The refreshed 2025 Lincoln Aviator broke cover just a little over a year ago, revamping the luxury crossover with exterior and interior styling updates and then some. Under the hood, the Aviator packs a twin-turbocharged engine that’s deceptively powerful, but how does it measure up against two of its chief rivals, the Genesis GV80 and the Acura MDX? Sam CarLegion on YouTube pitted the three luxury crossovers against one another to find out.
Sam praises the 2025 Lincoln Aviator Reserve for its revamped styling – even if it does share some blood with its platform mate, the 2025 Ford Explorer. For reference, the Aviator harnesses the twin-turbocharged 3.0L EcoBoost V6 engine, which is good for 400 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque in this guise. Comparatively, the Genesis GV80 3.5T produces 375 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque, while the Acura MDX Type S boasts 355 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. On paper, the Aviator should win, but there’s only one way to find out: throw them all on the drag strip.
The first race shows exactly that result – the 2025 Lincoln Aviator bests its rivals, but not by much. They regroup and try again, and this time, the MDX lunges ahead of the other two at the line, beating the Aviator and the GV80 by about a half a car-length. This time, the Aviator and the MDX appear fairly equally matched – until the line, that is, when it falls behind both the MDX and the GV80, slotting in dead last.
“I thought the Lincoln would do better,” Sam says, but remarks that it doesn’t affect his opinion of the vehicle – it’s still the best-looking model of the bunch and offers a much softer, nicer ride than its rivals. The interior feels more premium and luxurious, but he says that he thinks they all have their strengths.
Another point for the 2025 Lincoln Aviator Reserve is its price. It starts at $67,495 not including destination freight charges (DFC), making it the most affordable of the three; the MDX Type S stickers for around $75,000, while the GV80 3.5T goes for $79,000.
The Aviator entered production at the Chicago Assembly plant in May 2024, and began landing at dealers just a few months later in August, as reported by Ford Authority.
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