Lincoln Aviator
Three-row midsize luxury SUV · 2003–2005 and 2020–present. 25,235 units sold in the US in 2024
How it began
Lincoln, the luxury brand of Ford Motor Company. Mark Hutchins, president of Lincoln Mercury, presented the original project to dealers in August 2001. For the 2020 comeback, the documented names are David Woodhouse, Lincoln's design director; John Davis, chief program engineer; and Joy Falotico, Lincoln's president.
The first Aviator was built at Ford's plant in Hazelwood, Missouri, outside St. Louis, on the same line as the Ford Explorer and the Mercury Mountaineer. Today's Aviator is built at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant, alongside the sixth-generation Explorer.
Lincoln announced pricing for the 2003 Aviator on August 26, 2002, with U.S. dealer availability scheduled for October that year. It went out of production after the 2005 model year. It came back as a preview in New York in March 2018, was shown in production form at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2018 and went on sale in 2019 as a 2020 model.
Aviator means a pilot of aircraft. The consulted sources do not establish why Lincoln originally chose the name, but the 2020 design team openly drew on flight: lines that mimic the profile of a wing, a tail that slopes down like a plane in flight and an internal motto of "quiet flight."
In 2002 Lincoln had only one SUV, the huge Navigator. The Aviator was its first midsize luxury SUV: about a foot shorter and roughly 10,000 dollars cheaper than the Navigator, aimed at bringing new people to the brand (Lincoln expected 80 percent of its buyers to be new to Lincoln). In 2018 it returned to fill the gap between the Nautilus and the Navigator, aimed at young families and at rivals such as the Acura MDX, Audi Q7 and Volvo XC90.
Generation by generation
- Gen. 12003–2005
The Explorer's luxury sibling
Photo: Cutlass · CC0 What changed. It was Lincoln's first midsize SUV, built on the body-on-frame chassis of the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer, with a 113.7-inch wheelbase, seven seats and a third row that folds flat. Lincoln stiffened the frame and added two-piece urethane-and-rubber body mounts for a quieter ride. Inside it had walnut wood, satin nickel trim, leather and heated and cooled front seats. It started at 39,995 dollars in 2002, destination included.
The innovation. Its all-aluminum 4.6-liter V8, with dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder, made 302 hp and 300 lb-ft: Lincoln billed it as best in class, and it also met California's Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) standard.
If you buy one usedNHTSA lists one recall under the 2003 Aviator name (02V313): the shift cable could come loose from its bracket and show the wrong gear. For 2004 and 2005, NHTSA lists no recalls under that model name. Ford recommends premium fuel rated91octane or higher for optimum performance. The original2003 EPA guide rates4WD at13mpg city/18highway and2WD at13/19. Maximum towing is7,300lb when properly equipped; the manual requires a weight-distributing hitch above3,500lb and compliance with load limits. Always check the VIN at NHTSA, since it shares many parts with the Explorer of the same era. - Gen. 22020–present · U611
The comeback, with rear-wheel drive and a plug-in hybrid
Photo: Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0 What changed. It is no longer a body-on-frame truck: it is the first Lincoln on a new rear-wheel-drive platform, shared with the sixth-generation Explorer, with close to 50-50 weight balance. It has a 400-hp twin-turbo 3.0 V6 with a 10-speed automatic and, through the 2023 model year, the Grand Touring plug-in hybrid with 494 hp and 630 lb-ft, Lincoln's first plug-in. The plug-in version ended for the 2024 model year. For 2025 it got a new grille and headlights, a 13.2-inch center screen and BlueCruise hands-free highway driving.
The innovation. Adaptive Suspension with Road Preview, a Lincoln first: a front camera reads the road about 50 feet ahead, spots height changes of 2 to 8 inches and readies each damper before the wheel reaches the bump. It also debuted Phone As A Key at Lincoln, to lock, unlock and start the vehicle.
If you buy one usedThe early years carry many recalls: the exact NHTSA Lincoln/Aviator/2020 query saved on November3,2026 returned30campaigns. Key ones are 21V154 (2020: rear lower control arm bolts not heat-treated, could break), 23V626 (2020–2022 Grand Touring: defective high-voltage battery cells that can cause loss of power or a fire; 25V349 fixed incorrect repairs on 2020–2021), 24V368 (2020–2024: rearview camera image that flickers from cell phone interference), 26V159 (2020–2026: second-row seat belt anchor bolts) and 26V402 (2020–2021: park pawl could engage while moving). IIHS gave the 2020 Top Safety Pick only to vehicles with specific headlights built after May2020, when Ford strengthened the front structure.
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