1999 Lincoln Navigator review from North America

Let me preface this by saying the looks & ride of the Lincoln Navigator are what drew us in. The interior creature comforts, heated & cool seats, front & rear controls for just about everything under the sun were impressive. It does ride like a luxury SUV just glides across the road & you feel safe.

That said having owned this beast for the better part of 6 years I wouldn't buy another. Yes, I put 100, 000 miles on it I would fully expect any SUV could handle that mileage & most of these were true highway miles. The ongoing cost of owning the Navigator has proved more expensive than my other SUV's.

At 80,000 miles the A/C went. This is NO ordinary repair - equate it to major surgery with a bill to match. The entire dash, console, driver & passenger seats had to be removed. The repair took 3 weeks & cost $2300. btw you have to have most repairs done at the dealer because other than regular maintenance NO ONE else will touch this SUV.

Tires 2 kinds only = a set of 4 will set you back $800- 1100.

The odometer light is possessed. Will flick off & on without rhyme or reason. Same is true of the ABS lights. Had this bugger in the shop repeatedly to have the brakes checked with nothing wrong.

The seat memory switch has Alzheimer's. The suspension bumps & grinds it's way back down moments after shutting off the ignition often producing a Quasimoto hunch over effect from the rear. I'd have the geniuses at Lincoln take a look at it if I had any confidence in their ability. For now, it's bearable although somewhat sad to view.

The keyless entry works well, but mostly I use my fob which btw if you need a replacement will set you back $100+. Only a Lincoln dealer can issue you a new key- there's a microchip in the Lincoln key that will allow the engine to turn over. You pay dearly for the key chip @$70 EACH.

At 122000 the stering is starting to slip, this will probably be another major repair. I'll probably trade it in first.

The cargo area is embarrassingly narrow. For a $44000 suv it is ridiculous that I can't fit more than 8 bags in the cargo area. I often have to put groceries in the passenger & second row seating area much to the amusement of large trunk hybrid owners.

The gas mph. lol lol lol It's a luxury suv, if you have to ask you can't afford it.

As much complaining as I do about the Navigator it rides as smooth as can be- the interior is fantastically comfortable on long trips. The seats fold flat for storage easily & there's plenty of room for my family of 5. I like the overhead compass, miles per gallon indicator, compass etc.

I LOVE the steering wheel controls esp the a/c, heat & music CD, Radio, Cassette = I don't have to reach for anything. The ride is impressive, but overall the Navigator needs some work to compete with the big boys that have been turning out suvs that can pack on the miles without major repairs.