIRC the XC90's captains chairs don't have armrests which I think is an oversight on Volvo's part.
power - The T6 Inscription has 315 HP from a 2.0 four cylinder turbo. We test drove this and it was ample but to get 400 HP, you have to go to the Excellence, which was way over budget. Also, I prefer a 6 cylinder for smoother revs.
value - Basically, for a little less in amenities and power than the Aviator we would have paid more for the XC90, or best case the same. I haven't checked out the 2021 XC90s but it was a slight refresh so I imagine that they improved the infotainment and such.
Helped my sister shop for a luxury CUV a couple years ago and tried to get her to consider all options despite her being an admitted badge snob.
When we looked at the Volvo, we both felt exactly the same way. Did not drive it though.
We've now had our Aviator for a year and I thought it'd be a good time to update this thread for those still subscribed, curious, or perhaps looking at getting an Aviator yourself. For those not into reading long posts, here's the general impression of my one year ownership experience.
Cliff Notes: Despite some early, annoying and sometimes unacceptable issues (that's issues with a 's'), we still absolutely enjoy this vehicle. Because of the issues we've had I wonder about how this vehicle will hold up over time, as we tend to keep our vehicles well after we pay them off.
If you're still reading this, that means that somehow you believe that what's below is worth your time. I'll do my best not to disappoint. If you've ever read any reviews I've done on our X3, Grand Cherokee or Q60, you'll know that I'm not one to just embellish on the good for the sake of saving face on my purchase. I also don't bash the faults of a vehicle (well, I kinda did with the X3), as I try to remain realistic in my expectations of quality (not perceived, but real). With that being said, here is my long term Aviator update.
I'll start with the dealership experience. As Service Writers go, we have a pretty good one. I'm hoping that we can get to the "we'll pick up your car and drop off a loaner" thing, as I was kind of looking forward to that as an ownership experience. Also, the Lincoln dealership is mostly Ford so the luxury experience just isn't where it needs to be IMO. The concierge service would fix that.
I'll sum up the issues we've had with this car as electronic Gremlins. In fact, now that I ponder on this, we've only ever had electronic issues. Let me see if I can remember them all.
About 3 weeks into ownership my wife was pulling out of a parking spot at the grocery store and the car went into limp mode for no reason at all. Luckily the dealership wasn't far away at all.
The backup camera would intermittently bluescreen. This was a recall. Again, it got fixed but I always wondered, "as long as backup cameras have been put in modern cars, how do you screw that up?!"
One day, the front windows wouldn't roll back up. I'm familiar with why things like this happen in modern cars. This usually happens when you disconnect the battery. In this case that didn't happen. I just did a press and hold on the window switches to reset the limit switch and that did the trick. Easy fix, but WHY?
The driver settings would intermittently not automatically adjust to the presets when entering the vehicle with the synced key fob. In other words, we would have to press the 1 or 2 button to get the desired saved settings. First world problems, I know. I'm not sure if this is fixed or not. It hasn't happened in a while though.
But what is happening now is that, the easy entry feature (steering when goes up and seat goes back when entering the vehicle) is moving the seat FORWARD instead of backward when you open the door. I've disabled the feature as a workaround until our next service.
The Lane Keep Assist no longer works. Not that I use it. I find it annoying, and reminds me that I can't keep the vehicle between the lines But still, I want it to work again. Another thing on the list when we take it in for its next service.
And recently, the infotainment system screen went black. This only happened once, and I didn't have to do anything to fix it. It appears that just turning off the car did the trick. If this was an isolated electronic issue then I would shrug it off but due to all that has happened since we've had this vehicle, it's a problem, another electronic problem with this car.
Other than the above, the Aviator has been mechanically solid as we're coming up on 10,000 miles. We've taken it on a few short road trips and it performs nicely.
Funny story (maybe). I was driving on the highway one day, and got into a lane where traffic went to a standstill. The collision avoidance system lit up the dash and applied the brakes faster than I could. Yep, I almost smashed our new car. Luckily, the electronics worked well that time! Inches. It's little (or big) things like that that make me appreciate this vehicle. I remember the first day I realized that the front camera behind the windshield was reading speed limit signs. I'm easily amused, so bare with me. I wondered why, when I turned onto another road or street that the speed limit sign in the HUD would go dark. Then one day I noticed that every time I passed a speed limit sign it would show the sign with the speed limit in the HUD. Pretty cool. This is my first experience with Android Auto too, and I like that a lot. While I like the infotainment system, some of the menu items are a bit laggy. Oh, I do hate having to turn off the Auto Stop/Start, as the default is on. I know why manufactures do this but they should really give us an option to turn it off by default.
If I wrote about all the little things I like about the Aviator you'd get bored reading it. It's that feature-packed. Aside from its good looks it's a vehicle that you have to drive to truly appreciate. Me describing it would be like describing to someone how a Sundae tastes. You just gotta get your own Sundae to "get it", or in this case drive the Aviator. I still enjoy walking up to this vehicle from across a parking lot. What a nice looking car. Now that it's been out for a while we see one or two a day. One spec'd just like ours, in fact. My wife hates that. I told her we could get a wrap but she's not THAT torn up about it. A few things that I will say about this car that I find interesting is that I've discovered that it has real vents at the corners of the front bumper and active grill shutters between the grill and radiator. Cool. One other thing that I find cool that maybe you won't are the exhaust tips. A picture's worth a 1000 words, so...
I like them because the exhaust tips stay so much cleaner because the actual exhaust exits are the holes below the tips. Fake exhaust? I think not. I think this is innovative. Lincoln could have chosen to leave them as boring turndowns but what's the fun in that when you have quad exhaust? For a twin turbo V6 it sound pretty decent when you step on the gas. Also, that 400 HP engine is really good for highway driving. Oh, but gas mileage is abysmal. 18 mpg IIRC. It's a heavy vehicle, especially with those 275/40/22s. But it feels so solid when driving.
Again, my wife and I really like the Aviator, despite its electronic issues. Would I recommend the Aviator? Maybe. Perhaps don't get a 2020 (first model year). I imagine most of the items above have been worked out by us beta testers that couldn't wait to get our hands on the newest Lincoln SUV. Do I regret our purchase. Not at all. Am I a little concerned? Yes. Sometimes when you like a car so much you will keep doing what it takes to drive it. The Aviator seems like it'd be that type of car for me. But could you blame me? I mean, look at it...
Such a polarizing looking vehicle! Sounds like you've had your fair share of issues, but the story about the crash avoidance system working I'm sure makes up for the other annoyances.
I think they're really beautiful vehicles. I however, have read all about the issues they and the new explorer have been having. I hope Ford can get it under control because it is a nice car, but reading story after story about issues would give me pause.
I think they're really beautiful vehicles. I however, have read all about the issues they and the new explorer have been having. I hope Ford can get it under control because it is a nice car, but reading story after story about issues would give me pause.
Yeah, there's been a handful of recalls. Luckily our VIN wasn't included most of them. Aside from that, the non-recall items should be a concern IMO. For FMC's sake I hope they get it right eventually. Otherwise, they'll drive customers like me back to Japanese brands.
These look very nice. Just wondering how this was better in almost every category than the Volvo? I have an older one, and it's no tech god (actually, 15 year old tech in a 2013). But I thought Volvo really hit it out of the park with their newest XC90.
our sole Buffalo NY Volvo dealer’s reputation ensured I would never buy or lease a vehicle
There coupled with the crappy reviews I read of the XC90’s engine sealed the deal for me.
I don't know how I missed this thread a year ago! Love the Aviator, it's super pretty in person and the inside is amazing. We were heavily looking at one too before the wife made the valid point that she didn't want our baby crushing cheerios and puking in a luxury SUV so we went with a cheaper Subaru lol...also she said if we went Subaru I could also get a new car so I quickly got her the Subie.
The Volvo was tops on our list because safety until we started reading about all the issues they were having and questionable reliability. We plan on using our car for road trips as much as possible so having something that could strand us in the middle of nowhere without warning wasn't something that sat super well.
I don't know how I missed this thread a year ago! Love the Aviator, it's super pretty in person and the inside is amazing. We were heavily looking at one too before the wife made the valid point that she didn't want our baby crushing cheerios and puking in a luxury SUV so we went with a cheaper Subaru lol...also she said if we went Subaru I could also get a new car so I quickly got her the Subie.
The Volvo was tops on our list because safety until we started reading about all the issues they were having and questionable reliability. We plan on using our car for road trips as much as possible so having something that could strand us in the middle of nowhere without warning wasn't something that sat super well.
This is why we got our Grand Cherokee. Still running like a champ. And you can't go wrong with a Subaru.
The GC is pretty good, it hasn't changed much since 2012. It's the lower end models that shit the bed on the regular because they all run Fiat powertrains.
Agreed. Our JGC has been largely worrry-free over the 7 years / 109k miles we put on it. It finally needed some work this year. Had a couple leaks, but that's about it. Oh, other than the sunroof limit sensor needs to be reset every once in a while. The reliability is actually one of the reasons we decided to keep it.
Agreed. Our JGC has been largely worrry-free over the 7 years / 109k miles we put on it. It finally needed some work this year. Had a couple leaks, but that's about it. Oh, other than the sunroof limit sensor needs to be reset every once in a while. The reliability is actually one of the reasons we decided to keep it.
Same, I haven't had any issues at all with my wrangler other than the compass is stuck saying north. Not nearly that many miles but it just keeps ticking on without much worry.
Our lab manager had 2 >100k miles JGCs. Both issue free.
She wanted bigger this time & got an RST Tahoe.
Girl in HR had a Renegade that never gave her any trouble. Now she has a base Mini 4-door.
05-23-2020, 06:32 PM
looking ride! Jelly!
But still, I want it to work again. Another thing on the list when we take it in for its next service.
