2023 Lincoln Aviator vs. 2023 Cadillac XT6 Comparison.
I won't waste your time. I'm not going to yank your chain. No dillydallying here, heaven forbid. If you're shopping for an American three-row luxury SUV, it would be a regretful mistake to buy a Cadillac XT6 over the Lincoln Aviator.
From a pricing perspective, they're pretty even. Both the Aviator and XT6 carry starting prices in the low-$50,000 range. As tested, Lincoln's three-row comes to $74,920 and Cadillac's rings in at $73,040. Both cars have their strengths and weaknesses, but by almost every objective and subjective measure, the Aviator provides a superior luxury three-row experience. Here's why.
Powertrain: Engine, Transmission, And MPG
Both cars generate power with gas-fueled aluminum V-6 engines, one force-fed (by two turbochargers) and the other naturally aspirated. The free-breathing powerplant lives under the hood of the Cadillac, and it's the same 3.6-liter V-6 that General Motors defaults to in countless Chevy, Buick, and Cadillac vehicles. In this application, it makes 310 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque. It's paired with a nine-speed automatic.
The Lincoln is powered by a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 cranking 400 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque, in the same state of tune as the engine motivating the Ford Explorer ST. A 10-speed auto handles gear-changing duties.
2020 Cadillac XT6 Sport vs 2020 Lincoln Aviator Reserve 7
But these are three-row family SUVs, not sports cars—does the power advantage matter? I assure you it does. The Aviator's powerplant has higher peak numbers than the XT6's, sure, but because it's turbocharged, it produces more torque down low in the rev range. Say you want to pass someone on the highway. In the XT6, you'll use most of the throttle and hear the growly V-6 spin all the way to its 7,100-rpm redline, where that engine makes all its power.
The Aviator's engine, on the other hand, doesn't have to work as hard, spin as fast, or generate as much noise and vibration to produce the same level of thrust. It just quietly churns away in the background and gets you up to speed.
Traditional wisdom tells us that the car with the more powerful engine will use more fuel, but that's not the case here. Both cars return an identical EPA-estimated 17/24 mpg city/highway running on regular gasoline, in AWD form. Without AWD, the Lincoln actually ekes out a 1 mpg advantage on the highway.
Interior
Stepping inside, it's the Lincoln's cabin we didn't want to leave. Before you even start the car, you're greeted by soft leather, convincingly Bentley-esque knurled metal-look control knobs, and impossibly comfortable 30-way adjustable massaging front seats. They sit a little high for my tastes, but once adjusted properly, the comfort is supreme. Basic seating controls are mounted on the door sill, Mercedes-style, but fine-tuning one of four lumbar support settings and choosing the pattern and intensity of your massage are delegated to a menu nonsensically buried in the last page of the infotainment screen.
2020 Lincoln Aviator Reserve interior 8
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You select a gear in the Aviator by pressing one of four PRND buttons, like striking keys on a vehicular Steinway. The fully digital gauge cluster is clean and uncrowded. The head-up display is wider, brighter, more informative, and displayed higher on the windshield (read: closer to your line of sight) than the HUD in the Cadillac.
There's plenty of legroom in the second row, but at 6-foot-1 my head was brushing the ceiling, due in part to the vertical real estate occupied by the Aviator's panoramic glass sunroof. The seats themselves are a bit narrow, and the second row's floor-mounted center console is constructed from cheap-looking plastic. A handsome touchscreen positioned on the rear of the front-row center console provides second-row inputs for the climate control, heated and ventilated second-row seats, and audio system.
Speaking of, this Lincoln's audio setup deserves some serious praise. It was developed by Revel and consists of 28 speakers positioned around the Aviator's interior, including four in the headliner. I detected zero weak spots or distortion at any frequency or volume level, and the speakers overhead make a world of difference in terms of establishing soundstage.
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