Compare the2023 Lincoln Navigator LVS 2023 Chevrolet Suburban

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

Safety

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The Lincoln Navigator L has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Suburban doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The middle row seatbelts optional on the Navigator L 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 Suburban doesn’t offer inflatable seatbelts.

The Navigator L 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 Suburban 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.

The Navigator L has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Suburban’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Navigator L has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Suburban.

The Navigator L’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Suburban doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Navigator L and the Suburban have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Lincoln Navigator L is safer than the Chevrolet Suburban:

	Navigator L	Suburban
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Leg Forces (l/r)	23/39 lbs.	152/161 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	35%	47%
Neck Stress	155 lbs.	272 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	271/178 lbs.	333/811 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Lincoln Navigator L is safer than the Chevrolet Suburban:

	Navigator L	Suburban
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	23	25
Chest Movement	.5 inches	.7 inches
Abdominal Force	108 lbs.	111 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	61	88
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches
HIC	134	239
Hip Force	569 lbs.	764 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Navigator L is .4% to 2.6% less likely to roll over than the Suburban.

Warranty

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

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

The Navigator L’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Suburban’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Reliability

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the Navigator L has an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of some of the engines in the Suburban.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Navigator L’s reliability 43 points higher than the Suburban.

Engine

The Navigator L’s 3.5 turbo V6 produces 85 more horsepower (440 vs. 355) and 127 lbs.-ft. more torque (510 vs. 383) than the Suburban’s standard 5.3 V8. The Navigator L’s 3.5 turbo V6 produces 20 more horsepower (440 vs. 420) and 50 lbs.-ft. more torque (510 vs. 460) than the Suburban’s optional 6.2 V8.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Navigator L gets better mileage than the Suburban:

			MPG
Navigator L
	RWD	3.5 turbo V6	17 city/23 hwy
Suburban
	RWD	5.3 OHV V8	15 city/20 hwy
		6.2 OHV V8	14 city/20 hwy
	AWD	5.3 OHV V8	15 city/19 hwy
		6.2 OHV V8	14 city/18 hwy

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Navigator L’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Suburban:

	Navigator L	Suburban
Front Rotors	13.8 inches	13.5 inches

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Navigator L has larger tires than the Suburban (285/45R22 vs. 265/65R18). The Navigator L’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Suburban (285/45R22 vs. 275/50R22).

The Navigator L’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Suburban’s standard 65 series tires. The Navigator L’s tires are lower profile than the Suburban’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Navigator L has standard 22-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Suburban.

Suspension and Handling

The Navigator L’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 Suburban doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The Navigator L’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (49.9% to 50.1%) than the Suburban’s (52% to 48%). This gives the Navigator L more stable handling and braking.

The Navigator Black Label L 4x4 handles at .78 G’s, while the Suburban High Country 4WD pulls only .53 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For greater off-road capability the Navigator L has a 1.6 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Suburban (9.6 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Navigator L to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The Navigator L is 3.8 inches shorter than the Suburban, making the Navigator L easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Navigator L uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Suburban doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the Navigator Black Label L 4x4 is quieter than the Suburban High Country 4WD (64 vs. 67 dB).

Passenger Space

The Navigator L has .4 inches more front hip room, 1.1 inches more rear headroom, .3 inches more rear hip room, .3 inches more rear shoulder room, 2 inches more third row hip room and 1.5 inches more third row shoulder room than the Suburban.

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

Cargo Capacity

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

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

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Chevrolet Suburban is limited to 8300 pounds. The Navigator L offers up to a 8400 lbs. towing capacity.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Suburban LT/RST/Z71/Premier/High Country, the Navigator L has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position, foot pedal distance, outside mirror angle, climate settings and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

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

If the windows are left open on the Navigator L 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 Suburban 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 L’s exterior PIN entry system. The Suburban doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its OnStar® can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Navigator L has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Suburban doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Standard air conditioned seats in the front and second seat rows keep the Navigator L’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The Suburban doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Navigator L 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 Suburban.

The Navigator L offers optional massaging front and second row seats, which keep the driver and middle row passengers. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Suburban.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Lincoln Navigator L has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Suburban LT/RST/Z71/Premier/High Country offers wireless charging.

Recommendations

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