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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. ThatÂ’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 ExplorerÂ’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 weÂ’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% wasnÂ’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.

2017 Lincoln Continental garnering strong interest

According to Automotive News, Lincoln has a list of about 40,000 people who have expressed interest in the brand's upcoming Continental sedan. While that may sound paltry next to the 250,000 people or so who have so far put deposits down for a Tesla Model 3, it's great news for Ford's luxury brand. "This is the most buzz I've seen in a long, long time," says Dan Marks, chairman of the Lincoln National Dealer Council. Lincoln is riding a wave of increased interest in 2016, having topped 100,000 sales last year. Prior to that, the last time that milestone was passed was way back in 2008. As is the case with most automakers, though, much of Lincoln's sales boost can be traced back to strong demand for crossovers like the MKX and SUVs like the Navigator. That makes 2017 an interesting time for Lincoln to be relaunching the Continental sedan. We can expect to see lots of marketing leading to its launch. "Extensive prelaunch activities" are planned, Matt VanDyke, director of global Lincoln, told Automotive News. We'll have to wait a little while longer before we know whether all that pent-up interest leads to actual sales. Or, put another way, whether the 2017 Continental will be a mic drop moment or a big flop.

Lincoln Aviator could make a comeback

The idea of Lincoln dropping its alphanumeric scheme in favor of real names was welcomed by fans of the marque and even appeared possible after the rousing reception to the Continental concept. Now, rumors suggest that the next of the luxury brand's nameplates to see a possible revival just might be the Aviator. Don't get your hopes up quite yet, though. The Truth About Cars admits that this tip comes from a second-hand source, but the person reports that Lincoln has a project codenamed Aviator as a model based on the Explorer. There's evidence to give the rumor some shaky support, though. Ford already has the trademarks for the name and AV8R. Also, an Explorer-based vehicle in 2019 is included for the brand's predictions in the recent Car Wars forecast. Autoblog reached out to company spokesperson Sam Locricchio, but he would not speculate about future products. The same source claims to The Truth About Cars that the Blue Oval might not replace the Ford Flex or Lincoln MKT when the current generations come to an end. Also, the next-gen Expedition and Navigator could use 10-speed automatics and follow the F-150 to get aluminum bodies, which is also already rumored. Although, all of this should be taken with a big grain of salt until anything more official has arrived. Lincoln spokesperson Stephane Cesareo gave The Truth About Cars no comment on the rumor, but said, "By 2020, we expect to expand the segments that we participate in by adding two new nameplates to the Lincoln brand. We have not provided any indications about the products or their names." Related Video: