Compare the2023 Lincoln NautilusVS 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Lincoln Nautilus 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 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Lincoln Nautilus 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 Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Nautilus 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 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 Nautilus and the Grand Cherokee have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Nautilus the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Grand Cherokee has not been tested, yet.

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

Lincoln’s powertrain warranty covers the Nautilus 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Jeep covers the Grand Cherokee. 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 ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

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

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 Nautilus’ reliability 46 points higher than the Grand Cherokee.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Nautilus first among midsize premium suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Grand Cherokee isn’t in the top three in its category.

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.

As tested in Motor Trend the Lincoln Nautilus turbo V6 is faster than the Grand Cherokee 4xe 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid:

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

Regardless of its engine, the Nautilus’ 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. Jeep only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Grand Cherokee V6/4xe.

The Nautilus stops much shorter than the Grand Cherokee:

The Nautilus’ standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Grand Cherokee Laredo’s standard 70 series tires. The Nautilus’ optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Grand Cherokee Summit’s optional 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Nautilus has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Grand Cherokee Laredo.

The Nautilus Reserve AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Grand Cherokee Overland 4x4 pulls only .60 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Nautilus Reserve AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4 (27.1 seconds @ .68 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The Nautilus is 3.5 inches shorter than the Grand Cherokee, making the Nautilus easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Nautilus has 1.5 inches more front legroom, 1.4 inches more rear legroom and 1 inch more rear shoulder room than the Grand Cherokee.

The front step up height for the Nautilus is 2.7 inches lower than the Grand Cherokee (17.5” vs. 20.2”). The Nautilus’ rear step up height is 3.5 inches lower than the Grand Cherokee’s (18” vs. 21.5”).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Nautilus easier. The Nautilus’ cargo hatch lift-over height is 30 inches, while the Grand Cherokee’s liftover is 33 inches.

The Nautilus’ cargo area is larger than the Grand Cherokee’s in almost every dimension:

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Nautilus’ rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The Nautilus’ 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’s standard rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the Nautilus 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 can only operate 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 Nautilus’ exterior PIN entry system. The Grand Cherokee 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.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Nautilus offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer cornering lights. The Nautilus (except Standard) also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Lincoln Nautilus, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Jeep Grand Cherokee isn't recommended.