Test drive: 2024 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid dethrones Lexus RX

• Lincoln found the sweet spot of understated luxury

• The Nautilus hybrid is a smooth and efficient companion

• Would-be Lexus RX buyers should put Lincoln Nautilus on their shopping list

Luxury crossover SUV buyers coming out of a decade-old Lexus RX should turn their attention to Lincoln. My mom is and you might want to as well.

My mother, who has a 2013 Lexus RX, feels like Lexus has lost its way both in terms of design and refinement. She’s rarely wrong. 

In comes an unexpected possible replacement from Lincoln in the form of the 2024 Nautilus hybrid. Redesigned with an understated yet elegant design, a fuel-efficient hybrid powertrain and easy-to-use controls have put it on my mother's shortlist as a possible RX replacement.

But there’s disappointment with the BlueCruise hands-free system, the tech is glitchy, and the steering controls are borderline intolerable despite being set up for the future.

Here are the pros and cons of the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid in my mother’s and my own eyes.

2024 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid

2024 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid

2024 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid

2024 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid

Pro: Lincoln Nautilus delivers elegance without flash

For a minute my mother was hot to trot on the idea of the Cadillac Lyriq. Going electric appeals to her mentality of “Let’s save the planet for my grandchildren.” Your grandchildren thank you, Mother. Charging infrastructure aside, the Lyriq’s simply “too loud” visually, according to my mom. The Nautilus is understated in the way the Lyriq isn’t. But it doesn’t offend, and certainly isn’t ugly, both of which are ways my mother describes the current RX, particularly from the front end. 

The same goes for the Nautilus’ interior, despite the full-width 48.0-inch screen that stretches from A-pillar to A-pillar. Mom found the interior to be attractive and inoffensive, with lovely detailing such a sthe metal speaker grilles and wave-like LED panel lighting on the doors that wouldn’t be out of place in a Lexus. This is all unlike the RX, in which she asked “Why’s there cloth on the dashboard and door panels?”

2024 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid

Con: BlueCruise remains solidly in second place

Despite smoothing rough edges, BlueCruise simply isn’t as good as GM’s Super Cruise found in Cadillacs. It’s not even close. In the Nautilus (and even more recently a 2024 Ford F-150 hybrid) I once again experienced the system struggling to “see” my eyes through my polarized sunglasses to ensure I was paying attention. I was, and Super Cruise doesn’t have this issue. This led to constant dings and dongs as the system screamed at me to pay attention, which I was. The end result was phantom braking where the vehicle would hit the brakes to try and get my attention, which it had. My wife asked me to turn the system off before it gave her motion sickness. My father thinks Super Cruise is the bees knees and was dismayed when he witnessed BlueCruise in action.

2024 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid

Pro: Lincoln Nautilus hybrid is a smoother and more efficient operator

The standard powertrain in a Nautilus is a 2.0-liter turbo-4 with 250 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque. It’s not the one to choose. My tester had the hybrid powertrain, which pairs that turbo-4 with a 134-hp electric motor for a combined output of 310 hp (Lincoln won’t disclose the torque rating). It’s a smooth operator that’s hushed at low speeds and has seamless power transitions. The EPA fuel economy ratings of 30 mpg city, 31 mpg highway, and 30 combined are easy to hit. I averaged 30.6 mpg over the course of 193 miles of mixed suburban driving. On a 207-mile road trip going over 70 mph I averaged 30.1 mpg. Notably that’s significantly lower than the Lexus RX hybrid’s 36/37/34 mpg ratings.

2024 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid

Con: Tech glitches in the Lincoln Nautilus

Throughout the week not everything in the Nautilus worked as it should, and that goes beyond BlueCruise. At times the seat belt warning display wouldn’t turn off for no apparent reason despite occupants being buckled in. Wireless Apple CarPlay froze numerous times and was unresponsive. And of course, there was the aforementioned BlueCruise that didn’t always see my eyes. For a luxury vehicle so reliant on tech integration this was all quite annoying. And this is just the beginning. Lincoln’s underutilizing the 48.0-inch screen with much of the content being duplicated from the 11.1-inch touchscreen almost all the time. Nobody needs to see the map or what they are listening to on two screens at the same time.

2024 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid

Pro: Lincoln retains real buttons and knobs

Despite the 48.0-inch screen spanning the width of the dashboard and 11.1-inch touchscreen, the Nautilus features buttons, toggles, and switches. There are real controls that enable easy-to-execute gear selections, volume changes, and drive mode selections. There are even dedicated buttons for the defrost function, cameras, and parking assist system. And yes, there are real windshield wiper and turn signal stalks.

2024 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid

Con: Nautilus’ squircle steering wheel’s touch-based controls

The squircle steering wheel takes getting used and features touch-sensitive controls for the audio and cruise control functions. Worse, those touch-sensitive controls aren’t labeled and can change functions based on situations. When the driver’s fingers touch the buttons on the steering wheel the corresponding functions present themselves on the 48.0-inch screen on the dashboard. This is only one step better than the similar setup in the Lexus RX, which has the functions displayed in the heads-up display, which can’t be seen while wearing polarized sunglasses. Lincoln’s done this so the controls can be updated over time with more functionality. But today, functionality is limited to infotainment and cruise control systems, and it’s somewhat confusing to use.

Lincoln took the Nautilus and transformed it into a formative competitor to what has long been regarded as the segment benchmark: the Lexus RX. With Lexus’ missteps in design it would be a mistake for consumers to ignore their Lincoln dealership. My Mother rarely makes mistakes and will be taking a Nautilus for a test drive. 

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2024 Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid

Base price: $53,510, including a $1,595 destination fee

Price as tested: $69,100

Drivetrain: 310-hp hybrid, AWD

EPA fuel economy: 30/31/30 mpg

The hits: Elegant yet understated design, smooth powertrain, efficient, interface

The misses: BlueCruise stands in second place, glitchy tech, unmarked haptic steering wheel controls