Photo: Lincoln
The experts at Kelley Blue Book recently put the 2021 Lincoln Aviator and 2021 Cadillac XT6 up against one another in a friendly head-to-head. While both three-row luxury crossovers had their praises sung, KBB.com ultimately singled out the Aviator as the better choice.
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“The XT6 comes up short of the Lincoln in key areas with a less luxurious interior, fewer high-tech features, and limited luggage space with the third seat in use,” writes KBB.com’s Joe Lorio. “The Lincoln comes with a 400-horsepower standard engine and tows more. The Aviator Grand Touring and Black Label variants are richly priced, but even the mid-spec model makes a more convincing luxury SUV.
Aviator praised for more power, premium interior
In his consensus, Lorio lauds the Lincoln Aviator for its similarities to the larger Lincoln Navigator. As one might expect given the luxury brand’s emphasis on Quiet Flight and interiors as a sanctuary, the Aviator scores points for its quiet ride as well as the smoothness of the available Adaptive Suspension with Road Preview and the power of its standard twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6. Also grabbing some praise is the standard 10.1-inch touch screen, fully digital instrument cluster, and available 30-way Perfect Position seats.
The power of that V6 is among the advantages the Aviator holds over the Cadillac XT6. KBB.com identifies its superior towing power, cargo capacity, and more luxurious interior as other areas where the Aviator soars above its crestfallen competition.
Lorio notes that the fuel economy and 21-mile all-electric range of the Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring leave room for improvement. Lincoln, to its credit, props up the Aviator Grand Touring instead on its performance merits, emphasizing its ridiculous 494 horsepower and 630 lb-ft of torque.
As Lincoln seeks to shake its rep as the brand exclusively for older drivers, the 2021 Aviator earning the win in a head-to-head against the Cadillac XT6 is proof positive that its formula is paying off.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.