Compare the2023 Lincoln NautilusVS 2023 Ford Edge

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Nautilus are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Edge doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Nautilus (except Standard) offers an optional 360-Degree Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Edge only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Nautilus and the Edge have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

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 Edge last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2022.

The Nautilus comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck. The Edge’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 Ford covers the Edge. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Edge ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

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 11 points higher than the Edge.

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

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 Ford 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, Ford is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Lincoln vehicles are more reliable than Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Lincoln 8 places higher in reliability than Ford.

The Nautilus’ optional 2.7 turbo V6 produces 85 more horsepower (335 vs. 250) and 100 lbs.-ft. more torque (380 vs. 280) than the Edge’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Lincoln Nautilus turbo 4 cyl. is faster than the Ford Edge turbo 4 cyl.:

On the EPA test cycle the Nautilus gets better mileage than the Edge:

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Lincoln Nautilus higher (6 out of 10) than the Ford Edge (5 to 6). This means the Nautilus produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Edge every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Nautilus’ brake rotors are larger than those on the Edge:

The Nautilus stops much shorter than the Edge:

The Nautilus offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Edge’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Nautilus Reserve AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Edge Titanium pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Nautilus Reserve AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the Edge Titanium (27.1 seconds @ .68 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

The Nautilus has .2 inches more front legroom and .5 inches more front hip room than the Edge.

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 Edge’s passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

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 Edge 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 Nautilus’ exterior PIN entry system. The Edge doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Nautilus’ headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Edge’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

The Nautilus’ standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Ford only offers heated mirrors on the Edge SEL/ST-Line/ST/Titanium.

The Nautilus Reserve/Black Label offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Edge.

The Nautilus is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Edge doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Nautilus is less expensive to operate than the Edge because it costs $100 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost less on the Nautilus than the Edge, including $131 less for a muffler, $21 less for front brake pads, $27 less for fuel injection, $19 less for a fuel pump, $4 less for front struts and $9 less for a timing belt/chain.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Lincoln Nautilus and the Ford Edge, based on reliability, safety and performance.