The latest Lincoln Aviator soars above some of its SUV rivals in ways we’ve come to expect—namely in its superb audio options and its comely interior treatments. Its warranty is very good but not the best, and the value question has us flummoxed—it’s either too much for what it is, or a raging bargain for what it is.

We give it an 8 here. (Read more about how we rate cars.)

The $52,195 Aviator comes with enough standard equipment to earn its luxury label. The roster includes LED headlights, a power tailgate, 10-way power front seats, synthetic leather upholstery, a power-fold third-row seat, remote start, keypad access, keyless ignition, and an AM/FM/XM audio system with 10 speakers, an 10.1-inch touchscreen, and navigation. All-wheel drive boosts the price to $54,695.

An excellent options list sells upgrades like Delta—at the moment of purchase, just when you’re most vulnerable. We can talk it out later, but be prepared for temptation. Base Aviators can be outfitted with 12-way power front seats, leather upholstery, 14-speaker Revel audio, second-row captain’s chairs with a mini-console between, a panoramic roof, and 22-inch wheels (or on hybrids, 20- and 21-inchers). Packages include towing gear; a group that lets drivers use their smartphone as a key, along with wireless smartphone charging and soft-touch doors; a dynamic package that has adaptive suspension and steering; a climate package with heated second-row seats and a heated steering wheel. At the askiest end of the list, Lincoln sells front-row and second-row cooled seats, adaptive headlights, a light-up star (hello, Germany!), 30-way seats, and 28-speaker Revel audio.

To the base gear, the $57,285 Aviator Reserve ($59,995 with AWD) adds 20-inch wheels, a surround-view camera system, 14-speaker Revel sound, and premium leather. Options are similar to the base vehicle, but also include a panoramic roof and a head-up display.

The $69,895 Aviator Grand Touring gets 20-inch wheels, the panoramic roof, and adaptive steering, and offers the options as above; all-wheel drive is standard.

The ne plus ultra Aviator isn’t called the Ne Plus Ultra, and that’s a pity. But the $78,780 Black Label adds 22-inch wheels to all the gear above, and it can be configured with a middle-row bench seat. The $88,895 Aviator Black Label Grand Touring comes with most of the above and rides on 21-inch wheels; options include the tow package and rear-seat entertainment system, but no middle-row bench seat is offered.

Lincoln Aviator infotainment

The Aviator’s touchscreen interface and its 10.1-inch screen aren’t the best or widest in the luxury-vehicle universe, but they have some charming touches. We’re mixed on the new joystick controls embedded in the steering wheel. They give better toggle-style control to volume and other functions than, say, Mercedes’ touch-sensitive pads, but it’ll take a few drives to develop muscle memory for those functions and their toggle actions. 

We’re not at all sold on the voice-control button embedded at 10 o’clock in the rim of the steering wheel. It’s too easy to hit the switch and call up a voice assistant in mid-turn if you shuffle the wheel. What we’re sold on, emphatically, are the sensational aural talents of the Revel sound systems, which render even lossy satellite radio sounds with brilliance.

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