The 2024 Lincoln Nautilus is known for one and one thing only…that screen. The gigantic 48 display spans the entire length of the dashboard, from driver’s A pillar all the way to the passenger’s A pillar. It’s the singular thing that resounds through every review on the Nautilus but let’s discuss it’s other attributes.
The drivetrain is a turbo 4 cylinder paired with a hybrid system. Generating a total of 310 HP and 295 ft/lbs of TQ, it’s not power though, it’s the efficiency of the drivetrain that is really shocking. We got 28 mpg in our week of testing. That is a mix of city and highway driving. For a 4500 pound crossover, that is impressive! The only real con to the drivetrain is that it’s bolted to a CVT and that tends to suck the joy out of anything but other than that…nada!
Now, the interior. The 2024 Nautilus has one of the best looking, feeling and smelling interiors on sale today. All the switchgear feel heavy under your touch, the doors close with authority, the seats are available in a mesmerizing burgundy color and every touch point feels expensive. The rear seat is large and the cargo area is huge. Overall, the interior is just a fantastic place to be!
The looks is something that is a bit odd but in a good way. The Nautilus flies under the radar with its design language. It’s a contemporary design with it’s angular lines but it’s not ostencious about it (looking at you Lexus). If anything, what visually grabs you the most is the intricate head and tailight start up and shut down sequence. Taking a page from Audi, the Nautilus’ dazzling light display is facinating to watch and oozes that ‘‘‘0o0o0o’’ feeling through and through.
Now, we can talk about that display. As a person who finds himself missing the days of analog gauges and smaller infotainment screens, the Nautilus’ display’s 48 inch size could’ve been very annoying to me…but it wasn’t! If anything, it has made me realize that there can be beauty in a display like this but it solely relays in the fact of it’s design. What all other automakers are doing is literally glueing a large screen on the dash and running way. It looks awkward, tacky and like an afterthought. What Lincoln did was lower the dash, then embed the huge display into a crevice within the dash!
What that gives you is threefold.
First: fantastic sightlines and forward visibility.
Second: The display looks natural, organic and like it was actually made to be there rather than an afterthought.
Third: It helps minimize distractions, having a simple piece of matieral border the display gives you that much needed barrier for your eyes to concentrate on the road.
The UI is lovely to look at it with it’s crisp and easy to read text. It’s extremely easy to customize with a drag and drop feature using the secondary display. The only thing I didn’t like was the lack of a tachometer and the speed indicator was a bit off center looking to me.