Lincoln Nautilus
Midsize luxury SUV · 2007–present. 36,544 units sold in the US in 2024
How it began
It was created by Lincoln, Ford Motor Company's luxury brand, as a sibling of the Ford Edge on the CD3 platform. The inspected original sources do not identify the original MKX’s hands-on designer or chief engineer; Ford does name Peter Horbury as executive director of North America Design. The executives of later stages are documented: Lincoln president Kumar Galhotra introduced and explained the Nautilus name in 2017, and Lincoln president Joy Falotico introduced the 2021 update.
In January 2006 Ford chose its Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada, to build the Edge and the MKX. Oakville built the MKX and then the Nautilus until December 2023; the Edge continued there during part of 2024 before the plant’s retooling. The current generation sold in the United States is assembled at the Changan Ford plant in Hangzhou, China.
The MKX debuted at the Detroit auto show in January 2006 and reached dealers in late 2006 as a 2007 model. On November 28, 2017, at the Los Angeles auto show, Lincoln renamed it Nautilus for the 2019 model year, with sales beginning in November 2018. The current generation was revealed on April 17, 2023 and reached showrooms in early 2024.
It was born as the MKX, part of the letter-based names Lincoln used from 2006 to 2019. In 2017 Lincoln decided to return to real names because, according to its marketing director Robert Parker, people remember names better than letters, especially in China. Kumar Galhotra explained that Nautilus comes from the Latin nautis, sailor, and fits Lincoln's family of travelers and explorers: Navigator, Continental and, later, Aviator and Corsair.
In the mid-2000s luxury buyers were moving from sedans and body-on-frame SUVs to crossovers, and Lincoln did not have one. The MKX was its answer: a five-passenger unibody crossover aimed at the Lexus RX, Acura MDX and Cadillac SRX. Lincoln pitched it as modern luxury for a new generation of customers, building on the Zephyr sedan launched months earlier. The MKX shared its architecture with the Ford Edge.
Generation by generation
- Gen. 12007–2015 · CD3 (U388)
The Lincoln MKX, the brand's first crossover
Photo: Cutlass · CC0 What changed. Everything was new: a five-seat unibody crossover on the Ford Edge's CD3 platform, with a 265 hp 3.5-liter V6 and a six-speed automatic, front- or all-wheel drive. It offered the Vista Roof panoramic roof, adaptive headlamps that swiveled with the steering, 14-speaker THX II audio and navigation that spoke English, Spanish or French. In 2011 it got a deep update: a new face, a 3.7-liter V6 with 305 hp and 280 lb-ft, 19/26 mpg for the front-drive version and a price from $39,995 including destination.
The innovation. The 2011 MKX was the first vehicle with MyLincoln Touch: LCD screens and five-way buttons in place of traditional knobs and gauges, with panels each driver could personalize by voice, touch or button. Lincoln billed it as an industry first.
If you buy one usedNHTSA lists for 2007–2010 MKX the Takata airbag inflator recalls, passenger side (16V384) and driver side (21V158), which can rupture after years of humidity and heat; in South Florida that matters. The current16V384 record advises not driving affected unrepaired vehicles until the remedy is completed. In road-salt states the fuel tank could corrode and leak at the seam (14V682 for 2007–2008 and 15V712 for 2009–2010). The 2011 models had a liftgate lock recall (10V516) and certain2014 AWD MKXs a right-front halfshaft retention recall (14V393), according to Ford’s model-specific table. Check by VIN that all of it was done. - Gen. 22016–2018 · CD4 (U540)
Second MKX: EcoBoost power and 22-way seats
Photo: Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0 What changed. It debuted on January 13, 2015 at the Detroit auto show, with new styling and an integral-link rear suspension. It kept the roughly 300 hp 3.7-liter V6 and added the 2.7-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 with 335 hp and 380 lb-ft, both with a six-speed automatic and push-button shifter. Adaptive cruise control, lane keeping, a 360-degree camera with 12 parking sensors and the MyLincoln Mobile app arrived. It went on sale in the U.S. in June 2015 and launched in China that October. The announced expansion plan also included Canada, Mexico and the Middle East.
The innovation. Front seats with 22 power adjustments and active motion, a power thigh extender and a four-way power head restraint, plus the 13- or 19-speaker Revel audio system, that brand's first in a car.
If you buy one usedNHTSA lists for 2016–2018 MKX a recall for front brake hoses that could rupture early (20V469) and another, from August 2025, for the rear brake hose (25V544). On 2016–2017 models with the 3.7 engine, the battery positive cable could rub a bracket and short (19V809). Separately,17V123 covers certain2016–2017 MKXs whose driver airbag might not fully inflate; its description is not limited to the3.7engine. The 16-way power seats carry recall 20V414. Ask for the repair history by VIN. - Gen. 32019–2023 · U540 (Nautilus)
The Nautilus name is born
Photo: Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0 What changed. On November 28, 2017, on a hotel rooftop in Los Angeles, Lincoln unveiled the refreshed MKX with a new name: Nautilus. It brought a Continental-style grille, an eight-speed automatic for both engines (250 hp 2.0 turbo and 335 hp 2.7 twin-turbo), lane centering and 22-way Ultra Comfort seats developed with orthopedic surgeons. For 2021 the interior was completely redesigned, with a horizontal 13.2-inch screen, SYNC 4, Phone As A Key, and the 2.0 turbo retained its 250 hp. It was still built in Oakville, Ontario.
The innovation. The 2021 model's horizontal 13.2-inch center screen running SYNC 4: Lincoln's first use of SYNC 4, the largest screen in the brand at the time, with conversational voice recognition and over-the-air updates. Lincoln Co-Pilot360 was standard.
If you buy one usedNHTSA lists for the 2019 Nautilus a recall for lane centering that did not properly detect hands off the wheel (19V031) and one for an instrument cluster that could stay blank at start-up (19V076); in June 2026 both were reopened for units repaired incorrectly (26V377 and 26V372). On 2020 all-wheel-drive models, the rear drive unit could ship with too little lubricant (21V011). The big one: on 2021–2022 Nautilus with the 2.7 EcoBoost, intake valves could break and leave the engine without power (24V635); the remedy includes a test and, if needed, a new engine. The 2023 models had a rear shock absorber recall (23V439). Check by VIN. - Gen. 42024–present · CDX707
The 48-inch screen and the hybrid built in Hangzhou
Photo: MercurySable99 · CC BY-SA 4.0 What changed. Revealed on April 17, 2023, ahead of Auto Shanghai, and built at the Changan Ford plant in Hangzhou, China, instead of Oakville. It grew 3.2 inches in length (193.2) and 2 inches in wheelbase (114.2). The V6 is gone: a 250 hp 2.0 turbo with an eight-speed automatic and standard all-wheel drive is the base, and for the first time there is a Nautilus Hybrid, the 2.0 turbo plus a 100 kW electric motor for 310 system hp through a CVT at launch. Inside, a 48-inch panoramic display spans the whole dash, with an 11.1-inch touchscreen in the center, hands-free BlueCruise 1.2 and the Lincoln Rejuvenate mode. Launch price: $50,415 in 2023.
The innovation. The 48-inch panoramic display: two 24-inch panels at the base of the windshield showing the gauges on the left and the map and media toward the passenger, controlled from an 11.1-inch touchscreen. Thirty-nine percent of the Nautilus sold in 2024 were hybrids.
If you buy one usedIt is new, but it already has an NHTSA history. The 2024–2025 power windows did not reverse properly on detecting an obstruction; there was a recall (24V597 and 24V953) and then recalls for incorrect repairs (25V237 and 25V518). On 2024 models, the multimedia software could reboot the panoramic display and leave it blank (25V337), fixable over the air. The 2024–2025 models with an engine block heater carry recall 25V343 and the rearview camera 26V165; 2025 models add LED headlights (25V519) and the EGR valve (26V122). IIHS lists the2025 Nautilus as Top Safety Pick+. Check by VIN that the campaigns are closed.
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