Compare the2023 Lincoln AviatorVS 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee L

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Lincoln Aviator 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 L doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

Both the Aviator and Grand Cherokee L have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Aviator has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Grand Cherokee L’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Aviator 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 Aviator and Grand Cherokee L have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Aviator has Cross-Traffic Alert with Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Grand Cherokee L’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Aviator 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, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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 top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Aviator the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 175 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Grand Cherokee L has not been tested, yet.

The Aviator 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 Aviator 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.

The Lincoln Aviator’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the Grand Cherokee L’s 3.6 DOHC V6 engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

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

The Aviator 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 run on only half of its cylinders at a time, 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.

The Aviator’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 produces 107 more horsepower (400 vs. 293) and 155 lbs.-ft. more torque (415 vs. 260) than the Grand Cherokee L’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6. The Aviator’s 3.0 turbo V6 produces 43 more horsepower (400 vs. 357) and 25 lbs.-ft. more torque (415 vs. 390) than the Grand Cherokee L’s optional 5.7 V8. The Aviator Grand Touring’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid produces 137 more horsepower (494 vs. 357) and 240 lbs.-ft. more torque (630 vs. 390) than the Grand Cherokee L’s optional 5.7 V8.

As tested in Motor Trend the Lincoln Aviator turbo V6 is faster than the Jeep Grand Cherokee L:

On the EPA test cycle the Aviator running on electricity gets better mileage than the Grand Cherokee L:

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

The Aviator Grand Touring can travel with zero emissions for 21 miles. The Grand Cherokee L can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Aviator Grand Touring’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Grand Cherokee L doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

Regardless of its engine, the Aviator’s 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 (not available Grand Touring). Jeep only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Grand Cherokee L V6.

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

The Aviator stops much shorter than the Grand Cherokee L:

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

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Aviator has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the Grand Cherokee L. The Aviator’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 21-inch wheels optional on the Grand Cherokee L Summit.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Aviator is 1.5 inches wider in the front and 1.5 inches wider in the rear than on the Grand Cherokee L.

The Aviator Grand Touring AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 pulls only .75 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Aviator Grand Touring AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.7 seconds quicker than the Grand Cherokee L Overland 4x4 (26.5 seconds @ .72 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the Aviator has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Grand Cherokee L Laredo/Limited (8.7 vs. 8.5 inches), allowing the Aviator to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Aviator is 5.6 inches shorter than the Grand Cherokee L, making the Aviator easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Aviator has 1.7 inches more front headroom, 1.7 inches more front legroom, 1.1 inches more front hip room, 2.3 inches more front shoulder room, 2 inches more rear hip room, 3.3 inches more rear shoulder room and 2.1 inches more third row shoulder room than the Grand Cherokee L.

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

The Aviator’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Grand Cherokee L’s (5600 vs. 3500 pounds).

The Aviator’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 Aviator the driver can close them all 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 Aviator’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 Aviator’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.

The Grand Cherokee L’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The Aviator (except Standard)’s optional 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 Aviator (except Standard)’s optional Active Park Assist Plus 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.