Lincoln's 2024 Nautilus AWD SUV enters a new generation with spaciousness, classy styling and hybrid economy

Ford’s luxury brand Lincoln was always famous for their luxury Town Car that often doubled as a limo for many companies, even government officials. But that was yesteryear. Today, Lincoln has debuted their second generation 2024 Nautilus midsize AWD SUV that could also double as a downsized limo as it’s loaded with the latest technology and exceptional comfort.  

The five seat Nautilus has come on strong with families, as I’m seeing a good number of them on local roadways. According to Automotive News, the industries newspaper, this will be the first time since 2020 that Lincoln sales will top 100,000 in deliveries. And Nautilus is the brand’s bestseller this year. In fact, the redesigned Nautilus’ sales rose 44 percent through October as it delivered29,155 vehicles. 

For 2024, Nautilus has been redesigned inside and out. And it’s a beauty. Added to that, it’s an economical PHEV hybrid. Size wise, it falls between the smaller Corsair and slightly larger Aviator SUVs. It’s offered in three trim levels of Premier, Reserve and Lincoln Black Label. Each have added technologies and conveniences. We tested the mid-priced Reserve. 

Nautilus’s exterior sports an eye-catching grille complimented with squint headlights and signature light bar all of which  gives Nautilus a suave, slippery design. The back end is equally as handsome. 

Open any door at night and puddle lights project the Lincoln logo on the ground. A low 20-inch step-in makes ingress a slip-in affair. Same for the rear seat. 

Once in, you’re treated to a cinema screen-type 48-inch display that curves atop the entire dash, and its configurable. That display hosts the digital gauge cluster, map, alerts and audio channels. Then there’s the oval or flat top/bottom steering wheel which is a first as some cars have a flat-bottom only wheel. It’s racy and resembles that in Indy and F1 race cars. 

On the vertical stack below the wide display resides an 11.1-inch touchscreen that serves a multitude of functions and features including navigation, drive modes (Normal, Conserve, Excite, Slippery), rear and front cameras, Google Assistant, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Alexa and Play Store along with Wi-Fi connectivity. 

Instead of a traditional gear selector for the CVT automatic transmission, Nautilus uses a keyboard style pushbutton selector. It takes a bit getting used to, but once acclimating, it’s a convenience and saves console space. Sharing the console space is a wireless phone charger. And if you forget your keyfob for the SUV, Nautilus came with Key Pacck, where a cell phone (that never seems to be forgotten) will unlock the doors via the Lincoln Way app.

The heated/ventilated front seats are soft, sumptuously padded, nicely supportive with extended under-thigh support. My test car came with dark grey leather seats but I saw a Nautilus with white leather seats and its was simply eye-catching beautiful.  

Heated rear seats are equally as soft and comfortable with a generous 43 inches of legroom and ample headroom. Three can be accommodated in the rear seat as the transaxle hump is low profile. However, it    would be more comfortable if the middle seat rider had short legs. 

Back in the spacious cargo area, that has a hands-free liftgate, it offers 36.4 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats upright which measures 38.5 inches deep, 44 wide and 29.5 high. Flip them and space expands to 71.3 cubic feet for 72 inches of cargo loading length. Beneath the cargo floor is a space saver tire with three bins around it for small items storage. 

Shod with 22-inch Goodyear tires, Nautilus rides smoothly and quietly. Its adaptive suspension easily absorbs and floats over road imperfections and bumps. Unimproved railroad crossings are mere ripples. Nautilus also handles nicely and parks easily with a relatively tight turning radius. And it even has auto park. 

Powered by a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, and coupled to the hybrid system, it generates a combined 310-hp for EPA mileage estimates of 30 city, 31-highway mpg with the CVT transmission. So powered it moves this two-ton SUV with ease and in linear fashion and with good highway passing power. It carries a 1,000-pound tow rating. 

The suggested retail price for our Reserve AWD Hybrid came with a base price of $54,750 to which was added the 203A equipment group ($10,005), Red Carpet Metallic paint ($750), cargo accessories and mat package ($350), Jet appearance package ($3,000) that took the bottom line to $68,855. That includes a myriad of safety features such as auto emergency braking w/pedestrian detection, intersection assistance, forward collision warning, rear cross traffic alert, lane keep assist, pre-collision assist, post-crash alert, Blue Cruise 1.2 (a hands-free driving) and more. 

To its credit, Nautilus received the government’s top 5-star safety rating with the Institute for Highway Safety giving it its Top-Safety Pick Plus rating for 2024. 
​
Nautilus is a super contender in the midsize AWD SUV segment. It’s a compelling choice for a wide variety of new car buyers.