Compare the2025 Lincoln AviatorVS 2025 Infiniti QX80

Both the Aviator and QX80 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 QX80’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 QX80 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.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Aviator’s optional Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The QX80 doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Both the Aviator and QX80 have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Aviator has Rear Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The QX80’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

For better protection of the passenger compartment, the Aviator uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The QX80 uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.

Both the Aviator and the QX80 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, 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, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available all wheel drive.

There are almost 3 times as many Lincoln dealers as there are Infiniti dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Aviator’s warranty.

The Lincoln Aviator’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the QX80’s engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

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 QX80 doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

On the EPA test cycle the Aviator gets better mileage than the QX80:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Lincoln Aviator uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). The QX80 requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Lincoln Aviator, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a nine-speed automatic is available for the QX80.

The Aviator’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the QX80’s standard 60 series tires. The Aviator’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the QX80 Luxe/Sensory/Autograph’s 50 series tires.

The Aviator’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 QX80 doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The Lincoln Aviator may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1200 pounds less than the Infiniti QX80.

The Aviator is 11.9 inches shorter than the QX80, making the Aviator easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Aviator is 7 inches shorter in height than the QX80, making the Aviator much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Unibody construction lowers the Aviator’s center of gravity significantly without reducing ground clearance. This contributes to better on the road handling and better off-road performance and stability. In addition, unibody construction makes the chassis stiffer, improving handling and reducing squeaks and rattles. The QX80 doesn’t use unibody construction, but a body-on-frame design.

The front grille of the Aviator uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The QX80 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Aviator has 2.4 inches more front headroom, 1.9 inches more rear headroom and .7 inches more third row headroom than the QX80.

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 QX80 doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Aviator has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The QX80 doesn’t offer cornering lights. The Aviator also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The Aviator (except Premiere)’s optional Active Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The QX80 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Lincoln Aviator outsold the Infiniti QX80 by 22% during 2023.