Looking for 2022-2023 Nautilus - Bring it on

[rt-man]

Hello Forum,

New here, new to Lincoln/Ford. Looking at 2022-2023 Lincoln Nautilus, specifically Black Label. Wife looking to upgrade her ride (2016 Lexus NX) to something more luxurious. The Lexus will go down to condo-land. She'll drive the Lincoln until it too goes South. Not strangers to luxury-performance (have had Acuras, Cadillac SRX, BMW X3). Want the Black Label trim for 2.7T engine and luxury appointments. Both in our mid to lower 60s. I'm drawn to the materials and old-school luxury.

Issues? Likes? Dislikes? Any and all inputs greatly appreciated. Looking to buy from a dealer, preferably Lincoln so they can provide the service records.

Thanks in advance and merry Xmas.

 

[demark1]

My 2021, not black label, 20" wheels, is very comfortable, and it rides great on highways. I love the lane-centering with the adaptive cruise. Bright headlights, which is crucial. Very quiet.

My biggest criticism is that it rides like a bit of a truck on local roads. My first SUV. Comparing to both a Cadillac XTS sedan and a Lexus LS430, it rides much harsher in that it feels somehow crashy on imperfect roads. I do not have the adaptive suspension, but also do not have the 21" wheels.

I have the mid-level Revel, and it doesn't sound great to me in the bass. Minor quibble relatively.

The base seats lack separate front/rear up/down controls on the passenger side: just a single motor. Cheap cost-cutting. May not be issue if you get the 22 ways seats. Seats also feel too short. Aviator has far more comfortable seats. Try your specific ones for comfort.

The lower door panels (like near the door cupholder/door pocket) and b pillars feel like cheap plastic out of a Corolla or something. Again, obvious cost-cutting. I doubt black label has different door card material there.

Overall, the Lincoln has a good blend of luxury but to me feels like luxury-minus. An A-. Not because it lacks the Venetian leather of the black label, but for reasons above. Mostly, the ride quality on local roads.

It is a great highway cruiser. The 4 cylinder is raucous outside when cold and vibrates a bit at idle, but is less gruff than the Lexus RX, and it lacks the infernal electric doors of the RX, which I had as a loaner on my LS430. It also holds more cargo, which is why I did not go with an RX. In-laws have a Cadillac XT5, but I dislike GM headlights and it is smaller.
Overall, the Nautilus is nearly ideal as a comfortable highway cruiser, even if the Lexus seemed a bit more lux on the interior, offset by engine gruffness, electric doors, and space.

Prices seem a bit higher than 1.5 years ago, even used, for comparable models. Around 2k higher on average now.

You don't need the black label used. You can get same options on Ultimate package, minus the funky wheels (but the fan wheels are very nice!) and the Venetian leather. It's cosmetic, because you don't get the black label perks used. I think the adaptive cruise/lane centering is great, the 22-way seats are probably an improvement with thigh extenders, etc., and be sure you at least get the base revel audio. The ultimate and black label both give the higher-end Revel audio, which might be better (or not so much).

I got mine CPO with new tires that are perfectly adequate (Kelly Edge). Car was like new. No major recalls unlike Toyota V6 turbos or 8 speed transmissions... yet. The 6 cylinders in 2021 had a recall on some, so research and avoid those build in that time.
I keep my cars for 15-20 years, modest miles (150k-200k), so time will tell, but functional and comfortable so far, but not quite luxury ride quality by my standards. It is not my first choice daily around-town car, where I still hop in my LS430, but it is my first choice for long trips.

 

[Matthew1]

We love our 21 black label, it’s very calming inside with the Alpine interior. The v6 has plenty of power and is a great highway cruiser. We had some challenges with it at first but as long as it’s CPO and your have a good dealer, it’s a no brainer.

 

[stu-lastcar]

I agree with just about all of Demark1's post. I traded a 2023 Corsair Standard plus two thousand dollars for a used 2022 Nautilus Reserve with the 201A package about seven months ago. It has about 39,000 miles on it, of which the last 3,000 are mine. The car has been absolutely trouble-free since I bought it. The previous owner had the car serviced by Lincoln every 7,000 miles or so. I do not have any information about whether the previous owner had any serious issues. My first oil change and inspections at my Lincoln dealer was $113.00, including a free hand-wash. Lincoln and Ford recommend Motorcraft synthetic blend, which I cannot understand for a turbo. My dealer quoted a $70.00 upcharge for full synthetic. I will probably buy a Lincoln Protect Premium Care contract when my warranty is about to expire.

The previous owner had the battery replaced at about 34,000 miles. Battery voltage even after a week of not driving barely budges. The Corsair always started, but battery voltage on a seven month old car would drop from 12.5v to 11.75v after four or five days of not driving and I would get messages about electronic features being disabled to protect the battery. I bought a battery tender and a jump starter just in case.

The Corsair was beautiful, relatively nimble, and fast with good mileage. The ride was great on interstates but awful on city streets. The local roads here are mostly asphalt but they are bumpy, cracked, with large potholes and 1" deep manhole covers. The car felt like it had no damping. It bounced all over the place all the time and bumps felt very sharp. I did have a Corsair loaner with adaptive suspension for a few days. It smoothed out the bumps somewhat, but was still not great. The Nautilus, with standard suspension and 20" wheels was much better. It was still truck-like but at least felt like the chassis moved up and down less than the wheels.

I was still not satisfied with the ride and bought a set of used oem 18" wheels and new Yokohama Geolandar CV G058 tires. The difference was very noticeable from the first moment and has improved over the past 1,000 miles. The ride is still somewhat truck-like, but bumps don’t feel nearly as sharp, and small bumps and ripples are much less noticeable. For a car like this, except for appearance I think most owners would prefer 18" wheels over the lower profile wheels with or without adaptive damping. Handling is not sporty regardless of wheel size.

The car is well put together and rattle-free except on really sharp bumps. The car is easy to drive except for feeling somewhat ponderous. Adaptive cruise works very well. Lane keeping and lane centering are helpful but not as good as the Corsair (Co-Pilot 1.0 Plus vs. 2.1 Vision on the Corsair?). The 2.0 liter engine feels eager, with very little turbo lag and plenty of passing power. The transmission is very smooth. The car is very quiet except for impact noise over sharp bumps. The standard Reserve leather seats feel very firm but I can drive for three or four hours straight without any aches or fatigue (I am 77). Storage and luggage space are good. The 14-speaker Revel system sounds clear but thin. Sources make a big difference. Setting the bass close to max and treble and mid close to min helps. Sync 4 works well enough. Android Auto syncs quickly every time. I hate having to shut Autostart off every time I start the car. Autohold works very well. Finally, the Corsair was my first and last car with climate controls on the touchscreen. The Nautilus buttons for temperature and fan speed have different shapes, so I can adjust them without taking my eyes off the road (important at my age). Almost all other climate controls and some audio controls also have physical controls.

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[demark1]

stu-lastcar (interesting name!), "ponderous" is exactly what I was thinking, but I wrote "crashy" instead to be a bit more visceral and show harshness, not just heaviness. You nailed it. The phys controls for climate and seat heaters are nice. The autostart an heated steering wheel being an extra button-push away is a minor annoyance.

 

[rt-man]

Thank you, everyone. Just what I was looking for! I appreciate the candor.

We/I know this isn't a performance luxury SUV (have that in our '16 X3 6 cyl turbo). She's looking for luxury. I am concerned a bit about initial issues (as cited by Demark1) but hope if we get one with 30-40k miles, the gremlins have been sorted out. We had a '10 Caddy SRX with the 2.8T 6 cyl engine but it never felt sorted out between the engine and transmission but the luxury was there. I think it had 20" wheels. Will need her to test drive it on various roads. Will keep you posted if we find what we want (ext and int color are important). I figure Black Label trim will be sufficient. Also looking at an Acura MDX but am not crazy with the controls layout. Nautilus is more in the old-school luxury category that we both want at this point (not getting any younger). As stated in the original post, I've never had a Ford/Lincoln product before. This could be it. Will keep you posted by updating this thread.

Happy Holidays!