Lincoln's Aviator might be in need of a better name

srobertson

I'm in a quandary. I always thought an aviator was a person who flew aircraft. But thanks to Lincoln, it's also a new vehicle. I think a car's name should describe what a vehicle is all about. Explorer, Expedition, and Ranger seem like descriptive vehicle names. But "Aviator?" Do me a favor. While you read this review be thinking about a better name for the Aviator É something catchy and descriptive. E-mail me your suggestions, or call them in to Speak Out! Cape Girardeau needs something new to complain about. Who knows É we might discover the perfect tourism hook: "Cape, home of car namers."

The midsize SUV market is the hottest segment in the car business. It's profitable, but it's very crowded. There are more than two dozen different models vying for your attention. They come from Asia, Europe and the good old U. S. of A. Ford, which is celebrating its 100th birthday this year, dominates the market with the Explorer, the best selling midsize SUV, and the Mercury Mountaineer, it's upscale twin. (Incidentally, the Wright Brothers also invented the "aeroplane" 100 years ago. The Aviator name is making more sense all the time.)

When the Explorer suffered some bad publicity a while back regarding its propensity to roll over when equipped with certain tires, Ford decided a complete makeover was in order. So the new updated Explorer came onto the market as a more stable, more comfortable vehicle with a rare engineering feature on a truck chassis -- independent rear suspension! Gone was the heavy, clunky, solid rear axle running between the two rear wheels. Gone was the typical jouncy SUV ride.

Ford's decision to keep the heavy but strong truck-type frame allows the Explorer to maintain its high towing rating and off-road capability. The new Explorer retained its status as the best selling vehicle in its class. But that didn't solve the problem with the competition from upscale, higher priced vehicles from Europe and Japan. Enter the Aviator.

The Lincoln Aviator is an upscale Mercury Mountaineer, which is an upscale Ford Explorer, which means it has all the engineering sophistication of the Explorer, plus the creature comforts Lincoln is famous for. But can it compete with the likes of BMW, Lexus, Acura and others? Let's see.

Acura, the upscale division of Honda, offers the MDX, one of the top-rated SUVs in the industry. It's priced slightly under the Aviator, but not when you consider the Aviator's $4,000 rebates. It doesn't have a V-8 engine, which puts it at a 40 horsepower disadvantage, but being 400 pounds lighter, thanks to its unit-body construction, it is slightly quicker, and beats the Aviator by 4 mpg on the highway. Its wheelbase is 7 inches shorter and overall it's 5 inches shorter, 3 inches wider and one inch taller. It, like Aviator, has a fully independent suspension, but because it lacks a frame, is at a 3,000 pound towing deficiency. A properly equipped Aviator can pull a whopping 7,300 pounds!

A comparison to the Lexus GX470 gives similar results. The Lexus weighs 150 pounds less, has 30 less horsepower, a shorter wheelbase, and can't tow as much as the Aviator. The Lexus has the old-fashioned, solid rear axle.

BMW offers the pricey and very sporty X5, which is equipped with fully independent suspension, but again, has a unit-body design with lesser towing capacity and a weight advantage of 250 pounds. A six-cylinder engine with a 77-horsepower disadvantage propels it, unless one of the two optional V-8s is ordered. But those engines come with huge price tags, giving the Aviator a significant price advantage. In contrast to the Aviator, the BMW has little luggage space, in keeping with its sportier image.

Does the Aviator fly?

We drove the Aviator to St. Louis for this review and never heard a rattle or a squeak, never had to fight the dreaded "tall vehicle wander." The Aviator drives like a car, and you don't have to "climb a ladder" to get into it. We averaged 17 mpg. Its engine is smooth and responsive. From a standing start not much happens when you floor the accelerator, but as the speedometer needle sweeps past 25 mph things get very interesting. The five-speed transmission fires off rapid, firm shifts and the engine pulls aggressively, showing off its 302 horses. Lesser SUVs are left in the dust. While you're grinning ear to ear, your passengers are saying things like, "This is the prettiest interior I've ever seen," and "I just love the texture of the leather seats." There's no sense listing all the interior features since this is a Lincoln ... you know the vehicle is well equipped with everything from automatic headlights to power adjustable foot pedals. And don't forget that Lincolns come with a four-year, 50,000-mile warranty! So, does the Aviator fly in the face of the competition? Let's just say it handles the turbulence well.

Now about that name É how about A-V-8-R?

Steve Robertson of Robertson's Creative Photography is a car enthusiast and former staff writer/photographer for the Southeast Missourian.