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The 2022 Lincoln Navigator Black Label Is Your $100,000 Daily Driver

No one needs a Lincoln Navigator.

No one needs a bulletproof attache case, alligator skin luggage, or $350 Ecuadorian heirloom chocolate bars either. However, these are the spoils of someone with too much discretionary income and the desire to make a statement. The 2022 Lincoln Navigator Black Label makes that statement unlike almost every other SUV on the market. We spent a week behind the wheel of a Black Label 4×4, the flagship trim of the brand’s flagship SUV. In the world of Lincoln, it doesn’t get more luxurious.

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The Navigator’s evolution has been a long and winding road for Lincoln. The vehicle simultaneously launched and defined the full-size luxury SUV segment in 1997 (for the ‘98 model year) with a mission to help its customers make a statement. It was a big, bold, shiny chariot designed with a single purpose: to announce to the world that you had, in fact, arrived.

2018 Lincoln Navigator Black Label
Mike Richard/The Manual

A few short years later, it lost substantial street cred when the Cadillac Escalade redefined the segment with a whole new level of bling and panache. For more than a decade, Lincoln lost its footing thanks to an aging platform, tired design, and ruthless fuel economy. The truck seemed to hit rock bottom around the middle of this decade. Of the 2015 Lincoln Navigator, we noted:

Picking up the Lincoln Navigator from the airport parking lot was a bit like going to the animal shelter and coming home with a Stegosaurus … Its current flagship, however, with its elderly truck platform, boxcar dimensions, and drought-like thirst for petrochemicals is lodged solidly in the Jurassic …

It seemed destined for the automotive graveyard, but Lincoln had bigger plans. The following year, the brand debuted an impressive, all-new Navigator concept in New York. With gullwing doors, seven infotainment screens, and teakwood steps, it was impossible not to take notice. Just as improbable when Lincoln launched the 2022 Navigator is how similar to the original concept the newly refreshed model was.

Picking up the Lincoln Navigator from the airport parking lot was a bit like going to the animal shelter and coming home with a Stegosaurus.

The exterior of the Lincoln Navigator Black Label makes a striking first impression. Where the previous generation felt big and lumbering, the 2022 update feels crisp and sophisticated with a surprising dose of sportiness. The more aggressively raked roofline, sweeping, recessed chrome grill, and massive, 22-inch rims are distinct changes that announce a bold new era for the Navigator. It’s a tasteful redesign that retains much of the marquee vehicle’s original panache without feeling garish or overdone.

Climbing inside requires a real climb inside. The automatic running boards aren’t just a frilly novelty. Anyone less than six feet tall is going to need a full two steps up from ground to cockpit. This is a big truck. After one week as our daily driver, it felt almost silly stepping back into our diminutive Toyota 4Runner.

We came to appreciate the truck’s size almost everywhere we drove it. At parking lot speeds, the Navigator feels every bit of the hulking 210-inch, 5,855-pound machine that it is. It’s tame, quiet, and sophisticated, but never lumbering as with its predecessor. On the plus side, all that girth and the powertrain that pushes it give it an impressive towing capacity of 8,400 pounds for our 4×4 model or 8,700 pounds on the 4×2 variation.

That powertrain, pulled directly from the Ford F-150 Raptor, is a thing of beauty: a twin-turbo DOHC 3.5-liter, V6 engine making 450 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. While anything less than a V8 might seem underpowered — bordering on silly — for a truck of this size, Lincoln has tuned the engine to be surprisingly sporty. From a dead stop to 60 takes just 5.5 seconds. (Did we mention the almost 6,000-pound curb weight?) Ramping up to highway speeds never feels like a struggle. The truck feels more nimble and a full ton lighter the faster it’s driven. Point the Navigator where you need it to go and goose the gas pedal. It’s nothing but smooth, seamless acceleration with a 10-speed automatic transmission that does an excellent job of picking the right gear.

What’s most remarkable is that sitting in the Navigator in your garage is almost as enjoyable as driving it. The cockpit is akin to that of a private jet. Venetian leather and butter-soft suede cloth abound. The only word to describe its absurd level of amenities is “dizzying.” We spent a week trying to find any features the truck lacked. Most — navigation, backup camera, satellite radio, and system checks — can be controlled via the responsive, 10-inch touchscreen. The infotainment system is well-thought-out, although some controls feel a bit overcomplicated. Lincoln included just the right amount of dedicated buttons and switches for common controls like volume, cabin air temperature, and seat position.

Speaking of which, the front passengers are treated to 30-way adjustable power seats with cooling, heating, and massage features. Three passengers can each program dedicated memory buttons to reposition the seating every time they climb into the vehicle. The seats are more comfortable than most La-Z-Boy recliners. Every passenger — even those in the capacious third row — will feel like they’re cruising in a limousine. There’s a dual-screen rear seat entertainment system, copious USB ports, more cupholders than an IMAX theater, Wi-FI hotspot capability, and a massive, panoramic sunroof.

The entry-level 2022 Lincoln Navigator Premiere bases around $72,000, while the midline Lincoln Navigator Reserve pushes north of $80,000. However, customers seeking the flagship, hip-hop mogul experience — the 2022 Lincoln Navigator Black Label with all the bells and whistles — are looking at an all-in price north of $100,000. This is a whole new era of Lincoln indeed.

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Honda is a diverse company with a wide range of products that includes planes, boat engines, and motorcycles. The Japanese brand is best known for its reliable and well-built cars that, for the most part, are boring -- except for the Civic Type R. Take the Honda CR-V, for example. It’s a class-leading SUV, but you’re not going to buy it for its thrilling performance. Leave it to Honda and some hysterical engineers without a budget to make a drool-worthy CR-V. All it took was for Honda to cram an 800-horsepower, hybrid powertrain from an IndyCar and create a deranged design. Honda describes the CR-V Hybrid Racer in the best way, calling it a “rolling electrified laboratory.”
Before we get into the CR-V Hybrid Racer, we’re going to try to rationalize its existence. IndyCar is introducing some new rules for the 2024 season. Honda, which first got into IndyCar in 1994, is getting ready for the upcoming 2024 season, where IndyCars will have to be electrified. To strum up some interest in the next era of IndyCar racing, Honda has come out with the CR-V Hybrid Racer, which the automaker is calling a “sneak preview.”

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First drive: 2023 Chevrolet Colorado is a pickup that appeals to everyone
The Colorado proves to be a true chameleon with powertrains and trims that feel completely different
2023 Chevrolet Colorado Z71 front end angle from passenger's side parked on a grassy field in front of mountains.

It’s no secret that large pickup trucks are all moving upstream. Once the obvious choice for workers needing a capable pickup for towing or hauling, large pickups have morphed into family-friendly vehicles with luxurious touches and six-figure price tags. While a lot has changed for large trucks, automakers are happy to continue offering midsize trucks with no-frill interiors, decade-old powertrains, and terrible ride quality. The fully redesigned 2023 Chevrolet Colorado enters the segment and immediately gets to work on changing the status quo. Like an overzealous 16-year-old heading into their first job, the new Colorado eagerly looks to change how things are done.
Chevy must have gotten tired of falling behind the reliable Toyota Tacoma in sales, being pushed aside by the off-road ready Jeep Gladiator, or being ignored by the comfortable Honda Ridgeline, because the 2023 Colorado incorporates qualities from all of its main rivals.
Do the changes work? Yes, undoubtedly so. They do more than just work; they send the Colorado to the top of the tier list, regardless of where your allegiances – Toyota for this particular writer – lie.

What’s new with the 2023 Chevrolet Colorado?
Pretty much everything. While most people will get caught up on the Colorado’s far more rugged design that improves off-roading capability, the changes are more than skin deep. The truck utilizes a new frame that’s derived from the Silverado 1500. Compared to the outgoing Colorado, the new pickup’s front axle is moved forward for a far shorter front overhang, and the wheelbase has been stretched by 3.1 inches.
Chevrolet has streamlined the Colorado’s body styles by only offering the 2023 version of the pickup as a crew cab with a short bed. Seeing as how two-door pickup trucks have all but disappeared from existence, this isn’t a surprising change.
Another large change is what’s under the hood. Before, the Colorado was offered with three engines: a four-cylinder, V6, and a turbo-diesel. Now, consumers have to spec their Colorados with a turbocharged 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine with three different power ratings. More on the engine later.
Unlike other midsize pickup trucks in the class that have infotainment systems from the prehistoric era, every Colorado comes with an 11.3-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. You’re also getting Google built-in and an 8-inch digital instrument cluster. These features blow anything you’ll find from a competitor out of the water.
Chevy brought us to San Diego to drive a few Colorados. We had some time with the base Work Truck, rugged Trail Boss, and Z71. The LT trim was harder to get a hold of than decent weather, and while Chevy did have a ZR2 on hand, it was more for the purposes of teasing everyone.

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