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The 2007 Lincoln Navigator has been substantially redesigned in an effort to re-establish itself at the top of a category it more or less invented. It remains a big, heavy, luxurious sport-utility vehicle, with most of the advantages and disadvantages that go with big sport-utility vehicles.The Navigator is now offered in two versions: the standard size, and an even larger, longer, Navigator L. With the exception of its 300-hp, 5.4-liter V8 engine and six-speed automatic transmission, everything inside and out has been thoroughly revised. It's still available with rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. We'd call the 2007 Navigator an across-the-board improvement, except perhaps in the very subjective area of styling. Yet it's an incremental improvement, and it doesn't restore the clear edge Lincoln once had among full-size luxury SUVs. While Navigator hits the basic targets set for such vehicles, it's not loaded with emotional appeal. The Navigator is essentially a truck, with a ladder-type box frame and separate body. As such, it's not as responsive, certainly not as sedan-like, as the unit-body sport-utilities proliferating at the high end of the market. But it's a smooth, quiet truck, with lots of noise- and vibration-mitigating technology and a fully independent rear suspension. The Navigator also is very big. That means lots of passenger room and a full-size third seat, acres of cargo carrying space and impressive towing capacity. It's well equipped with safety features, including full-cabin head protection airbags, electronic stability control and a rollover protection system. Its styling seems deliberately retrogressive, probably in an effort to recreate the romance of Lincoln's glory days. Those who embrace the styling will find a nice finish inside, with rich wood and leather, and nearly all the bells and whistles available in luxury sedans. With the upward trend in gasoline prices, big, luxurious sport-utility vehicles have lost some of their luster as a group. Still, the strengths that made them popular to begin with remain: real space for eight passengers, high bling factor and the comfort and convenience of an expensive sedan with the towing and load potential of a truck. The Lincoln Navigator shares those strengths at a competitive luxury-class price, and it doesn't even require premium fuel.
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