Compare the2023 GMC AcadiaVS 2023 Lincoln Nautilus

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

Safety

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The Acadia Denali’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Nautilus doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the GMC Acadia are height-adjustable, and the middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Lincoln Nautilus has only front height-adjustable seat belts.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Nautilus doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Acadia and the Nautilus have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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.

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

	Acadia	Nautilus
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	21%	22.4%
Neck Stress	191 lbs.	229 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	129/383 lbs.	165/596 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 GMC Acadia is safer than the Lincoln Nautilus:

	Acadia	Nautilus
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.9 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	156 lbs.	190 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	16 inches
Spine Acceleration	36 G’s	38 G’s

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

Warranty

The Acadia’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Nautilus’ (6 vs. 5 years).

There are over 2 times as many GMC dealers as there are Lincoln dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Lincoln vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC above average in initial quality. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles, Lincoln is rated lower.

Engine

The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 60 more horsepower (310 vs. 250) than the Nautilus’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Acadia
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
Nautilus
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/26 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/25 hwy
		2.7 turbo V6	19 city/25 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Acadia’s fuel efficiency. The Nautilus doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Acadia 2.0 Turbo’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Nautilus doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Acadia FWD’s standard fuel tank has 1.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Nautilus (19.4 vs. 18 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 3.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the Nautilus (21.7 vs. 18 gallons).

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the GMC Acadia, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Nautilus.

Brakes and Stopping

The Acadia’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Nautilus are solid, not vented.

Tires and Wheels

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Lincoln Nautilus only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Nautilus doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The Acadia SLT AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Nautilus Reserve AWD pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Acadia SLT AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Nautilus Reserve AWD (26.9 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.6 seconds @ .65 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Acadia’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Nautilus’ (38.7 feet vs. 39.3 feet).

Chassis

The front grille of the Acadia FWD 4 cyl. uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Nautilus doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Acadia offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the Nautilus can only carry 5.

The Acadia has 35.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Nautilus (143.8 vs. 108.3).

The Acadia has .1 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom and .1 inches more rear legroom than the Nautilus.

Cargo Capacity

The Acadia’s cargo area provides more volume than the Nautilus.

	Acadia	Nautilus
Third Seat Folded	41.7 cubic feet	n/a
Third Seat Removed	n/a	37.2 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	79 cubic feet	68.8 cubic feet

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

	Acadia	Nautilus
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	18.5”/48”/83”	n.a./41.5”/75”
Max Width	50”	45”
Min Width	42.5”	45”
Height	33”	31”

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Lincoln Nautilus is limited to 3500 pounds. The Acadia offers up to a 4000 lbs. towing capacity.

Ergonomics

The Acadia (except SLE) offers an available heads-up display that projects speed in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Nautilus doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Acadia and the Nautilus have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Acadia is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Nautilus prevents the driver from operating the rear windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Acadia’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Nautilus’ cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Acadia’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Nautilus’ standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Acadia has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Nautilus only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

When the Acadia with available tilt-down mirrors is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Nautilus’ mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Economic Advantages

The Acadia will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Acadia will retain 47.29% to 50.03% of its original price after five years, while the Nautilus only retains 45.16% to 45.45%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Acadia is less expensive to operate than the Nautilus because typical repairs cost less on the Acadia than the Nautilus, including $25 less for a water pump, $87 less for a muffler and $72 less for front struts.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the GMC Acadia will be $7444 to $14048 less than for the Lincoln Nautilus.

Recommendations

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

The GMC Acadia outsold the Lincoln Nautilus by almost three to one during 2022.

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