2026 Lincoln Navigator L Black Label review: Excessively extra

Mitchell Weitzman
Jul 26
6 min read

This SUV makes other SUVs seem small. So does the price

2026 Lincoln Navigator L Black Label review | Sunrise copper metallic | The Road Beat

2026 Lincoln Navigator L Black Label review by The Road Beat

Words and pictures: Mitchell Weitzman

$138,185 is a lot for any new vehicle. Maybe not as much as it used to buy, but it's still a metric crapload of money. That's also about what it costs to drive home a base Porsche 911 Carrera — thanks, inflation. It can also buy this absurdly loaded Lincoln Navigator L Black Label, packed with options that push the sticker to a level I honestly didn't know existed for a Lincoln. Plenty here is expectedly spectacular, but for this kind of money, I hoped for a whole lot more.

Picks

Good news starts immediately because the Navigator certainly looks appropriately expensive. The paint deserves some credit too, as this shade of Sunrise Copper Metallic received multiple unsolicited compliments during my week with it. It's big, imposing, yet still handsome, and carries with itself the presence you'd expect from a six-figure SUV.

That impression only improves once you climb inside. The cabin both looks and feels genuinely upscale, with leather covering nearly every surface that could be and high-quality soft-touch materials everywhere else. Saddle Brown is an especially tasty choice that elevates the entire experience, with Lincoln's "Enlighten Opulence" leather living up to its lofty name. You'll also notice the acres of screen real estate, which will either be a major selling point or a complete turnoff depending on your tastes.

2026 Lincoln Navigator L Black Label interior | review by the Road Beat

Those front seats don't just look inviting, but actually are among the best I've ever sat in, regardless of price or segment. They're wonderfully sculpted and endlessly adjustable, able to be tailored to fit any frame or preference. The massage function is equally excellent. During a long drive to Monterey, it kept me remarkably comfortable the entire way, and I appreciated that it never seemed to time out automatically after 15 minutes like so many other cars do.

Few vehicles are better suited to effortlessly reel in the years and miles than the Navigator. Long highway drives are where this thing truly shines, quietly devouring distance while isolating you from the outside world with no meaningful road or wind noise, acreage of room, and a great stereo to top it off.

2026 Lincoln Navigator L Black Label second row power seats

That comfort isn't reserved only for the driver or your Weapon Systems Officer riding shotgun. The second-row seats are the most comfortable I've ever planted my ass in, complete with more creature comforts than your kids probably deserve. Even the third row is genuinely spacious and, unsurprisingly, among the very best you'll find in any new vehicle.

Did I mention this thing is huge? Even with all three rows of seats in place, there's still 36 cubic feet of cargo room behind the third row—about as much as a Toyota RAV4 offers behind its second-row seats. Need more? Fold the third-row of seats flat (done electronically) and you now have 84 cubic feet of room behind the second row.

Sunrise Copper metallic 2026 Lincoln Navigator L Black Label

21 MPG on the highway won't win any efficiency awards, but for a 222-inch-long yacht, it's honestly respectable. I ended up averaging 18 MPG overall from the twin-turbocharged V6 in mixed driving, which still isn't terrible considering the sheer mass being hauled around. Not that long ago, SUVs this large struggled to break into the teens. If you're coming from an Excursion, you might think it's frugal even.

The engine itself is wonderfully refined and operates in near-total isolation. It's silky smooth, emits a pleasant growl when you lean into the throttle, and delivers effortless twin-turbo power for everyday driving thanks to its 440 horsepower.

Nicks

The biggest issue here is the price. A Navigator L Black Label starts around $121,000, while this particular example climbed to $138,185. Ouch. That's deep into Range Rover territory while also surpassing nearly every other domestic luxury SUV.

Luxury vehicles should be comfortable in every sense of the word. While the seats and cabin are exceptionally comfy, the ride quality occasionally falls short of expectations. Around town it's smooth and composed, but larger potholes and even some expansion joints send surprisingly harsh shudders through the body instead of cleanly isolating the impact. The massive 24-inch wheels certainly don't help, but the aftershocks that ripple through all 222 inches of mass suggest the frame has some inherent limitations. This alone would be the fundamental dealbreaker to me for this example as-equipped.

2026 Lincoln Navigator L Black Label third row seats | review by The Road Beat

Its sheer size can also become exhausting. Driving through Carmel was considerably more stressful than enjoyable, and parking often meant skipping perfectly good spaces simply because the Navigator wouldn't fit. Three-point turns quickly become four- and five-point turns, and unless you have four teenage sons all over six feet tall, there's simply no practical need for something this fucking enormous. Besides, isn't the standard-wheelbase Navigator already big enough at 210 inches?

Lincoln's wall of screens is quickly becoming a brand signature, and it'll either work for you or it won't. Personally, I found the panoramic display stretching across the dashboard to be unnecessary and more distracting than useful.

Ironically, despite all those displays, I never found a quick manual shortcut to activate the superb 360-degree cameras when parking. Instead, I often had to shift into reverse just to bring them up, even when I wasn't backing up. It's a frustrating oversight in something this large. If there's a shortcut I missed, let me know in the comments.

2026 Lincoln Navigator L cargo space and volume behind third row

The seat controls aren't much better. Fine adjustments require enough attention that they're difficult to make while driving, but the mirrors are even more frustrating. Rather than simple physical controls on the door, Lincoln has you navigate through menus on the touchscreen before finally making adjustments with steering-wheel buttons. It's a simple task made needlessly complicated.

Some of the smaller details also undermine the luxury experience. The glove box felt and sounded shockingly cheap and chintzy, the cupholder cover required an oddly forceful push to open, the turn-signal stalk showed rough plastic finishing that honestly looked like a warranty issue, and the touch-sensitive door locks frequently failed to respond. None of those issues belong on a vehicle of this price and stature.

BlueCruise remains a mostly competent hands-free driving system, but it still handily trails GM's excellent Super Cruise. Visibility over your shoulder is also compromised by an exceptionally thick B-pillar, making lane changes feel more awkward than they should.

Too expensive for what you get

This isn't an easy vehicle to judge personally because it's built for a very specific buyer. I tend to dislike SUVs this enormous simply because they're so cumbersome to live with. Then again, I'm a childless 33-year-old who spent the entire week driving this cruise ship by himself. My cat should've at least joined me for a few rides.

2026 Lincoln Navigator Black Label interior cockpit and dashboard

When you consider the price proposition, that's a commitment way past that of other plus-size SUV offerings, dwarfing even that of a Yukon XL Denali Ultimate's starting price and being only several thousand less than the entry barrier to the Escalade ESV Platinum Sport. Value is not the name of this Navigator's playbook.

As relaxing as the Navigator is over long distances (just avoid potholes), it never feels quite as polished to drive as a Range Rover, while too many smaller details feel like they came straight from the Ford parts bin. It's undoubtedly a very nice luxury SUV, but at the asking price, "very nice" simply isn't enough.