Video: Lincoln Aviator Production Preview

Now, a finalized version of the Aviator isn't quite ready yet, so what we're seeing here is what Lincoln calls a production preview, but they did also tell us that the styling and the things that we see here are very, very close to what we're gonna see on the production car, just with some slight changes to things like the side mirrors and, potentially, the wheels. Now, one of our favorite styling elements on the Aviator is this grille. Now, we've seen this grille before on other Lincoln models in the same shape. However, what they've done is they've reversed the mesh to give it more of a three-dimensional look, and it sits very upright. It gives the front of the car some distinctiveness from the rest of the lineup, and I think that it personally looks fantastic. I'm also a big fan of this paint color, which is called Flight Blue. And that kind of keeps with the aviation motif that we have for the whole styling of the vehicle. Now, one other thing that I very much like is this beltline here. This chrome strip makes it easy to see that it runs very horizontally flat all the way from the front to the back of the car. And this does two things. One, it makes the car as a whole appear a little bit lower. And two, it allows you to have these very large windows in the first, second, and third rows. And what that does is, it allows more light into the cabin, and makes it feel more airy and spacious for occupants. Now, on the interior, the same sort of caveats apply. This is a pre-production model, so there could be some changes in materials. However, the overall design should stay pretty much the same, which is a good thing. It is a very, very calm, very peaceful interior. The Aviator also borrows some of the best features of the Navigator interior that we liked, including this 10-inch screen in the center console. One other thing that it also grabbed is these 30-way, powered, perfect-position seats with massage function. And Lincoln actually says that on the Aviator, they've changed the massage pattern to make it more soothing. Now, Lincoln is calling the Aviator a medium-sized SUV and will actually have three rows of seating for up to seven occupants. Now, as we mentioned before, this really big glass seen here on the second and third rows give it some of the best backseat visibility of any SUV that I've been in. And it's something that I'd really appreciate on a longer trip. Being able to see out of the car helps it to feel more spacious. I mean, Lincoln also says a 6'2" passenger should be able to fit easily in the second row. One claim that we can't check, though, Lincoln says a 6'0" passenger will actually be able to fit in the third row, but they're not letting anyone back there. The good news is, though, that there will be easy access in the second row, both on the passenger and driver's side. So both sides will actually tilt forward and slide up so you can get into the third row easily. The final details on the Aviator are a little bit hard to come by. There are a few things that we know from Lincoln that are worth mentioning. The first is powertrains. Now, the standard powertrain will be a twin turbo-charged engine of some kind, but the exciting option will be that they will actually pile a plug-in hybrid system on top of that to give you some electrification, if you want it. The second thing that I actually really am looking forward to is the Aviator will come with a forward-facing camera. And what it will do is, it will read the road between seven to 10 meters ahead of you, so it will check out things like potholes, breaks in the road, and it will actually change the adaptive suspension to smooth out the ride as you go over them. Now, we don't have an exact on-sale date for the Aviator yet. All we know is that it will go into production sometime next year, and on sale sometime in 2019.