Both the Nautilus and Edge have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Nautilus 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 Edge’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.
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.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Nautilus has standard Reverse Brake Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Edge doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Nautilus has a standard 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 Edge have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Nautilus has Rear Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Edge’s Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
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, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, 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 driver alert monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Lincoln Nautilus is safer than the Ford Edge:
|
|
Nautilus |
Edge |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
146 |
212 |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
359/332 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, results indicate that the Lincoln Nautilus is safer than the Ford Edge:
|
|
Nautilus |
Edge |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
60 |
84 |
| Chest Movement |
.7 inches |
1.1 inches |
| Abdominal Force |
121 lbs. |
190 lbs. |
| Hip Force |
154 lbs. |
192 lbs. |
|
|
Rear Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Hip Force |
491 lbs. |
635 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The Lincoln Nautilus has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Edge is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.