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2003 Lincoln Aviator Mid-Size Sport Utility Vehicle
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The second wagon, scaled as only one small step down in size from the redesigned Navigator, carries shapely exterior body panels and a forceful prow that mimics the styling of Navigator.
Package dimensions for this reduced-size version of Navigator fit into the mid-size SUV class and with its cushy appointments and standard third-row bench seat installed forge the first mid-size luxury sport-utility vehicle offered by Lincoln.
Couched in the overriding concept of "Honey, I shrunk the Navigator," this new deluxe wagon from Lincoln with seats for as many as seven passengers plus a powerful V8 engine aboard goes by the name of Aviator.
Its mission is to provide the most flexible seating arrangement, the most spacious cabin and the best towing capacity in the class of mid-size sport-utes.
To develop a new mid-size wagon for Lincoln, Aviator's designers began the process by employing the stiff platform developed for Explorer from Ford.
Aviator's structure, with fully boxed chassis rails, shares with Explorer a wheelbase of 113.7 inches and independent suspension elements for all four wheels.
However, the Lincoln wagon measures almost four inches longer and wider than Explorer and components for suspension, steering and brakes were reworked to produce the cushy kind of ride that makes Navigator so popular.
Frame rails on Aviator show stronger cross braces to support suspension mechanisms and make the chassis even stiffer, while upgraded suspension control arms, bushings and stabilizer bars are in place to negate body roll but also enhance responses from the steering gear.
The suspension uses coil springs linked to monotube dampers with 17-inch wheels and tires, while the steering system is a speed-sensitive ZF Servotronic II rack-and-pinion device.
Braking works with a big disc at every wheel tied to an anti-lock system (ABS) and electronic brake force distribution (EBD).
For power, Aviator stocks a sophisticated aluminum V8 engine that displaces 4.6 liters and carries dual overhead cams and four valves per cylinder.
The V8 delivers 302-hp at 5,750 rpm with torque cranked up to 300 lb-ft at 3,250 rpm.
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