Once one of the market’s most exclusive luxury brands, Lincoln has a lot riding on the debut of the 2024 Nautilus SUV that made its debut in New York Tuesday evening.
While the bigger Navigator may remain the flagship of Ford Motor Co.’s luxury brand, Nautilus provides a roadmap for Lincoln’s future, helping better define what the marque means with its “quiet flight” mantra.
Lincoln says it plans to “elevat(e) the notion of sanctuary with the 2024 Nautilus makeover, putting more of an emphasis on both interior styling and high-tech features. That includes the pillar-to-pillar video display revealed in a teaser image last week.
“The 2024 Nautilus will elevate our portfolio and offer our global clients an all-new, compelling SUV with connected experiences and features that make it just as fun to drive as it is to relax in,” said Dianne Craig, who took over as Lincoln president last December.
Starting inside out
The outgoing crossover was little than a warmed-over version of the old Lincoln MKX, and the design didn’t stray very far. The 2024 Lincoln Nautilus is far less boxy. It features a black-out grille with star-like chrome accents, Slit matrix LED headlights and a distinctive cross-bar grille flaring out of the familiar Lincoln logo. A massive panorama roof and large greenhouse give passengers an expansive of the world around.
But it’s the interior where Lincoln stylists not only focused much of their attention but actually began their work, noted Kemal Curic, the brand’s design director.
“Think about it,” Curic told TheDetroitBureau’s Larry Printz in an exclusive Q&A. “When you drive your vehicle, you spend about 90% of your time in the inside of the vehicle driving. So, the best place in the house is the interior.”
“Thinking ahead of time”
The overall look is far more sumptuous, even on base trims, than the 2023 Nautilus — with a distinctly high-tech feel targeting the younger, more affluent buyers the brand has long craved.
That starts with the ’24 Nautilus digital display that sits atop the instrument panel and stretches from pillar-to-pillar. It seamlessly integrates a digital gauge cluster and can instantly be programmed to display other vehicle functions, such as navigation guidance. Additional functions can be displayed for the front passenger. A separate touchscreen rises out of the center stack.
“We were really thinking ahead of time,” Curic told TheDetroitBureau. “How are we going to keep this fresh for the next five-to-10 years? So that’s the reason we ended up with a 48-inch screen and a smaller screen as an input. We didn’t want to do any clumsy joystick or anything like that. We found this is probably the best solution, and we truly believe that is the case.”
A sensory experience
Then there’s “Lincoln Rejuvenate, a stationary experience,” the brand noted, which “orchestrates specially curated sensory experiences tied to lighting, screen visuals, personal preferences such as seating position and massage options — allowing clients to recharge. A symphonic orchestration with crisp, high-resolution animations on the displays creates an immersive digital sanctuary based on different moods.”
The 2024 Lincoln Nautilus picks up on one feature typically offered by much more expensive luxury lines: a digital perfumer that can infuse any of three different scents — Mystic Forest, Ozonic Azure and Violet Cashmere — into the cabin simply with a touch of the center screen.
BlueCruisin’
As one would expect in this segment, the new Nautilus will offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as Amazon’s built-in Alexa voice assistant. Nautilus is one of the first vehicles to be powered by 5G cellular technology — which can be used to update onboard software much like a smartphone’s over-the-air update system.
And, among the various advanced driver assistance systems, Nautilus will offer the latest version of the automaker’s hands-free driving technology. Lincoln BlueCruise 1.2 adds more roadways on which it can operate, as well as the ability to pass slower traffic, where safe, simply by tapping on the turn signal stalk.
Automotive audiophiles also can opt up to the latest version of the Revel Ultima 3D Audio System. It features 28 speakers — at least one built into each door. Revel claims its Point Source Architecture allows each occupant to feel like they’re sitting in the center of a concert hall.
Powertrain options
For 2024, the Lincoln Nautilus will be offered with a choice of two different powertrains:
- A 2.0-liter turbo-4 250 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque. It’s paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission; and
- A hybridized version of that turbo-4 bumping things up to 310 hp. Torque has not yet been released. It’s paired with a continuously variable transmission.
Pricing, mileage and availability
Official EPA fuel-economy numbers, as well as pricing, will be revealed closer to the on-sale date for the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus. The 2023 model currently starts at $44,825, one of the lower entry figures in its segment. The top-end Nautilus Black Label jumps to $67,245.
Customers can now place advance orders for the next-generation Lincoln Nautilus, though deliveries won’t start until “early 2024,” according to the automaker.