above a nice version of a normal car—
exactly the way a luxury interior should.
Cadillac earns a narrow victory in the
third row. Neither car has exceptional
way-back seating, and they’re similar in
terms of head- and legroom, but the floor
in the Lincoln’s third row is a few inches
higher. Unless you’re hoping to closely
study your own knees, the Cadillac is
a slightly better choice for third-row
seating. Also, both rows of seating fold
completely flat in the Caddy. The Aviator
has more cargo space with everything
folded up, but with the seats folded down,
the second row sticks up an inch or two.Both of our testers are equipped with
AWD systems, but there’s an important
difference between the bones of the
Aviator and the XT6. The XT6 is based on
a front-drive platform—it’s effectively a
stretched Cadillac XT5.
The Aviator’s only platform-mate is
the new Ford Explorer. For the past few
decades, Lincolns have been little more
than Fords with better leather seats. But
this is a new Lincoln brand we’re talking
about. Differentiation is its watchword. I
defy you to find any semblance of down-
market content inside or outside the
Aviator. So while Cadillac shares its bones
with another (smaller) Cadillac, andLincoln shares its bones with Ford, in this
case the Lincoln is the better execution of
platform sharing.
With a new rear-drive-based platform,
the Aviator offers slightly better weight
balance and, more important for a large
SUV, a huge advantage in towing. The
XT6 is limited to a crossoverlike 4,000-
pound towing capacity; the Aviator is
more likely to be able to replace the
family tow rig. With our tester’s optional
$500 tow package, the three-row Lincoln
can tug up to 6,700 pounds.
These vehicles are almost exactly
the same size (within an inch of eachCOMPARISON
60 MOTORTREND.COM FEBRUARY 2020