Import/Export 2018 Lincoln Navigator Black LabelThe V-6 is smooth and refined and fires with a mild rasp. A strong bottom-end punch and a 5900-rpm redline make it a perfect match for the 10-speed automatic, a unit engineered and built in a Ford/GM partnership. Its programming is spot on in the Navigator. Part-throttle gearchanges are tight and snappy, and the transmission always seems to be in the right gear at the right time.
The Navigator’s ride is compromised by the Black Label’s standard 22-inch rollers. It isn’t uncomfortable, per se, but it’s busier than it should be, with too much road intrusion into the seat, pedals, and steering wheel. Considering the Lincoln’s 131.6-inch wheelbase, we expected the Navigator to glide effortlessly over the road, but it doesn’t. It can’t help that, with the Black Label’s 22-inchers, each corner of the truck carries 93 pounds’ worth of wheel and tire. The Range Rover and Mercedes-Benz GLS, as well as luxury sedans such as the Porsche Panamera and Mercedes S-class, do a better job of isolating you from the pavement’s nooks and crannies.
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