2021 Escalade vs Lincoln Navigator

[JTL2017]

 

[Black Label]

They are both great vehicles. I always feel these "reviews" have either an agenda or they just like one over the other to begin with. It seems Ford has, for years, been accused of copying what GM does. Seems Cadillac has now done that here with the exterior look in many ways. Oh, and I still think the tail lights are hideous. 

 

All I know is that it is amazing when I am out in my Navigator. Every single time I get people who literally stop what they are doing to admire the vehicle. If I drive in an area with outdoor dining, it's uncanny the views I get. Maybe Escalade owners get that, too. But, I literally get thumbs up and even comments from strangers all the time. 

 

To me, it's a toss up. You either like GM or Ford/Lincoln, in general, IMO. With a few exceptions, this guy, in his smarmy tone, seems to be a GM guy. But, maybe I'm wrong. I mean, I know it's all about clicks for these people, but why not wait until you can actually dive the Escalade? I guess it would win by 20 more points if they could. 

 

Curious if the third row is still unusable for any human taller than 5'9" and weighing more than 170 pounds. Never have had that issue in the Expedition/Navigator since I had my 2008 Expedition and now 2020 Navigator. 

 

Things like the really neat camera views are cool, but I would not buy a Cadillac over Lincoln for that. To me, it's overall aesthetics and feel. The Navigator just is more appealing to me. Many folks will feel that way about the Escalade. But, I imagine many people will buy one over the other based on what some internet review guy has to say. 

[Dlcorbett]

A lot of car confection reviews are personal preference based, it was the same when they compared the nav with the last gen escalade.  In that one they gave the escalade points for features and options that wasnt objective(points for cargo to escalade esv vs swb nav, etc.). Its weird he gave the escalade points for price when priced out pkg for pkg, the escalade is 10k more.  The escalade model reviewed is equivalent to a base reserve without the mono option, which is more than 3k cheaper than what was shown.  He also gave a pt to the escalade for supercruise, which that particular escalade didnt even have and adds 3k to the total.  I do agree, the escalade seems more advanced and more techy than the nav, lincoln desperately needs their own infotainment system separate from fords sync.  With the price their selling them for, sync is way too "basic"in terms of function, features, and usability.  The more consumers beginning to cross shop with the europeans and japanese, esp with younger customers, these limitations will be magnified im a yr or 2.  And until lincoln adds the airglide, the escalade will have a better feel on the road, as well as the other new euros in its class(the japanese trucks are inferior to the nav in terms of drivability).  Im thinking this is why nav sells are decreasing, the pkg is great, but is starting to feel aged when you start looking at similarly priced x7s, gls', range rovers and soon, escalades.

[Black Label]

59 minutes ago, Dlcorbett said:

A lot of car confection reviews are personal preference based, it was the same when they compared the nav with the last gen escalade.  In that one they gave the escalade points for features and options that wasnt objective(points for cargo to escalade esv vs swb nav, etc.). Its weird he gave the escalade points for price when priced out pkg for pkg, the escalade is 10k more.  The escalade model reviewed is equivalent to a base reserve without the mono option, which is more than 3k cheaper than what was shown.  He also gave a pt to the escalade for supercruise, which that particular escalade didnt even have and adds 3k to the total.  I do agree, the escalade seems more advanced and more techy than the nav, lincoln desperately needs their own infotainment system separate from fords sync.  With the price their selling them for, sync is way too "basic"in terms of function, features, and usability.  The more consumers beginning to cross shop with the europeans and japanese, esp with younger customers, these limitations will be magnified im a yr or 2.  And until lincoln adds the airglide, the escalade will have a better feel on the road, as well as the other new euros in its class(the japanese trucks are inferior to the nav in terms of drivability).  Im thinking this is why nav sells are decreasing, the pkg is great, but is starting to feel aged when you start looking at similarly priced x7s, gls', range rovers and soon, escalades.

The guy sounds like a Cadillac shill to me. But, I admit, I'm biased. I come right out and say it. 

[JTL2017]

54 minutes ago, Dlcorbett said:

A lot of car confection reviews are personal preference based, it was the same when they compared the nav with the last gen escalade.  In that one they gave the escalade points for features and options that wasnt objective(points for cargo to escalade esv vs swb nav, etc.). Its weird he gave the escalade points for price when priced out pkg for pkg, the escalade is 10k more.  The escalade model reviewed is equivalent to a base reserve without the mono option, which is more than 3k cheaper than what was shown.  He also gave a pt to the escalade for supercruise, which that particular escalade didnt even have and adds 3k to the total.  I do agree, the escalade seems more advanced and more techy than the nav, lincoln desperately needs their own infotainment system separate from fords sync.  With the price their selling them for, sync is way too "basic"in terms of function, features, and usability.  The more consumers beginning to cross shop with the europeans and japanese, esp with younger customers, these limitations will be magnified im a yr or 2.  And until lincoln adds the airglide, the escalade will have a better feel on the road, as well as the other new euros in its class(the japanese trucks are inferior to the nav in terms of drivability).  Im thinking this is why nav sells are decreasing, the pkg is great, but is starting to feel aged when you start looking at similarly priced x7s, gls', range rovers and soon, escalades.

I agree with you. Some of their points we're pretty unfair. With that said, Lincoln needs to refresh the Navigator. At least give it the air suspension and audio system that's in the aviator.  

[JTL2017]

Just now, Black Label said:

The guy sounds like a Cadillac shill to me. But, I admit, I'm biased. I come right out and say it. 

I watch their videos and some of their points may seem unfair but I don't think they're Cadillac fanboys. They both enjoyed the aviator and corsair a lot. 

[tbone]

4 hours ago, Dlcorbett said:

A lot of car confection reviews are personal preference based, it was the same when they compared the nav with the last gen escalade.  In that one they gave the escalade points for features and options that wasnt objective(points for cargo to escalade esv vs swb nav, etc.). Its weird he gave the escalade points for price when priced out pkg for pkg, the escalade is 10k more.  The escalade model reviewed is equivalent to a base reserve without the mono option, which is more than 3k cheaper than what was shown.  He also gave a pt to the escalade for supercruise, which that particular escalade didnt even have and adds 3k to the total.  I do agree, the escalade seems more advanced and more techy than the nav, lincoln desperately needs their own infotainment system separate from fords sync.  With the price their selling them for, sync is way too "basic"in terms of function, features, and usability.  The more consumers beginning to cross shop with the europeans and japanese, esp with younger customers, these limitations will be magnified im a yr or 2.  And until lincoln adds the airglide, the escalade will have a better feel on the road, as well as the other new euros in its class(the japanese trucks are inferior to the nav in terms of drivability).  Im thinking this is why nav sells are decreasing, the pkg is great, but is starting to feel aged when you start looking at similarly priced x7s, gls', range rovers and soon, escalades.

While I agree that Lincoln could differentiate its version of Sync more to give it a unique feel, I certainly would not copy CUE or whatever the Caddi system is called, if it is anything like my mother’s X5.  That system is one of the least user friendly systems I have experienced. Three other people who are not car enthusiasts that have used my mother’s car said the same thing, so it’s not just my Ford biased opinion.   

[Dlcorbett]

They dnt need to copy cadillac, or anyone for that matter.  But they should add more functionality and options to it to.make it feel mor engrossing and advanced.  Hell, the nav display looks like any other 20k car nav display, where some lux vehicles give you atleast a 3d display.

[akirby]

4 hours ago, Dlcorbett said:

.  Hell, the nav display looks like any other 20k car nav display, where some lux vehicles give you atleast a 3d display.

Ford nav has had a 3D map display since sync 2 in 2011.

[Black Label]

43 minutes ago, akirby said:

Ford nav has had a 3D map display since sync 2 in 2011.

Maybe he means something different, but yes, mine has a 3D option. Maybe he means other makes have actual satellite imagery or something. Interested to hear what he meant. 

[rmc523]

18 hours ago, Dlcorbett said:

A lot of car confection reviews are personal preference based, it was the same when they compared the nav with the last gen escalade.  In that one they gave the escalade points for features and options that wasnt objective(points for cargo to escalade esv vs swb nav, etc.). Its weird he gave the escalade points for price when priced out pkg for pkg, the escalade is 10k more.  The escalade model reviewed is equivalent to a base reserve without the mono option, which is more than 3k cheaper than what was shown.  He also gave a pt to the escalade for supercruise, which that particular escalade didnt even have and adds 3k to the total.  I do agree, the escalade seems more advanced and more techy than the nav, lincoln desperately needs their own infotainment system separate from fords sync.  With the price their selling them for, sync is way too "basic"in terms of function, features, and usability.  The more consumers beginning to cross shop with the europeans and japanese, esp with younger customers, these limitations will be magnified im a yr or 2.  And until lincoln adds the airglide, the escalade will have a better feel on the road, as well as the other new euros in its class(the japanese trucks are inferior to the nav in terms of drivability).  Im thinking this is why nav sells are decreasing, the pkg is great, but is starting to feel aged when you start looking at similarly priced x7s, gls', range rovers and soon, escalades.

 

Yeah, the reviewer didn't do a very good job at pointing out features that are on the ones they looked at compared to what's available.  They should point out specifically what options/features the models they tested, and then mention what else is optional for a fully accurate picture.

[Dlcorbett]

4 hours ago, akirby said:

Ford nav has had a 3D map display since sync 2 in 2011.

 I had a 18 ford expedition and test drove an 18 navigator and the displays and systems were similar.  My friend got a 17 fusion and his display was the same.  However, bmw and mb use full 3d displays and augmented 3d directions and many more system options.  A friends infiniti q50 also had a "better" looking display.  What im saying is, the nav is avg 90k but the user interface is the same as a 60k expedition, but its competitions ui does not look like a display in a 60k ford.  Bmw and mb have the advantage of not having to share parts and systems with a mainstream counterpart, but vw group was smart enough to build their ui (which is gorgeous btw) specifically for audi, then proliferate it down to mainstream counterpart.  Now the golf, a 25k car is lauded for having a gorgeous display.  Give then due props, cadillac was smart enough to give the escalade its own ui compared to the other platform mates and its cheaper cars and trucks.  Im sure with the competition now stepping up (mainly due to the navigators extreme long jump), lincoln will come out swingin for the mid cycle.

[Black Label]

I guess I'm an outlier and the 3D navigation would not make me buy one vehicle over another. 

[akirby]

I’m not even sure how it would be different, but even so I’m not sure it would matter to most buyers.