The 2019 Lincoln Nautilus is the perfect example of what American car buyers want these days.A large vehicle capable of fitting a full family and its cargo, featuring a sporty look, commanding view of the road, and most importantly which doesn't look like a minivan. Our tester Nautilus in its black label trim is pushing all gadgets and luxury known to man to also fit into the category of luxury cars. It does it all; it is all-wheel drive, hatchback, self-driving, and even good looking!. Let's jump aboard for a quick driven review of this new offering from Lincoln, and see if daily life is as rosy as it seems.

Exterior

Interior

Drivetrain

Driving Impressions

Let's talk about what it's like to drive the Nautilus. First off, let's set expectations, this is a heavy vehicle with a high center of gravity, so any harsh input will translate into unpleasant body movement. It is no sports car. The powertrain is good if you pace around town, but for the 1% of the time you need to make a quick input, steering or throttle, the sheer size of the vehicle will remind you to take it easy and enjoy the world of Luxury offered by the Black Label trim. You have just spoiled yourself in leather and gadgets, but the chassis underneath the skin is still a car starting at $40k. No active suspensions or fancy torque vectoring control here. Once you accept that fact, the car performs pretty well. You will only be aware of its shortcoming if you drive it beyond 7/10th of its capacity. Around town with the kids, it is smooth, comfy and you have ample power to go about your business.

Steering / Handling

The steering feedback on the Nautilus is good; you can even get some enjoyment driving the Nautilus. It is a lot more fun to drive than something like a Lexus RX or any Hyundai. My only grief was the steering response off center at low speed. It was slightly over-boosted, jerking the chassis around a bit too quickly. Once in motion, the steering was good and I surprised myself carving a few corners with a little grin on my face.

Power delivery

When it comes to power, the 2019 Nautilus has plenty enough to get you in trouble. The power curve is just how I would want it to be on a Luxury crossover, very flat. The all-wheel-drive system prevents any kind of wheelspin or torque steer, but I could still feel a slight bias toward the front wheels, which I could have done without. Not a deal breaker but still noticeable.

Self driving abilities

The Nautilus offers some serious self-driving capabilities with lane keep assist and radar cruise control. The cruise control works as ti should, but the lane keep assist is not as good as systems seen on Mercedes-Benz or BMW. You activate the steering assist with an extra button press on the steering. At first, I was wondering why it was not simply packaged with the cruise control, but I soon realized that the assist is not as natural as you might expect, and I totally understand why you would want it turned off. Other systems like Mercedes-Benz are quite enjoyable to deal with, but in this instance, the force needed to overcome the assist was a little too strong for my taste.

I tried the system on my usual route, and I found that it would not recognize markings that other systems would detect. I'd say that it works, but it's just not the best. If you drive on well-marked lanes, it will still help on your commute or long road trip and I would totally get check that option box.

Details

Conclusion

I would recommend the Nautilus for its overall character, it feels American in a good way. Plenty of space, power, and distinctive styling. The Black Label adds tons of refinement but the price tag goes along with it, and none of that money goes into buying you better driving dynamics.

Driving the top trim on any car is always hard on the value proposition because you are driving the base chassis bloated with tons of options. You are always better off buying a bare vehicle if you're in it for the driving dynamics. This Black Label trim is no exception and your dollar are essentially buying you all design extras you can add, on a mid-priced ($40k) vehicle. I loved every inch of luxury in the Nautilus but I am not sure I'd splurge all the way to the $60k price tag.

At $60k you start getting into base models BMW X5 or Mercedes GLE350 offering another level of driving enjoyment. Yet again, keeping the final price tags of these German vehicles close to their starting price is not going to be easy...

But if old school American luxury is what you are looking for, the Nautilus should check your boxes.