Car Tech Blog - 2021 Lincoln Navigator L Black Label
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Today I got the chance to play around with the technology on the 2021 Lincoln Navigator L Black Label and overall was impressed with what I saw.
To view our in-depth video on the Driver's Information Screen and the Infotainment System click HERE
The Driver’s Information Screen or dashboard is a 12 inch configurable (somewhat) digital screen. When I say somewhat, what I mean is that compared to its competitors, the digital dash is lacking in terms of how customizable it is. Certainly there are a few things that you can customize like you can add or remove the RPM gauge, and if you take off the Turn-by-Turn directions (from the dashboard) you can get a calm or quiet screen that removes all by the center information area. Other than that though, there is nothing else you can customize. The dashboard in general is too dim for my liking, and I’m not a particularly fan of the ghosting out of the Speedometer and RPM Gauge. I think it could look good, if the graphics in general had a little more “pop” to them. Lincoln has chosen in this dashboard to remove the traditional menu icons that appear in the Drivers Information Screen, and place them as physical buttons on the right side of the steering wheel, which is fine, just takes a little getting used to. You do have a side screen on the right and the left, and the center is your speedometer and inside the speedometer you can see things such as all your Lane Keeping Assist and Adaptive Cruise Control icons, which is nice. On the right side screen you have a main menu which you can just scroll through with the solver toggle on the right side of the steering wheel and there are about 5 pages worth of drivers info including a page for Tire Pressure which shows all four wheels and their pressures. The screen on the far left will only display media, and RPM gauge, or a blank screen, and in the event of a blank screen, the media info just moves to the top center of the display.
On of the great features, that I thought was really done well was the HUD display controls. First of all, the y put the button to access HUD controls right on the steering wheel with all the other buttons like Media, Phone, Navigation etc. Secondly when you pushed the HUD button, you got a clear cut menu on the dashboard screen that allowed you to control content, placement and brightness. Now for the part I thought was really great, they put the graphics for moving the HUD around (left-right, up-down, and rotate) right in the HUD which is exactly where it should be because you need to be looking at the HUD while adjusting it, not the drivers Information screen (where you normally see the graphics). So, Kudo’s to Lincoln on getting this HUD display controls dead right! I must mention as well, that when you turn on your turn signals, the little flashing green arrows show up in the HUD, first time I’ve seen that, and I absolutely loved it!
I’m hoping that when they refresh this model (hopefully in a year or 2) that one of the things they will revamp is the Drivers Information Screen. In particular I am hoping that they add brighter, more easily seen graphics, and 3D graphics. If you look at the new ford F 150’s dash, or the new Ram TRX dash, you’ll see what I mean. I’d like to see the ability to change where the speedometer and RPM gauges appear, and I’d like to have each individual gauge customizable in terms of what you see. A great example of the is the MBUX system on modern Mercedes vehicles. I’d really love to see Lincoln put in thumb swipe pads like on the MBUX steering wheel, one for the Driver’s Information Screen and one for the Infotainment Screen.
Infotainment System
The system itself is a Sync 3 and offers Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, AM, FM, and HD Radio, along with Sirius XM and Bluetooth. It has a 20 speaker Revel Premium audio system which is fantastic, no complaints there!
After having a chance to play with the new Sync 4 system in the new F 150’s its hard to be too excited about any Sync 3 system, but to be fair, it works just fine. It offers easy to use controls on the touch interface, and it has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but it does require a wired connection via lighting or usb cable. The screen itself was also a bit of a disappointment as it was only 10 inches, which I can get in a baseline Ford Bronco. I’m hoping when they upgrade, that Sync 4 gets put in which includes wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto, and the ability to upgrade almost every single electronic component of the vehicle! I also hope that they move to at least a12” if not 15” screen, as there is limitless real estate on that massive dash.
Other Technology
The Perfect Position 30 way power seats (both driver and passenger) including multiway adjustable lumbar and massaging functions, are truly an awesome thing. These seats are capable of almost any position that a driver could want. It includes separate right and left thigh extenders to support your legs, and 5 different lumbar support areas, 4 in the back part of the seat and 1 in the seat cushion. For the back part, there are 3 lumbar areas directly in the middle to lower back area, and then the sides move as well. On the cushion part the outside leg support can be adjusted as part of the lumbar system. You can even move your headrest up-down, and forward and back. The second best part is that, although you can run this from the infotainment screen, all the controls are also physical and are located on the doors close to the other seat control, but placed just far enough away that you could locate them without looking, which is exactly how it should work.
The 360° camera system was disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, it works perfectly fine, even has washers for the front and rear cameras, but when activated, instead of being full screen as you would expect, the pictures shrink. On top of that it did not have dynamic swivel guide lines for the front facing camera. That’s the first time I have seen a 360° camera system without dynamic guidelines in the front as well as the back. I’m assuming the camera view on the screen was smaller because of resolution, either from the camera’s themselves or the screen itself. Either way I really hope that system gets completely overhauled when they refresh this model. This would not be a reason for me not to consider purchasing one, it just really needs to be brought up to date, especially for a $100,000 + vehicle.
The center console in the second row (which is an option) was very nice. It had well placed (illuminated) cup holders, a huge amount of storage, and a very nice, simple digital display for the rear audio. I loved it that the second row armrest matched the first row armrest, both are very comfortable. Underneath the second row armrest was another large open storage area with fairly tall sides which in my opinion makes it great for storing things because they can’t really roll out very easily.
The second row controls for the Tri-zone climate system were excellent, simple, well laid out, and easy to figure out. I also appreciated that the second row seats could slide forward and backwards as well as tilt, and the third row seats had power recline on both sides, that was a nice touch. Including USB A plug-ins on both sides in the third row was also good to see as sometimes we only see one.
The power adjustable pedals were another feature I was happy to see. The new GM’s and Chevrolets like the Suburban and Yukon no longer have power adjustable pedals, not even as an option, and if your short legged, and like to drive a big SUV, you’re not going be looking at those two vehicles.
Over all the 2021 Navigator felt luxurious, drove like a luxury vehicle, and was full of amenities, I just hope they update the Driver’s Information Screen and the Infotainment Screen when they refresh this model, then I think it will match or excel from its competitors in terms of technology.
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