2020 Lincoln Nautilus

With the Select trim gone, the 2020 Lincoln Nautilus comes in three distinct trims – Standard, Reserve, and Black Label. The Standard is priced at $42,035; Reserve is priced at $49,495 and the Black Label is priced at $64,795. The Standard and Reverse are available both in FWD and AWD. But the Black Label is only available in AWD. There are two engines available – an inline-4 and a V6. The V6 is only available as an AWD, and the inline-4 can have either FWD or AWD. The features of the trims are:

There are a few packages to choose from. However, you can try to equip the Equipment Group 101A which adds Intelligent Access with Push Button Start, premium leather-wrapped steering wheel, SiriusXM w/ navigation, etc. The Lincoln Co-Pilot360 Plus package adds enhanced active park assist, distance alert and distance indication, 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise control evasive steering assist, etc. There are also the Equipment Group 201A and 202A which will add more safety and driver assistance features and other features for convenience.

Which trim should you buy?

We would recommend going with the Reserve trim, as it slots nicely in between the two trims. It has all the basic as well as advanced features added on top of the standard features already offered by the base trim. It has a panoramic sunroof, a premium Revel audio system, built-in navigation, and heated and cooled front seats. It is the sweet spot between price and features. Not only that it also comes integrated with standard advanced safety technology, if one is super tight on budget then go with the Reserve FWD, else pick the AWD trim as it would be beneficial in snowy conditions.

The inline-4 engine will consume around 21/26/23 MPG for city/highway/combined driving respectively. This stat is for the FWD. With the AWD, the efficiency drops down slightly, at 20/25/22 MPG for the same. The V6, on the other hand, is not as thrifty as the inline-4 and sips more fuel. The EPA estimates are around 19/26/21 MPG for city/highway/combined driving. The Nautilus comes with an 18.4-gallon fuel tank, which means that it offers a range of 386/478/433 miles for city/highway/combined driving. The AWD offers an 18.5-gallon fuel tank and will get you around 351/481/388 miles for the same cycle.

It makes complete sense that Lincoln Nautilus is claiming such economy numbers as the 450 hp engine works a lot to move the heaviest chassis in the competition. Audi Q5 rather impresses us with unbelievable performance figures combined with the best in class fuel economy, Audi & Volvo both claim 24 mpg in combined conditions but Volvo doesn’t come close to Audi’s performance. Cadillac has the lowest power under its hood but with respect to the performance that it offers, one can say that it’s far better than Lincoln Nautilus.

The 2020 Lincoln Nautilus has an upscale and premium-looking interior with lots of gorgeous design cues. However, it still fails to match the likes of its German rivals. The dashboard has a refreshing design that inspires a lot of smooth curves and flows. The interior is laden with plush and soft-touch materials. The base trim comes with leatherette upholstery as standard, while the Reverse trim gets genuine leather upholstery. The highest-end trim will greet you with Venetian leather and there can also be metal or wood trims on the interior. 

The trims come with 10-way power-adjustable front seats w/ lumbar support and driver-seat memory. The Reserve trim also features both heated and cooled front seats. The seats can also be upgraded to 22-way power-adjustable seats with seat massage. The rear seats are also heated from the Reverse trim onwards. The spacing is no issue at all, as both the front and the rear row have plenty of headroom and legroom. 

The Nautilus offers 37.2 cubic feet of cargo storage behind the second row. It is a pretty big space for all your daily needs and even some more. The cargo capacity can be further increased by folding the 60/40-split second row down to open up to 68.8 cubic feet of cargo storage. In-cabin storage solutions are also very decent.

Although every SUV in the competition has an ample amount of space and comfort, in the front row Audi Q5 shines the brightest with its balanced cabin dimensions, Cadillac XT5 comes next to Audi followed by Lincoln & Volvo. When it comes to the second row, Lincoln Nautilus takes first place while Cadillac and Volvo have better space than Audi. The Lincoln Nautilus is also the best in terms of cargo volume. Some key interior features include:

• Power tilt/telescoping steering column
• Heated Leather/genuine wood steering wheel
• Voice-activated dual-zone front automatic climate control
• Venetian leather upholstery
• Heated and cooled front seats
• Driver seat memory and massage function 

How intuitive is the infotainment system?

The Nautilus comes with an 8” SYNC 3 infotainment touchscreen, which might seem small in a luxury car like this. It is far from being the best in business, as it can get quite slow to respond to your inputs. It is also not the most intuitive infotainment system you will ever use. When it comes to standard features, you are treated with some good features, such as Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alexa, Lincoln Connect 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth, SiriusXM radio, etc. 

The Reserve trim adds HD radio, navigation and SiriusXM Traffic, wireless charging. All the trims can be upgraded with rear-seat entertainment setups. The base trim comes with an 11-speaker sound system. The Reserve trim comes with a Revel 13-speaker premium audio system; and finally, the Black Label trim enjoys a 19-speaker Revel Ultima sound system. Highlights of the infotainment system:

• 8” SYNC 3 infotainment touchscreen
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Amazon Alexa
• Voice-activated navigation
• SiriusXM radio
• SiriusXM Traffic
• 19-speaker Revel Ultima audio system

The Nautilus is a pretty handsome SUV. It will definitely catch your attention the first time you glance at it. The look is surely premium and the appearance is striking. However, it is not one of the best-looking SUVs in the segment. It has a more restrained and more executive vibe to it, rather than being aggressive. The front fascia houses the LED multi-projector headlights in a curved shape. The front grille is wide and not too long, while the front bumper is adorned with chrome to complete the premium look.

From the side, it has a slightly sloping roofline that makes it look stylish and the windows have a chrome outline. The rear-end also has a premium design with a stylish LED light bar and also a stylish rear bumper with dual exhausts. The base trim and the Reserve trim ride on 18” wheels, while the Black Label rides on 21” wheels. You can also choose to upgrade to 20” or 21” wheels on the first two trims. A panoramic sunroof illuminates the interior on the higher trims.

The SUVs are pretty comparable in terms of their dimensions, but the Nautilus is the widest. Other than that, each SUV has its own distinct styling. Beauty is subjective, so you should see them for yourself before you make a decision. Some key exterior features include:

• Strut front suspension w/ coil springs
• Multi-link rear suspension w/ coil springs
• Dual stainless-steel exhaust
• 21” painted ultra-bright machined wheels
• Express Open/close panoramic vista roof
• Power heated side mirrors
• LED multi-projector headlights

The 2020 Lincoln Nautilus is a pretty safe vehicle and that becomes apparent once you look at the tests conducted by NHTSA and IIHS. The NHTSA gave it an overall 5-star rating, with a 5-star on every possible category, except the rollover rating, where it gets a 4-star. The IIHS has also given it a “Good” rating in all six of its Crashworthiness tests, leaving only the headlights where it got a “Poor”. The first two trims come with Lincoln Co-Pilot360 and the Black Label trim offers the Lincoln Co-Pilot360 Plus. Excellent ratings aside, the American SUV also comes with a myriad of safety and driver-assistance features, that truly help it stand out among the others. Key safety features include:

• Cruise control- steering assist
• AdvanceTrac
• Blindspot information system
• Lane-keeping assist
• Lane departure warning
• Front collision mitigation
• Driver monitoring
• Automatic emergency braking and cross-traffic alert
• Active park assist plus
• An aerial view camera system
• MyKey system
• Safety Canopy airbag system

2020 Lincoln Nautilus vs 2020 Audi Q5

The Audi Q5 is clearly the more established and more popular luxury SUV among the masses. The German SUV has etched its name in a very solid spot, as it offers better performance than the Lincoln, has better fuel economy, drives and handles better, and has a more luxurious interior. The Lincoln is only a bit more practical in comparison. To be honest, we would choose the Q5 any day over the Nautilus, unless you specifically want a large cargo capacity.

2020 Lincoln Nautilus vs 2020 Cadillac XT5

The name Cadillac would remind anyone of luxury. The Cadillac XT5 is a better-performing vehicle when compared to the Nautilus, it’s also slightly lighter than the Nautilus and that keeps it relatively nimble on turns. It is also quite luxurious with an upscale interior. It also rides well and handles well too. Probably the best part about the XT5 is its outlandish style and extremely appealing exterior styling. It is a Caddy, after all. 

2020 Lincoln Nautilus vs 2020 Volvo XC60

The Volvo XC60 is another luxury car from the Swedish carmaker. The XC60 tries to strike a fine balance between luxury and practicality, but when it comes to practicality, it is absolutely dominated by the Nautilus as the bigger dimensions of Nautilus provide more cabin space. It does have a better range and performs slightly better, but it once again boils down to the priority. For luxury and practicality, the Nautilus is a clear choice.

The MKX may have been renamed, but it is still essentially the same vehicle at its heart. While the Lincoln Nautilus is definitely far from being a bad choice, it is also not the best either. Sure, it does have large cargo space and a long list of standard safety features, it still pales in comparison to its German rivals, when it comes to performance and luxury. A little more refinement and addition of finer materials would definitely have made the Nautilus a much more compelling choice than it already is. However, as of now, you could try to look for German alternatives.