Lincoln Navigator review: the American alternative to Escalade and Patrol in Bahrain
4/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy the Navigator if what you actually want is the quietest, most isolated cabin in the full-size SUV class and you are prepared to pay for that with a smaller service network and softer resale than a Land Cruiser or Patrol. It is not the vehicle to buy if resale value is the priority — buy a Toyota for that. Stick to the standard-wheelbase model unless you regularly carry cargo and seven passengers at once; the extended Navigator L is unnecessarily large for Bahrain's parking and roads.
Pros
- 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 pulls harder at low revs than the V8 it replaced, with no gearbox hunting from the 10-speed automatic
- Air suspension and cabin isolation are the best in the full-size SUV class at highway speed
- 30-way adjustable front seats and cabin materials feel a class above the price
- Genuinely quieter and more isolated than a Land Cruiser or Patrol on Bahrain's highways
Cons
- Thinner Lincoln dealer network in Bahrain than Toyota or Nissan means fewer workshop options
- Resale value is noticeably weaker than a comparable Land Cruiser or Patrol
- Standard-wheelbase model is already wide for older Manama and Seef parking structures
- Realistic fuel consumption of 13-14 L/100 km is honest for the class but not cheap
Lincoln dropped the naturally aspirated V8 from the Navigator lineup years ago, and the 3.5-litre twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 that replaced it — the same basic engine family found under the hood of a Ford F-150 — is the right call for Bahrain. It pulls harder from low revs than the outgoing V8 ever did, which matters more in stop-start Manama traffic than on a highway pull, and the 10-speed automatic shifts with none of the hunting that plagued Ford's earlier gearboxes.
What the cabin gets right
The Navigator's real argument against the Land Cruiser and Patrol is not the drivetrain, it is the cabin. Air suspension irons out the expansion joints on the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Highway in a way none of its Japanese rivals quite match, cabin noise at 120 km/h is genuinely low, and the digital dashboard and 30-way adjustable front seats make the interior feel a full class above the price suggests. This is the SUV to choose if the daily commute matters more than the annual dune trip.
The trade-off is size. At nearly two metres wide, the standard-wheelbase Navigator already struggles with older multi-storey car parks in Manama and Seef, and the extended Navigator L — which most Gulf showrooms push as the default — makes that worse for no real-world benefit unless you regularly carry seven adults and their luggage together.
Ownership reality in Bahrain
This is where the Navigator asks for a leap of faith the Land Cruiser does not. Lincoln's Bahrain dealer network is real but thin next to Toyota's, so routine servicing means fewer workshop options and a longer wait for anything beyond consumables. Fuel consumption in realistic mixed driving sits in the 13 to 14 L/100 km range, which is honest for the class but not cheap against a Patrol's similar-sized tank filled less often.
Resale is the number that should decide this purchase. A three-year-old Land Cruiser or Patrol holds value in the Gulf in a way no American-badged SUV does, Navigator included — depreciation on a used Navigator in Bahrain is steeper, and the buyer pool is smaller. That is the price of the badge and the cabin, and it is worth paying only if you value those two things enough to eat the loss.