Yahoo Autos 2025 Lincoln Aviator revealed with new face, more tech, no more PHEV
The 2025 Lincoln Aviator is here wearing the model’s first refresh since its launch for the 2020 model year. That’s a long period of time to go without any significant changes, but luckily for Lincoln, the Aviator never really fell out of favor.
This refresh follows the Ford Explorer’s update for 2025, its platform mate, and the scope of changes made to the Lincoln is similar. The exterior wears the new Lincoln family front fascia with a taller grille, new LED headlights that creep into the grille itself and an updated front bumper. Nothing changes out back, but Lincoln says both the LED daytime running lights and LED taillights now feature welcome and goodbye animations. Two new colors join the palette – Cenote Green (pictured first in the gallery at the top of this post) and Whisper Blue Metallic – and a couple of new wheel designs arrive for 2025, too. None of these updates drastically change the handsome Aviator, which we’re fine with because this sleek Lincoln three-row SUV has always looked dashing.
Only one engine option is available for the Aviator, which is the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 that makes 400 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque. Power is sent to either the rear wheels or to all wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission, which Lincoln says is re-calibrated this year for smoother performance. Unfortunately, the Grand Reserve PHEV trim that was dropped for the 2024 model year will not be returning in 2025. Lincoln tells us that its take rate of just 14% wasn’t enough to justify continuing to build it, which is a real shame, because that was one quick plug-in hybrid SUV with 494 horsepower and 630 pound-feet of torque.
The good news on the mechanical side of things is that the adaptive suspension is now standard instead of optional. The air suspension continues to be available as either an option on the Reserve trim or standard equipment on the Black Label.
The biggest changes come inside the Aviator. A new dash design does away with climate control buttons, tucking them into the touchscreen. The start/stop button moves to sit next to the other “piano key” style shift buttons, and the center stack is simplified with more empty space for beautiful trim to sprawl across. The storage areas in the center console are slightly re-jiggered, with the one pocket on the left being the new wireless phone charger.
The Aviator is also now rocking a Lincoln-skinned version of the Ford Digital Experience, a new Google-Built In infotainment system interface that just debuted on the Explorer. Of course, Lincoln calls it the “Lincoln Digital Experience.” The central touchscreen is now larger, measuring 13.2 inches, and uses Google services such as Google Maps as the native navigation system and Google Assistant as your voice command service – you can choose to use Amazon’s Alexa if you prefer, though. Lincoln proudly voices that it also supports wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto capability should you prefer that over the native infotainment. A revamped 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster pairs nicely with the new central screen and can run the Google Built-In apps like Google Maps directly in the cluster.
