MotorTrend gives the Lincoln Navigator Black Label the edge over the BMW X7
Photo: Lincoln
In what’s hailed as a battle of underdogs, the Lincoln Navigator Black Label wins out over the BMW X7 xDrive40i in MotorTrend’s comparison review. Author Eleonor Segura writes that the battle between the two full-size luxury SUVs, while close, comes down to Lincoln’s strength in some key areas.
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For starters, the Lincoln Navigator Black Label offers up an impressive level of luxury compared to what BMW has up for grabs. MotorTrend tested out a Navigator with the Chalet theme, and it left quite an impression of features editor Christian Seabaugh.
“I forgot how nice the Navigator was,” said Seabaugh of the Navigator. “It’s one of those luxury vehicles where you open the door and immediately feel like you’ve stepped into a private luxury chalet. The interior design harkens back to a bygone era of automobiles (and homes), and despite modern necessities like screens, it really feels like Lincoln has forged its own path.”
While Seabaugh was glowing about the Navigator Black Label, he acknowledged that the X7 xDrive40i is plenty luxurious while admitting his mixed feelings about BMW’s design language. But the head-to-head feels like less of a wash when it comes to power and performance thanks to the Navigator’s 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6. MotorTrend notes that BMW offers the most powerful option with the X7 M50i and its 4.4-liter BMW M TwinPower Turbo V8 but adds that it costs substantially more than a comparably equipped Navigator Black Label.
The Navigator Black Label’s V6 delivers 350 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque, making it more robust than the X7 xDrive40i’s turbo inline-six. It also makes it superior in terms of towing, hitting 8,300 pounds with the Black Label tested vs. 7,500 pounds for the X7. Seabaugh also praised the Lincoln’s body roll, a factor MT features editor Scott Evans dinged as disappointing on the X7.
Add more interior space, superior warranty coverage, and the various perks of Lincoln Black Label ownership, and the Navigator Black Label gets MotorTrend’s vote in the battle of luxury underdogs. MotorTrend notes that the Navigator is also its No. 1 ranked full-size luxury SUV overall, having recently beaten the all-new Escalade in a comparison.
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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.
