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2004 Lincoln Aviator Mid-Size Near-Luxury Sport Utility Vehicle
Good things come in smaller packages
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Car Review 2004 Lincoln Aviator Mid-Size Near-Luxury Sport Utility Vehicle
Base MSRP Range: $40,030 - $45,445
Base Invoice Range: $36,772 - $41,646
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MSRP As Tested: Not Available
Versions: Luxury and Ultimate Sport Utility, Luxury and Ultimate AWD Sport Utility.
Vehicle Category: Mid-Size Luxury SUV
Engine Location: Front Engine
Drive Wheels: All Wheel Drive
Engine As Tested : 4.6-liter, Dual Overhead Cam, 32-valves, V-8, 302 -horsepower at 5,750rpm and 300 lb-ft torque at 3,250 rpm.
Transmission As Tested: 5-speed automatic.
Fuel Economy (city/hwy): 13 / 17
Standard Safety Features: Driver and front passenger airbags, power-assisted disc brakes, Antilock Braking System (ABS).
Competition: Infiniti FX45, Lexus GX 430, Chevrolet Envoy, Mercedes-Benz ML430.
Review
Once you slip inside the posh leather interior of the Lincoln Aviator your whole definition of a sport utility vehicle will change. Preconceptions once associating SUVs as rugged, outdoorsy vehicles will vanish. Illusions of a truck-like ride, gone.
Technically the Aviator is a sport utility vehicle. But between you and me, for 45,000 big ones you’re probably not going to traverse the back roads of the Big Thicket or haul a clunky bass boat behind it. Au contraire, this luxury utility vehicle is made to escort you and five-to-six other passengers to the opera, the symphony and perhaps, maybe, a rodeo - if there’s valet parking.
Falling under Ford Motor Company’s umbrella, the Lincoln Aviator is a late bloomer â€' especially when compared to its cousins, Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer, both of which enjoyed huge success in the early SUV years. Only two years old, the Aviator has a lot of catching up to do.
Competing against a litany of high dollar luxury vehicles that include the Acura MDX, BMW X5, Cadillac SRX, Lexus GX470, Land Rover Discovery, Mercedes-Benz ML500, Volkswagen Touareg and Volvo XC90, though new, the Aviator has an edge: it can piggyback on the success of its older brother, the Navigator.
First introduced in 1998, the Navigator is older, wiser and has better name recognition. However, essentially, the Navigator and Aviator are basically replicas of one another.
Aviator’s flight plan
Aviator is positioned as an option for young, affluent consumers who are finally waking up to the fact that they really don’t need a SUV that can accommodate half a little league team and all of their gear. Goliath-sized SUVs are out, mid-size SUVs with not remarkable, but better gas mileage, lower sticker price and improved maneuverability are in.It makes sense. To borrow from one giant retailer’s slogan, you get more for less. Less cost. Less size. And less driving hassle for basically the same interior and exterior. It’s genetic engineering for auto manufacturers. Take the basic (successful) vehicle DNA, remove the steroids and, voilà , you’re in the competition again.
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