2021 Toyota Venza vs 2020 Lincoln Navigator

The 2020 Lincoln Navigator stood out with its luxurious design, featuring chrome and brightwork that differentiated it from the Ford Expedition, on which it was based. The Lincoln Embrace lighting system, lattice-type grille insert, and illuminated star logo added to its distinctiveness. The Navigator also offered a new Reserve Monochromatic Package with body-color enhancements and 22-inch black-painted wheels, available in White, Ceramic Pearl, and Infinite Black. The test vehicle, a standard-length Navigator Reserve with 4WD, was priced at $92,385 and included the Luxury and Reserve Monochromatic option packages.

Inside, the Navigator's Dark Slate leather interior boasted Lincoln’s 30-way Perfect Position front seats with heating, ventilation, and massaging functions. The dashboard featured mid-century modern styling cues, a 10-inch infotainment touchscreen, and piano-key transmission controls. A panoramic glass roof and high-quality materials enhanced the luxurious feel. The Navigator's look and feel made it a convincingly luxurious flagship SUV.

The 2021 Toyota Venza, though shorter and closer to the ground than the RAV4, was often compared to a Lexus due to its sleek design. Critics noted its resemblance to the Lexus LF-1 Limitless concept. The Venza was available in three trims: LE, XLE, and Limited, with seven paint color options. Standard features included dual chrome-tipped exhaust, LED headlights and taillights, automatic high beams, puddle lights, and 18-inch alloy wheels. The base LE model came with a wireless charging pad, 4.2-inch driver’s information display, leather-trimmed steering wheel, and an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen.

Upgrading to the XLE added black bumper garnishes, silver roof rails, 19-inch alloy wheels, and a 7-inch driver information display. The top-tier Limited trim featured a digital rearview mirror, illuminated footwells, a backup camera washer, and a 12.3-inch infotainment screen. The Star Gaze panoramic roof with electrochromic glazing technology was an optional feature. The test vehicle was a fully loaded Venza Limited.

The 2020 Lincoln Navigator was powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine producing 450 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque, outperforming the Ford Expedition. A 10-speed automatic transmission transferred power to the rear wheels, with an optional 4WD upgrade. Lincoln Drive Modes tailored the powertrain to various driving conditions, including Conserve, Normal, Excite, Slippery, Deep Conditions, and Slow Climb with the towing package. The Navigator's maximum towing capacity was 8,700 pounds with RWD and 8,300 pounds with 4WD, aided by Pro Trailer Backup Assist.

Acceleration was strong, though the engine note lacked the V8 rumble. The Navigator averaged 16.4 mpg on the testing loop, with an EPA estimate of 18 mpg combined. The SUV's 22-inch wheels and adaptive damping suspension struggled with impact harshness on imperfect roads, but body motion control was excellent. The Navigator felt huge around town, but a tight turning radius, parking assist system, and numerous camera views improved maneuverability. An automatic hold function was useful in heavy traffic.

The 2021 Toyota Venza featured a 2.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine paired with a lithium-ion battery pack and electric motors, resulting in a combined 219 horsepower and 163 lb-ft of torque. The hybrid system used an electronically-controlled continuously-variable transmission (eCVT) with a sequential-shifting feature for regenerative braking. Acceleration was smooth but noisy, with engine and road noise permeating the cabin. However, the Venza's handling was confident and typical of a Toyota.

The Venza excelled in fuel economy, achieving an EPA-estimated 40 mpg on the highway, 37 mpg in the city, and 39 mpg combined, outperforming competitors like the Murano, Passport, and Blazer. Toyota backed the hybrid powertrain with a 10-year/150,000-mile hybrid battery warranty and an eight-year/100,000-mile Hybrid System warranty.

Entering the 2020 Lincoln Navigator required climbing up into the SUV, but once inside, passengers enjoyed ample space and comfort. The test vehicle's 30-way Perfect Position front seats were exceptionally comfortable, though finding the ideal settings took time. The second row offered a choice between a three-person bench or two captain’s chairs with a large center console. Triple-zone climate control and heated rear seat cushions ensured comfort across all three rows. The third-row seat provided class-leading legroom and thigh support.

Cargo volumes were also class-leading, with the standard-length model offering 19.3 cubic feet behind the third row, 57.5 cubic feet behind the second row, and a maximum of 103.3 cubic feet. The longer Navigator L increased these measurements to 34.3, 73.3, and 120.2 cubic feet, respectively.

The 2021 Toyota Venza prioritized practicality with a unique cabin design. The center stack featured premium appointments, including piano black capacitive buttons for climate and infotainment controls, subtle vents, and an infotainment touchscreen. The deep center console housed resizable cup holders, a traditional stick shifter, drive mode buttons, and more. The padded upholstery on the console added a luxe feel in the Limited trim.

The Venza's front seats were accommodating, and two adults could comfortably fit in the rear. The Venza offered more headroom than the RAV4, slightly less legroom up front, and nearly equal shoulder and hip room. Overall passenger volume was similar to the RAV4, providing a spacious feel. The Venza's cargo space was around 60 percent of the RAV4's, with a maximum of 55.1 cubic feet. Quick-flip releases on the 60/40 split-folding rear seatbacks made arranging the cargo space easy.

The 2020 Lincoln Navigator's Sync 3 infotainment system was its least impressive technology, with slow content loading. However, it offered Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Lincoln Connect services with a 4G LTE WiFi hotspot, a Lincoln Way app, and wireless device charging. "Phone As A Key" technology allowed smartphone-based vehicle access. The voice recognition system worked reasonably well but required specific command pathways.

The Reserve’s Luxury Package included a 20-speaker Revel Ultima audio system with three listening profiles. Additional technologies included a surround-view camera system and a head-up display. The test vehicle lacked the optional Lincoln Play rear-seat entertainment system, which featured dual 10-inch displays, wireless headphones, Slingbox access, Roku media streaming, and Apple and Android compatibility.

The 2021 Toyota Venza LE and XLE had an 8-inch infotainment system, while the Limited featured a 12.3-inch touchscreen. The Entune system was not the best in the industry, with multiple menu trips required for simple functions. However, the larger screen accommodated three sections of information. The Venza included Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Amazon Alexa, AM/FM/HD Radio, Bluetooth, and a six-speaker audio system. A Wi-Fi hot spot was standard, with a free 2-gigabyte/three-month trial period.

The Venza XLE and Limited offered a nine-speaker JBL premium audio system with a subwoofer and amplifier. Toyota connected services included a one-year trial of Safety Connect and Remote Connect, and a 10-year trial of Service Connect. Dynamic navigation was available with the larger infotainment screen, providing cloud-based route guidance.

The 2020 Lincoln Navigator came with the Lincoln Co-Pilot360 suite of advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS), including forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assistance, a blind-spot warning system with trailer coverage, rear cross-traffic warning, and automatic high-beam headlights. Adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability was standard on the Reserve trim. The Navigator received a five-star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), though the RWD model had a three-star rollover resistance rating. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) had not tested the 2020 model.

The 2021 Toyota Venza featured the Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 suite, including eight airbags, a rearview camera, hill start assist, parking distance sensors, tire pressure monitoring, and adjustable front seatbelt anchors. The suite added a pre-collision warning system with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, lane-departure alert with steering assist, lane-tracing assist, automatic high beams, adaptive cruise control, and road sign assist. Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert was standard, with an upgrade to automatic braking available on the XLE and Limited trims. The Venza had two full sets of LATCH connections on the rear outboard seats. The safety features performed as expected, though the lane-keeping and lane-tracing assists kept the SUV further to the right within the lane.