Luxury is abundant in the Lincoln lineup, with the 2025 Aviator enjoying a mid-cycle refresh designed to keep it relevant in a fiercely competitive and quickly growing segment. Slotted between the two-row Nautilus and Lincoln’s flagship Navigator in an all-SUV lineup, the Aviator goes head-to-head with rivals like the Audi Q7, BMW X7, Lexus TX, and Cadillac XT6. As I mentioned, competition is steep.
With refined styling, upgraded technologies, and a renewed focus on comfort, the 2025 Aviator offers meaningful improvements. Yet, its mid-cycle refresh exposes a few lingering shortcomings drivers should consider when shopping for a luxury SUV of this caliber and price range. Here’s an objective look at the 2025 Aviator’s refresh to help you make an informed decision about your future behind the wheel.
Exterior Design: Refined Yet Familiar
The 2025 Aviator’s exterior refresh is subtle yet effective at aligning the SUV with the modern styling of the Nautilus. Lincoln accomplishes this by giving the Aviator an all-new front fascia. The new grille has a contoured mesh pattern inspired by the Lincoln logo. Enlarging the grille slightly aligns it with the Aviator’s all-new lighting, which includes new LED headlights and daytime running light strips that accentuate the Aviator’s bold, sophisticated styling.
What’s the Verdict?
The subtle updates give the 2025 Aviator an elegant stance and a commanding presence on the road. The lighting animations and illuminated logo elevate the Aviator, truly giving it a luxurious feel as the light sequence welcomes you as you approach. Yet, is this touch of luxury enough to make drivers forget that it still looks like a dressed-up version of the Ford Explorer? The question is valid, considering the Aviator stands alongside boldly designed rivals like the BMW X7 and Cadillac XT6.
Interior Design: Luxurious, Not Innovative
The 2025 Aviator has a plush, well-appointed cabin that emphasizes comfort, quality, and ingenuity. As expected of a luxury SUV, the Aviator’s interior is adorned with premium materials and soft-touch finishes, from leather-wrapped seats to open-pore wood trim, that enhance its opulence. The Aviator Black Label stands out as a top-tier trim with a luxury-focused design, which adds Lincoln’s Perfect Position Seats with Active Motion Massage. The seats are 30-way adjustable, with a built-in massage feature that ensures comfort and reduces fatigue wherever the road takes you.
The Aviator’s upscale cabin seamlessly integrates a digital landscape that offers notable improvements over the 2024 model. The 2025 Aviator introduces a larger 13.2-inch center touchscreen and a 12.4-inch digital gauge cluster. The updated system features the Lincoln Digital Experience, an Android-based infotainment system that equips the SUV with Google Maps, Google Assistant, and a Vivaldi browser you can use when the Aviator is parked.
What’s the Verdict?
The 2025 Aviator is undeniably luxurious, but it’s not exactly innovative, at least in terms of what we’re seeing across the segment and even in the larger Navigator. For example, the 2025 Navigator features a 48-inch digital landscape, providing an extraordinary driving experience enhanced by its premium materials, plush seating, and thoughtful details. Rivals like the 2025 Lexus TX feature a 14-inch standard center display, with a lower starting price.
Even with this oversight, the 2025 Aviator’s technologies don’t completely disappoint. Music aficionados will appreciate the available Revel Ultima 3D Audio System that outfits the SUV with 28 speakers to deliver an immersive, concert-like experience throughout the cabin. The system adds to the appeal of the Lincoln Digital Experience, especially since you can stream your favorite show or browse the internet when the SUV is parked.
Performance: Powerful and Adept
The 2025 Aviator is powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0L V6 engine that sets new standards for excellence in its class. With the smooth-shifting ten-speed automatic transmission working behind the scenes, the 3.0L V6 produces 400 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque. That output, which is the highest standard output in the class, makes the Aviator agile, engaging, and quick to accelerate.
Lincoln encourages drivers to tailor the Aviator’s performance to their driving style or the situation using the Lincoln Drive Modes. Each mode alters the steering, shift points, and more for optimal performance. These modes are even more impressive when paired with the optional Dynamic Handling Package, which equips the 2025 Aviator with an air glide suspension. Aside from the suspension adjusting with each mode, you can also lower the Aviator to improve accessibility in what Lincoln calls the SUV’s “kneeling” position.
What’s the Verdict?
There’s no question that the 2025 Aviator has a potent heartbeat, with its quick-shifting transmission and adaptive suspension improving its handling and ride quality. These characteristics reflect Lincoln’s reputation for building models that feel like you’re cruising on a cloud. So, what’s the downside?
Drivers looking for a hybrid will have to shop for a used Aviator, since Lincoln discontinued this option after 2023 due to declining demand. Likewise, the Aviator doesn’t offer the dynamic and sporty handling that you’ll find in models like the BMW X5 and Audi Q7. This isn’t necessarily a criticism but a consideration for those who want a more athletic and engaging SUV that doesn’t necessarily handle like its size.
Driver-Assist and Safety: A Significant Leap Forward
Technology is at the heart of the Aviator’s 2025 refresh, with Lincoln merging elegance with innovative features in the SUV. We see this stellar combination in the 2025 Aviator’s cabin with the Android-based Lincoln Digital Experience. Fortunately, it’s also prominent in the 2025 Aviator’s safety and driver-assist technologies.
The 2025 Aviator rolls off Lincoln’s production floor with Lincoln Co-Pilot 360 Drive 2.0. The suite equips the SUV with Evasive Steer Assist and a Lane Keeping System that incorporates the automaker’s Blind Spot Information System. Lincoln also outfits the Aviator with a 360-degree camera, Reverse Brake Assist, and parking sensors for both the front and rear.
The Aviator’s standard driver-assist technologies foster confidence and peace of mind, but Lincoln doesn’t stop there. As Ford’s luxury arm, it only makes sense that the Lincoln lineup benefits from BlueCruise. The 2025 Aviator includes a four-year subscription to the hands-free driver-assist feature, which is considered one of the most intuitive in the industry. This hands-free technology gives you every opportunity to enjoy the Aviator’s luxurious cabin and updated infotainment system, whether you’re streaming your favorite playlist, listening to an audiobook, or asking Google Assistant for weather updates.
What’s the Verdict?
The 2025 Aviator’s extensive suite of driver-assist and safety features is impressive, as is the inclusion of BlueCruise. However, it’s essential to note that BlueCruise is currently subscription-based. Despite the 2025 Aviator earning luxury status, BlueCruise is only included for its first four years on the road. From there, continuing the subscription is up to you and adds to your ownership costs.
A Solid, Not Stellar Choice
The 2025 Aviator embodies the level of luxury that’s defined the Lincoln lineup for decades. Its mid-cycle refresh brings meaningful updates that enhance its appeal, blending elegance with modern technologies and making it a solid choice for many. However, there’s always room to grow, and that’s certainly the case for the Aviator.
This luxury SUV is sophisticated, but it’s impossible to ignore its shared aesthetics with the Ford Explorer. Its digital landscape is expansive, more so than rivals like the Cadillac XT6, which features an eight-inch touchscreen. However, Lincoln has already proven it can offer more with the 2025 Navigator’s 48-inch landscape. Likewise, as rivals add hybrids and plug-in hybrids to their lineups, Lincoln eliminated that choice entirely for the Aviator in 2025.
So, how do you decide? The 2025 Aviator isn’t a sub-par SUV by any means; it’s refined, well-equipped, and engaging to drive. The only way to know if it’s the right fit for you is to look at it objectively and understand your driving, budget, and style preferences. From there, climb in the driver’s seat to get a better feel for the Aviator’s performance and packaging, even test-driving rival models to see where the Aviator excels or falls short.
