Compare the2022 Lincoln AviatorVS 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Lincoln Aviator have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer pretensioners for the middle seat belts.

Both the Aviator and Grand Cherokee L have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Aviator has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Grand Cherokee L’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Aviator has standard Post Collision Braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Both the Aviator and the Grand Cherokee L have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Aviator the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Grand Cherokee L has not been tested, yet.

The Aviator comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Grand Cherokee L’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

Lincoln’s powertrain warranty covers the Aviator 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Jeep covers the Grand Cherokee L. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Grand Cherokee L ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Lincoln Aviator’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the Grand Cherokee L’s 3.6 DOHC V6 engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the Aviator have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the 5.7 V8 in the Grand Cherokee L.

The Aviator has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Aviator has a standard -amp alternator (250-amp - Aviator optional). The Grand Cherokee L’s standard 160-amp alternator and largest (optional) 240-amp alternator aren’t as powerful.

The Aviator’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 produces 110 more horsepower (400 vs. 290) and 158 lbs.-ft. more torque (415 vs. 257) than the Grand Cherokee L’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6. The Aviator’s 3.0 turbo V6 produces 43 more horsepower (400 vs. 357) and 25 lbs.-ft. more torque (415 vs. 390) than the Grand Cherokee L’s optional 5.7 V8. The Aviator Grand Touring’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid produces 137 more horsepower (494 vs. 357) and 240 lbs.-ft. more torque (630 vs. 390) than the Grand Cherokee L’s optional 5.7 V8.

On the EPA test cycle the Aviator running on electricity gets better mileage than the Grand Cherokee L:

On the EPA test cycle the Aviator running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Grand Cherokee L:

The Aviator Grand Touring can drive on battery power alone for up to 21 miles. The Grand Cherokee L must run its internal combustion engine to move.

Regenerative brakes improve the Aviator Grand Touring’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

Regardless of its engine, the Aviator’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip (not available Grand Touring). Jeep only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Grand Cherokee L V6.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Lincoln Aviator higher (5 to 7 out of 10) than the Jeep Grand Cherokee L (3 to 7). This means the Aviator produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Grand Cherokee L every 15,000 miles.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Lincoln Aviator, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Grand Cherokee L.

For better traction, the Aviator’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Grand Cherokee L (275/40R22 vs. 265/60R18).

The Aviator’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Grand Cherokee L’s standard 60 series tires. The Aviator’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Grand Cherokee L Summit’s optional 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Aviator has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Grand Cherokee L. The Aviator’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 21-inch wheels optional on the Grand Cherokee L Summit.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Aviator is 1.5 inches wider in the front and 1.5 inches wider in the rear than on the Grand Cherokee L.

For greater off-road capability the Aviator has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Grand Cherokee L Laredo/Limited (8.7 vs. 8.5 inches), allowing the Aviator to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Aviator is 5.6 inches shorter than the Grand Cherokee L, making the Aviator easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Aviator has 1.7 inches more front headroom, 1.7 inches more front legroom, 1.1 inches more front hip room, 2.3 inches more front shoulder room, 2 inches more rear hip room, 3.3 inches more rear shoulder room and 2.1 inches more third row shoulder room than the Grand Cherokee L.

The Aviator’s cargo area provides more volume than the Grand Cherokee L.

The Aviator’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Grand Cherokee L’s (5600 vs. 3500 pounds).

The Aviator’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Grand Cherokee L’s standard rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully. Only its driver’s window closes automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Aviator the driver can close them all from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Grand Cherokee L can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Aviator’s exterior PIN entry system. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its extra cost Uconnect Access can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Aviator’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Grand Cherokee L’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

The Grand Cherokee L’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The Aviator’s optional adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

The Aviator (except Standard)’s optional Active Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Grand Cherokee L Summit’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.