2025 Cadillac Escalade vs. Lincoln Navigator vs. Jeep Grand Wagoneer

[joseodiaga4]

Pure Michigan Luxe SUV Test! 2025 Cadillac Escalade vs. Lincoln Navigator vs. Jeep Grand Wagoneer

Comparing the very luxury vehicles used by Detroit Three moguls to shuttle between their primary mansions and their up-north lake places.

 

The Lincoln might be the best choice for trailering novices, tailgate partiers, and folks who end up waiting in their car for a kid’s extracurricular events to end, but in this contest its ride quality, interior materials, noise levels, and rear exterior design land it in third.

 

 

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2025-cadillac-escalade-vs-lincoln-navigator-vs-jeep-grand-wagoneer-comparison-test-review

Edited June 20 by joseodiaga4

[joseodiaga4]

 

[Dlcorbett]

After driving tthe new navigator, I can agree with some of the criticism: the interior doesn't feel as nice as before, the center screen is too low and absorbs too many functions, and the seats are too bolstered/aggressively inflated for comfort.  At first, I didnt think what they said about the ride was really spot on until they showed the footage.  It looks like most of the time, they drove back roads, which i can see not playing in the navs corner well.  Why lincoln didnt do air suspension atleast on black label is still a huge miss the dev team.  Hopefully lincoln can make improvements little by little, but this doesn't bold well for a brand new product.  Ford has a habit of cutting corners with these fs suvs but ballooning the price of then and its gonna hurt them again.

[joseodiaga4]

It is clear that competing with the Escalade was going to be difficult, but losing to the Wagonner (3 years old) really worries me, the Navi is a model that doesn’t even have a year in the market.

I haven't been in the new model but it is troublesome to read that the new interior is worse than before.

Up to this day, I can't understand the decision not to include air suspension, at least in the BL as you said, even the QX has it now. 
Also, Lincoln is going after a wellness and comfort mantra, and this kind of ride doesn't fit well with that.

 

[rmc523]

I'd be interested to see comparisons from other outlets, and whether they reach the same conclusion.

 

It does seem like Ford phoned it in in a few areas on the new Expy/Navi.  The big question is whether or not they'll stretch this model another 6 years plus a refresh (which would mean the body overall is 12 years old), or if them taking a "heavy refresh" approach means we'll get a shorter lifecycle and a new, better replacement sooner.

 

Given it's Ford, it'll probably be the former, and they'll wonder where customers went.

 

That said, sales have been great so far, so actual customers are speaking with their wallets.......but I'd imagine some of it has been a combo of clearing out '24s plus sales of '25s.

Edited June 24 by rmc523

[ANTAUS]

At this point there's no excuse for a bad ride or wind noise. Escalade always shoots for the stars, and Navigator just barely reaches it each time.  If Ford was serious, this would have been over the top.

[Rick73]

Interesting they ranked least powerful SUV first.  And this from auto enthusiasts.  IMO average buyers care even less about increasingly-higher power numbers as long as vehicle has enough to meet their needs, covered well at end of video.

[rmc523]

13 minutes ago, ANTAUS said:

At this point there's no excuse for a bad ride or wind noise. Escalade always shoots for the stars, and Navigator just barely reaches it each time.  If Ford was serious, this would have been over the top.

 

Agreed - they did a great job with the 2018 model, but just did status quo rebody for this model.

[tbone]

32 minutes ago, rmc523 said:

 

Agreed - they did a great job with the 2018 model, but just did status quo rebody for this model.

Precisely, this is a substantial refresh not a new model. Although I still think it looks pretty good, there was far too much carryover to call it all new.  Just like the Explorer.  No significant drivetrain changes and the same body.  
 

51 minutes ago, ANTAUS said:

At this point there's no excuse for a bad ride or wind noise. Escalade always shoots for the stars, and Navigator just barely reaches it each time.  If Ford was serious, this would have been over the top.

At the prices they are charging for these now, the Navigator is definitely not sufficiently over the top. 

[joseodiaga4]

2 hours ago, rmc523 said:

I'd be interested to see comparisons from other outlets, and whether they reach the same conclusion.

 

It does seem like Ford phoned it in in a few areas on the new Expy/Navi.  The big question is whether or not they'll stretch this model another 6 years plus a refresh (which would mean the body overall is 12 years old), or if them taking a "heavy refresh" approach means we'll get a shorter lifecycle and a new, better replacement sooner.

 

Given it's Ford, it'll probably be the former, and they'll wonder where customers went.

 

That said, sales have been great so far, so actual customers are speaking with their wallets.......but I'd imagine some of it has been a combo of clearing out '24s plus sales of '25s.

In more than a few areas sadly.

I hope the don't stretch it 6 more years, there is supposed to be a new F150 around the corner so let's hope this helps.

This 2025 model was a heavy refresh, the next one has to be a new redesign model with more tech and air suspension. 

 

Sales have been great but as you have said, this as as result of the combo 24+25

[rmc523]

1 hour ago, tbone said:

Precisely, this is a substantial refresh not a new model. Although I still think it looks pretty good, there was far too much carryover to call it all new.  Just like the Explorer.  No significant drivetrain changes and the same body.  
 

At the prices they are charging for these now, the Navigator is definitely not sufficiently over the top. 

 

I think you meant Expedition?

[ber25]

When Ford & Lincoln released design sketches alongside the debut of the refreshed models, I noticed that the artists went beyond and revamped the whole bodies.
The Expedition sketch has a half C-pillar and a more dimensional side profile. The Navigator is noticeably sleeker.
 

Likely those were artistic liberties, but I’d love to see Ford push the SUVs further visually along with powertrain and suspension updates next go around.

[tbone]

1 hour ago, rmc523 said:

 

I think you meant Expedition?

No, I meant Explorer. They were billing their very late refresh as a new model, but then the tone changed about it later when most of the media referred to it as a refresh.

[tbone]

48 minutes ago, matt25 said:

When Ford & Lincoln released design sketches alongside the debut of the refreshed models, I noticed that the artists went beyond and revamped the whole bodies.
The Expedition sketch has a half C-pillar and a more dimensional side profile. The Navigator is noticeably sleeker.
 

Likely those were artistic liberties, but I’d love to see Ford push the SUVs further visually along with powertrain and suspension updates next go around.

Yes, had the new models reflected the design sketches, they certainly would have been considered all new.  The sketches are very nice looking.    I hope this refresh only lasts a couple model years, but I’m not optimistic based on current Ford trends. 

[Dlcorbett]

2018 was a huge step up, but they didnt capitalize on its success.  Its easy for gm to throw the kitchen sink at the escalade, it makes them way too much money.  But for jeep to come out with a whole new luxurious  and tech forward product with no previous base and as a 3 yr old platform still beat what lincoln claims is a new model is embarrassing for them.  Who did they benchmark and how did that translate to dev?  By no means is the new navigator a bad truck, but compared to its contemporaries, they dropped the ball heavily.  The expy feels like a better product because it feels more competitive to its competitors at a cheaper price.

[ANTAUS]

I wonder how the Chinese version was updated...we usually get the crumbs...

[tbone]

3 hours ago, ANTAUS said:

I wonder how the Chinese version was updated...we usually get the crumbs...

Seems to be the case doesn’t it.  

[joseodiaga4]

4 hours ago, ANTAUS said:

I wonder how the Chinese version was updated...we usually get the crumbs...

in this case it is the same model as the US. Just a launch "special edition" and one model with two tone paint

 

https://www.lincoln.com.cn/vehicle/suvs-2025navigator/

[rmc523]

On 6/24/2025 at 1:12 PM, ber25 said:

When Ford & Lincoln released design sketches alongside the debut of the refreshed models, I noticed that the artists went beyond and revamped the whole bodies.
The Expedition sketch has a half C-pillar and a more dimensional side profile. The Navigator is noticeably sleeker.
 

Likely those were artistic liberties, but I’d love to see Ford push the SUVs further visually along with powertrain and suspension updates next go around.

 

Yeah, those definitely look more unique/changed, vs. the refresh look we got.

 

On 6/24/2025 at 2:01 PM, tbone said:

No, I meant Explorer. They were billing their very late refresh as a new model, but then the tone changed about it later when most of the media referred to it as a refresh.

 

I don't recall ever seeing them trying to pass off the recent Explorer refresh as a new model.

[Dlcorbett]

On 6/24/2025 at 1:12 PM, ber25 said:

When Ford & Lincoln released design sketches alongside the debut of the refreshed models, I noticed that the artists went beyond and revamped the whole bodies.
The Expedition sketch has a half C-pillar and a more dimensional side profile. The Navigator is noticeably sleeker.
 

Likely those were artistic liberties, but I’d love to see Ford push the SUVs further visually along with powertrain and suspension updates next go around.

 

The concept expeditions design and shape is very reminiscent of the hybrid ford was promoting some years back.  Some hire ups definitely hindered what could've been for these trucks.

 

 

[tbone]

On 6/26/2025 at 1:30 PM, rmc523 said:

 

Yeah, those definitely look more unique/changed, vs. the refresh look we got.

 

 

I don't recall ever seeing them trying to pass off the recent Explorer refresh as a new model.

It could’ve been dealer advertisements. I could be conflating things, and too lazy to look for the examples. 

[Andrew L]

On 6/25/2025 at 7:32 PM, Dlcorbett said:

2018 was a huge step up, but they didnt capitalize on its success.  Its easy for gm to throw the kitchen sink at the escalade, it makes them way too much money.  But for jeep to come out with a whole new luxurious  and tech forward product with no previous base and as a 3 yr old platform still beat what lincoln claims is a new model is embarrassing for them.  Who did they benchmark and how did that translate to dev?  By no means is the new navigator a bad truck, but compared to its contemporaries, they dropped the ball heavily.  The expy feels like a better product because it feels more competitive to its competitors at a cheaper price.

 

I disagree on GM throwing the kitchen sink at the Escalade.  They let it go on for years with barely any new features and a severely lacking 2nd row compared to others in the class but it still sold better than any of them and that was because of name recognition.  The IQ fixed a lot of that but before the IQ look at the Escalade's 2nd row compared to others in the class and it was almost embarrassing.

[Dlcorbett]

Prior to 2025, the escalades 2nd row wasn't horrific, just odd design choices that people were more than willing to live with.

[rmc523]

11 hours ago, Andrew L said:

 

I disagree on GM throwing the kitchen sink at the Escalade.  They let it go on for years with barely any new features and a severely lacking 2nd row compared to others in the class but it still sold better than any of them and that was because of name recognition.  The IQ fixed a lot of that but before the IQ look at the Escalade's 2nd row compared to others in the class and it was almost embarrassing.

 

You are correct in a sense that GM has traditionally skipped MCEs and just done new version every 5-6 years, but sales have remained strong.  I'd say your comment is an exaggeration, IMO.  While it may not have had some of the creature comforts others offered, embarrassing is a strong word.  But it also offered features elsewhere (ex. night vision) that others didn't have that sort of offset the second row limitations.

 

---

 

None of us are saying the new Navigator is terrible, just that Ford didn't push far enough.  Sales are their strongest in years, decades even, but it'll be interesting to see what happens as '24 inventory clears out.

[Dlcorbett]

Agreed and That's the worst part.  The navigator bones and foundation is always good, but ford/lincoln doesn't want to expound on it to make a more compelling, more desirable product.  The ford f150 has a hybrid engine and multiple v8s that would be perfect in the nav, they added neither.  Why not offer multiple engine options?  They included a very nice 48in screen, but limited tech options as compared to its competitors, why not add widgets for night vision, AR views, digital rear view, sound bars, etc?  They revised the suspension, but still do not add an air suspension option. Why?  For this peer set, it shouldve been mandatory on atleast black label.  These are things that a customer spending 120k+ is going to think about, and as nice as the navigator is, those extra things that seem kinda dumb and unnecessary is why people choose the escalade over the navigator, 3 to 1.  I do believe ford will add a bunch of stuff for the 26 model year to include the new bluecruise, but the 2025s shouldve been a home run but seems more like a triple.