For folks who want to buy a fancier Ford, Lincoln provides some great options as far as SUVs go. Indeed, the Lincoln Aviator is a luxury SUV that can hold its own against its luxury rivals. In fact, here’s a look at how the 2021 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring actually beats out a few German luxury SUVs. 

The 2021 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring’s powerful powertrain

While regular SUVs may put more emphasis on the “utility” portion of the name, luxury SUVs are trending toward putting more emphasis on the “sport” part of SUVs. Lincoln has been doing the same, and although the Aviator is not the most powerful SUV on the market, it does have a very powerful engine. According to MotorTrend, the standard Aviator comes with a 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 that gets 400 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque. 

However, the Aviator Grand Touring gets an even more powerful powertrain. The Aviator Grand Touring also has a 75-kW electric motor that works with that 400-hp V6 to generate a combined 494 hp and 630 lb-ft of torque. Either powertrain option allows the Aviator to accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in 5.4 seconds. 

On top of that, the Aviator Grand Touring’s electric motor is hooked up to a 13.6-kWh battery pack. As such, this hybrid powertrain allows the Aviator Grand Touring to not only be powerful but also very fuel-efficient. In fact, it’s actually more fuel-efficient than many of its German rivals.

The impressive fuel efficiency of this Lincoln SUV

The Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring’s hybrid powertrain gives it a fuel economy of 56 MPGe. Furthermore, since the Aviator Grand Touring is a plug-in hybrid, it can also travel 21 miles on just battery power alone. These fuel economy specs actually make the Aviator Grand Touring the eighth-most fuel-efficient SUV on the market, according to MotorTrend.

In fact, MotorTrend said that the Aviator Grand Touring is actually more fuel-efficient than a handful of popular luxury German SUVs. For example, the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid, with a fuel economy of 46 MPGe, was ranked 13th by MotorTrend. The BMW X5 xDrive 45e, with a fuel economy of 50 MPGe, was ranked 11th, while the Audi Q5 e Plug-in Hybrid, which also had a 50 MPGe fuel economy, was ranked 10th.

The only German luxury SUV to rank better than the Aviator Grand Touring was the BMW X3 xDrive30e, which gets 60 MPGe. However, the X3 is a smaller SUV than the Aviator Grand Touring, and the X3’s 288-hp hybrid engine is weaker and has a shorter electric-only range of about 18 miles. 

The 2021 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring’s other features

At an MSRP of about $69,000, the Aviator Grand Touring has a lot more to offer than just a powerful yet environmentally friendly engine. For example, MotorTrend wrote that the Aviator Grand Touring also has a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system as standard, and it also has a standard 12.3-inch gauge cluster display.

On top of that, MotorTrend said that the Aviator Grand Touring comes with a suite of smart safety features, such as, but not limited to, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and front and rear parking sensors. Plus, since the Aviator Grand Touring is a three-row SUV, it can seat up to seven people very comfortably, as its interior was designed with luxury and comfort in mind.

That being said, MotorTrend mentioned that the third-row seats can be a bit cramped. Regardless, due to the car’s size, it also has a generous amount of cargo space. MotorTrend wrote that, when its seats are folded down, the Aviator has a max cargo capacity of about 77.7 cu. ft.