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New name, new looks and advanced standard safety features attract the appeal of new luxury SUVs
Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press Auto Reviewer

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Renamed, redesigned and significantly improved, the 2019 Lincoln Nautilus will offer more standard safety features and significantly better fuel economy when it replaces the mid-size MKX SUV at dealerships in October.

For years, Lincoln has struggled to catch buyers' attention with a small and somewhat forgettable line of products. The simple and memorable name of the Nautilus and its new front styling compliant with the popular SUV Navigator should help solve these problems. In addition to the grille, hood, headlights and wings of the Nautilus with continental style nameplates are new. The rest of the body is unchanged from the MKX.

The Nautilus competes with five-passenger luxury SUVs, including the Cadillac XT5 and Lexus RX. Prices start at $ 40,340, lower than XT5 and RX, at $ 41,695 and $ 43,570, respectively.

I spent a day driving Nautilus on the hills and highways of California's central coast. Most of my time was driving a 335 horsepower Nautilus AWD Reserve V6 that cost $ 65,120. All prices do not include destination fees.

More: 6 Things Buyers Will Like From the Lincoln Nautilus 2019

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Black magic

The Nautilus is quiet, smooth and luxurious, especially in the high-end Black Label trims. The Black Label awards start at $ 56,895 for a front-wheel drive mode with a 2.0-liter engine. Black Label represents about 5% of MKX sales. Based on my time in a $ 65,640 black label with four-wheel drive, V6 and the Chalet's color scheme, this could increase in the Nautilus. The interior of the chalet has perforated white leather seats in a pattern reminiscent of Lincoln's star badge, black leather on the dashboard and console and striped woodwork.

The Nautilus has plenty of room for the passenger, storage bins and an exceptionally accommodating cargo compartment. Active noise suppression, acoustically laminated rear side windows and other insulators keep the interior quiet at road speeds and on rough surfaces.

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The Blue and Gray Nautilus Reserve that I drove first was spacious and comfortable, but immediately forgettable once in the Black Label Chalet.

All Nautiluses have a touch screen that includes Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The infotainment system also uses AppLink to work with Waze navigation, Amazon's Alexa and many more.

Latest and best security features

The Nautilus is the first vehicle equipped with Lincoln's CoPilot360 system, which includes effective safety features such as pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking at the front, automatic high beam and corner alert. death.

Other available safety and driver assistance features include adaptive cruise control and track centering. In combination, they remove much of the work of highway driving.

The Nautilus is the first Lincoln with evasive steering assistance. It increases the boost of the power steering system when the Nautilus radar determines that a collision is imminent and that the driver begins to spin the wheel. The goal is to react the car faster, avoiding or reducing the severity of the accident. The evasive steering assistance works in conjunction with automatic emergency braking.

Fortunately, none of these features came up during my trip, but the centering of the ACC and tracks was unobtrusive and effective. Owners will certainly appreciate on them during long trips.

New transmissions, greater fuel economy

All Nautiluses have a new eight-speed automatic transmission that is fast, smooth and dramatically improves fuel economy.

A new 2.0-liter 250-hp engine replaces the 3.7-liter, 303-hp V6 that was the MKX base station. The fuel economy of the 2.0L Nautilus increases by 3 mpg in combined city and highway driving with the 2.0 L and 8-speed compared to the 3.7 L V6 and six-speed.

A 2.75-liter V6 developing 335 hp is available from the MKX, but the eight-speed system also improves the EPA ranking, adding two mpg tests for city, highway and combined driving.

In all-wheel drive models with either engine, the engine disconnects from the drive shaft to the rear axle in the absence of wheel slip. This reduces friction and contributes to fuel economy.

The Nautilus is not meant to be a sporty vehicle, but the AWD 2.7L I had a lot of power to climb hills and pass on freeways. The direction was linear and well balanced. I used the sport mode for most of my driving.

Contact Mark Phelan: [email protected] or 313-222-6731. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan.

2019 Lincoln Nautilus at a glance

Scale of prices: $ 40,340 – $ 59,390

Nautilus Reserve AWD tested:

Price tested: $ 65,120 (excluding destination fees)

V6 bi-turbo 2.7 liter

8 speed automatic transmission

Exit: 335 hp at 5,500 rpm; 380 lb-ft of torque at 3,250 rpm

Estimation of fuel consumption: 18 mpg city / 27 highway / 21 combines. Premium gasoline.

wheelbase112.2 inches

Length: 190.0

Width78.7

size: 66.2

Towing capacity: 3,500 books

Place of assembly: Oakville, Ontario

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