Compare the2023 Lincoln NavigatorVS 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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The middle row seatbelts optional on the Navigator Reserve/Black Label inflate when a collision is detected, helping to spread crash forces over a much larger area of the body and limiting head and neck movement. This can help prevent spinal and internal injuries. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer inflatable seatbelts.

The Navigator 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 Navigator 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, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, 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 and available all wheel drive.

The Lincoln Navigator weighs 406 to 1331 pounds more than the Jeep Grand Cherokee L. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Warranty

The Navigator 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 Navigator 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.

Reliability

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

The Navigator 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 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.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are better in initial quality than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Lincoln above average in initial quality. With 32 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Lincoln above average in long-term dependability. With 12 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Jeep is rated below average.

Engine

The Navigator’s 3.5 turbo V6 produces 147 more horsepower (440 vs. 293) and 250 lbs.-ft. more torque (510 vs. 260) than the Grand Cherokee L’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6. The Navigator’s 3.5 turbo V6 produces 83 more horsepower (440 vs. 357) and 120 lbs.-ft. more torque (510 vs. 390) than the Grand Cherokee L’s optional 5.7 V8.

As tested in Motor Trend the Lincoln Navigator is faster than the Jeep Grand Cherokee L:

	Navigator	Grand Cherokee L V6	Grand Cherokee L V8
Zero to 30 MPH	2 sec	2.7 sec	2 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	5.9 sec	8 sec	6.1 sec
Zero to 80 MPH	10 sec	13.3 sec	10.3 sec
Passing 45 to 65 MPH	3.1 sec	4.3 sec	3.2 sec
Quarter Mile	14.5 sec	16.1 sec	14.6 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	95.8 MPH	86 MPH	94.5 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Navigator 4WD gets better fuel mileage than the Grand Cherokee L 5.7 OHV V8 (16 city/22 hwy vs. 14 city/22 hwy).

Transmission

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

Brakes and Stopping

The Navigator stops much shorter than the Grand Cherokee L:

	Navigator	Grand Cherokee L
60 to 0 MPH	125 feet	139 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Navigator has larger standard tires than the Grand Cherokee L (275/55R20 vs. 265/60R18). The Navigator’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Grand Cherokee L (285/45R22 vs. 275/45R21).

The Navigator Standard’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.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Navigator Standard has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Grand Cherokee L. The Navigator’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 21-inch wheels optional on the Grand Cherokee L Summit.

The Lincoln Navigator’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Jeep Grand Cherokee L only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

Suspension and Handling

The Navigator’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Navigator is 2.2 inches wider in the front and 1.8 inches wider in the rear than on the Grand Cherokee L.

The Navigator Black Label 4WD handles at .77 G’s, while the Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Navigator Black Label 4WD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 (27.8 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Navigator has a 1.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Grand Cherokee L Laredo/Limited (9.6 vs. 8.5 inches), allowing the Navigator to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Passenger Space

The Navigator offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the Grand Cherokee L can only carry up to 7.

The Navigator has 12.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Grand Cherokee L (172 vs. 159.1).

The Navigator has 2 inches more front headroom, 2.6 inches more front legroom, 4.5 inches more front hip room, 6 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom, 1.7 inches more rear legroom, 5.3 inches more rear hip room, 7.1 inches more rear shoulder room, 5.8 inches more third row legroom, 8.5 inches more third row hip room and 12.3 inches more third row shoulder room than the Grand Cherokee L.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Navigator’s middle and third row seats recline. The Grand Cherokee L’s third row seats don’t recline.

Cargo Capacity

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

	Navigator	Grand Cherokee L
Behind Third Seat	19.3 cubic feet	17.2 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	57.5 cubic feet	46.9 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	103.3 cubic feet	84.6 cubic feet

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Navigator easier. The Navigator’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 29 inches, while the Grand Cherokee L’s liftover is 32.2 inches.

The Navigator has a standard third row seat which folds flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer seats that fold into the floor.

The Navigator’s rear cargo window opens separately from the rest of the liftgate door to allow quicker loading of small packages. The Grand Cherokee L’s rear cargo window doesn’t open.

Towing

The Navigator’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Grand Cherokee L’s (6200 vs. 3500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Jeep Grand Cherokee L 4x4 is only 7200 pounds. The Navigator offers up to a 8700 lbs. towing capacity.

Ergonomics

The Navigator’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 Navigator the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or 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 Navigator’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 Navigator’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.

Consumer Reports rated the Navigator’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Grand Cherokee L’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

The Grand Cherokee L’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The Navigator’s standard 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 Navigator has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the Grand Cherokee L.

Both the Navigator and the Grand Cherokee L offer available massaging front seats. The Navigator also offers optional massaging second row seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging second row seats aren’t available in the Grand Cherokee L.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Lincoln Navigator has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Grand Cherokee L.

The Navigator’s Active Park Assist 2.0 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.

Recommendations

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Navigator as the 2018 North American Truck of the Year. The Grand Cherokee L has never been chosen.