2025 Lincoln Aviator

When Lincoln’s Aviator was last redone for the 2020 model year, switching to a rear-wheel-drive platform and abandoning the MKX name for the rebirth of the Aviator moniker, a lot of people celebrated. A RWD luxury SUV put Lincoln back on track to challenging some of the more prestigious brands in the premium SUV space. Unlike the more mass-market Ford Explorer on which the Aviator is based, the need for big, three-row family-hauling capability is less important in a premium SUV like this; its purpose is more as a status symbol and luxury vehicle than a people mover. The Aviator’s ability to be fun to drive, quick, performance-oriented and luxurious-feeling are prioritized more highly.

That’s why I won’t ding Lincoln for not touching areas like the Aviator’s smallish rear passenger and cargo packaging in its latest redesign, and instead focusing on its amenities and standard features. That’s a better idea for the Aviator than putting in bigger seats with more legroom. I had the opportunity to take a look at the 2025 Aviator in person.

Looks Just as Good
That Lincoln didn’t change much in the styling department either is fine by me; the Aviator looks fantastic as is, and the updates and modernization to the front end bring it more in line with the rest of the changing Lincoln showroom (check out that new Nautilus to see what’s up). The grille looks a little different, but not much. The rest of the vehicle looks the same with the exception of a newly available black-painted roof, as well as the Jet Package variants and their blacked-out trim. It looked good as a 2024 model, and the Aviator looks just as good as a 2025.

The Interior and Tech Updates Work
The changes to the Aviator’s interior involve some new colors and trims, a slightly revised dash with a larger 13.2-inch touchscreen, the relocation of more controls into that touchscreen (ugh) and the reinvention of the entire multimedia system. First, the colors and materials make the already impressive, distinctive Lincoln interior even better. The piano key shifter is still there, and it might be the only push-button shifter we don’t mind using, as it’s actually artistic. The leather, metal and wood all look dynamite. The new Black Label Invitation Package is particularly fancy, too, and it’s easily as nice as offerings from European luxury brands, maybe even besting a few with some lovely details.

The new multimedia system is also impressive. It’s based on an Android Automotive operating system (essentially Google-created), but it seems Lincoln has done a lot more work to make it look native and unique than some other brands have. The company worked very closely with Google to integrate the system into the vehicle. That’s probably a good idea given it now runs the car’s systems and replaces Sync as the voice interface you’ll use to do everything from changing radio stations to cabin temperature. The fact that you can download all manner of Google apps to the vehicle and stream things directly, too, is a function I’m still not convinced a huge number of people do, especially when they’re already doing it on their phone. But you can, if you want, just load it all directly to the Aviator.

Pricier, But That’s OK, Too
Yes, the Aviator is getting one heck of a price bump, but that’s not uncommon these days. The difference here is that you’re actually getting a lot for your money in this bump. The starting price is going up $5,000 or so, according to Lincoln, but the list of standard features added to the base Premiere trim is long. The Premiere now comes with the BlueCruise semi-autonomous hands-free driving system, an adaptive suspension, panoramic moonroof, heated and ventilated front seats, and a lot more. Apparently these were things that Aviator customers were all adding anyway, so in the interest of dropping build complexity at the factory and simplifying ordering, they’re now all included.

The 2025 Aviator looks like a solid, if mild, update to an already excellent offering from the Lincoln brand — and until a complete redesign happens, it should be enough to keep it popular.