Orlando Sentinel's view

It’s easy to dismiss the Lincoln Aviator as a Ford Explorer in a tuxedo, but it’s also unfair. Granted, scratch the surface and there’s an Explorer under there somewhere, but the company has loaded the Aviator with so much content, and done it with such style, that this is, really, something different.

Different, and expensive. The base model of the Aviator starts at $40,225. The test vehicle is a premium model, starting at $45,125, and as tested, it lists for $48,160. The bigger Navigator starts at $49,050, and an all-wheel-drive Explorer starts at about $29,000. Clearly, the Aviator is at the pricey end of that spectrum.

The test Aviator is the most deluxe available: The Kitty Hawk Edition, which the company says honors, the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers’s flight, and the 100th birthday of the Ford Motor Co. The Kitty Hawk package, which adds $2,295, has black paint, a rear spoiler, 17-inch chrome wheels, premium leather seats, special floor mats and an interior trimmed in “West African mink zebrano wood trim – popular in the 1930s, seen today in luxurious architectural woodwork.” Whatever it is, it’s pretty.

Under the hood is Ford’s 32-valve, 302-horsepower, 4.6-liter V-8, essentially the engine developed for the last-generation Ford SVT Cobra Mustang. Mated to an eager five-speed automatic transmission, this is a very quick SUV. It’s also reasonably thirsty, with an EPA rating of 13 mpg in the city, and 19 mpg on the highway. Ford says the engine likes 91-octane gasoline, which is midgrade level.

The Aviator’s handling is among the best of the genre, due in part to aggressive tires and a well-sorted suspension that makes good use of the fully-independent rear developed for the Explorer.

With all-wheel-drive, this is a very sure-footed vehicle, surprisingly light on its feet given its 5,002-pound weight. But make no mistake: It is not an off-roader. There’s sufficient ground clearance to follow a cow path or drive across the country club entrance’s median, but it isn’t a rock-crawler.

Inside, the Aviator’s interior is one of the nicest you’ll find, tastefully done but without unnecessary flash. Front seats are excellent; controls and instruments are where they should be. The stereo, which includes a six-disc CD changer, is quite good. There’s quite a bit of room in the back seat, but the fold-down third-row seat is best left for kids.

As you would expect from the price, the Aviator Kitty Hawk is absolutely loaded. Besides the normal features, there’s heated and cooled front seats (don’t laugh until you’ve tried the cooled seats – nice in a black vehicle with lots of window glass), HID headlights, power adjustable pedals, lighted running boards, a tire-pressure monitoring system, side curtain airbags and 10 cup holders.

Even so, there’s more available – if you want a power sunroof, a navigation system and a DVD-based entertainment system, you’re flirt ing with a $55,000 sticker.

This puts the Aviator into competition with some pretty capable SUVs, such as the BMW X5 4.4i, Mercedes ML500, Lexus GX470 and the aforementioned Lincoln Navigator, as well as a GMC Denali.

The Aviator matches all of them in powertrain sophistication and interior quality, and, feature-for-feature, holds its own. Still, with roots in its Explorer heritage, it might be dismissed – unfairly, I think – from consideration with other premium brands. That would be too bad.

Base price: $45,125.

Price as tested: $48,160.

EPA rating: 13 mpg city, 19 mpg highway.

Details: Front-engine, all-wheel-drive SUV with a 4.6-liter, 302-horsepower V-8 and a five-speed automatic transmission.