2020 Lincoln Aviator vs 2021 Ford Escape

The heyday for Lincoln was more than a half-century ago. Those postwar years of prosperity and optimism were the perfect time for cars like the Continental and others. They delivered comfort and luxury, wrapped in midcentury modern styling. Even as recently as the 1990s, Lincoln was still a popular brand, riding the SUV craze with its Navigator.

But after the turn of the century, Lincoln lost its ability to create new designs and looked inward and backward. Sure, retro-themed cars like the redesigned Mustang, PT Cruiser, and Chevy HHR had turned some heads, but none of those came from luxury brands. The BMWs and Mercedes of the world were all looking forward and pushing the envelope for contemporary automotive design. Meanwhile, Lincoln offered the MKX, which was based on the Ford Edge and featured ’66 Continental styling. Neat in a vacuum, but off-base compared to the modern luxury market.

This experimental phase with various retro looks coincided with the move to the MK-# alphabet-soup naming convention and big improvements in the Ford lineup, where top-end trims of the Fusion overlapped with an entry-level trim of the MKZ. The combination left Lincoln a confusing, anonymous afterthought in the modern luxury game.

But Lincoln is finally ready to change all that. It has a new cohesive design language, its focus is once again on luxury, and the three-letter naming convention that never meant anything to anyone other than Lincoln marketers is gone. The brand led with the 2017 Continental and 2018 Navigator, which are each impressive in their own right. But the company's lineup is growing and now includes the all-new 2020 Lincoln Aviator. Named after a luxury variant of the 2002-2005 Ford Explorer, this new Aviator is also based on the contemporary Explorer platform, but it's a luxury vehicle in its own right.

Much of the success of the Lincoln brand may hinge on this midsize, 3-row luxury SUV, so you need to consider its competition, such as the Audi Q7, Infiniti QX60, and all-new Cadillac XT6. Read on to learn if Lincoln’s take on luxury will stand out in a crowded competitive field.

The Ford Escape is the Blue Oval’s compact crossover SUV, and one of the most important models in the automaker’s lineup. It competes in one of the most popular market segments of the moment, against popular vehicles like the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Nissan Rogue, and Subaru Forester.

Ford also views the Escape as the de facto choice for a large slice of its customers. After the automaker eliminated sedans and hatchbacks from its United States lineup, the Escape was left as the most logical choice for keeping existing Fusion and Focus owners in the Ford fold. So in a 2020 model year redesign, Ford gave the Escape more car-like styling, and emphasized fuel efficiency.

Following that redesign, the 2021 Escape is largely unchanged. The only differences are new appearance packages and exterior colors, an available tow package, and slightly improved fuel economy for the base powertrain. The trim-level lineup of S, SE, SEL, and Titanium carries over as well. So while we didn’t get a chance to drive a 2021 Escape, we can evaluate it based on our experience with the 2020 model.