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New Lincoln Nautilus Scores 2021 IIHS Top Safety Pick Award

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2021 Lincoln Nautilus IIHS Top Safety Pick
Lincoln Nautilus SUVs built after March 2021 earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick
Photo: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

The new and improved 2021 Lincoln Nautilus is bringing home one of the top honors for safety. The latest Lincoln Nautilus earned the 2021 Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.


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Revised headlights earn Nautilus 2021 Top Safety Pick

IIHS says that the award applies to Lincoln Nautilus SUVs built after March 2021. Back in March, Lincoln adjusted the LED headlamps offered on the Reserve and standard on the Black Label trim to reduce glare. This step upgraded those headlamps to a “Good” rating, qualifying it for the TSP.

To qualify for the IIHS TSP award, the Lincoln Nautilus had to earn “Good” rankings in six crashworthiness tests. By pulling down top scores in the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint tests, the Nautilus cleared the bar comfortably.

The IIHS also requires vehicles to post “Superior” or “Advanced” scores in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian crash prevention tests. The Nautilus achieved this thanks to Lincoln Co-Pilot360 and Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking. This system earned a “Superior” score in the vehicle-to-vehicle test and an “Advanced” score for vehicle-to-pedestrian.

Headlights were the final piece of the puzzle for the Nautilus to earn the TSP. The upgrade to the LED projector headlamps available through the Ultimate package did the trick. Headlights offered on the Base, Select, and Reserve trims and on all models built before April 2021 are rated “Poor” due to excess glare.

The 2021 Lincoln Nautilus becomes the third vehicle in the luxury brand’s lineup to score the IIHS Top Safety Pick. IIHS had previously honored the Aviator and Corsair with the TSP award.