Beautiful fabricated interior, very up to date electronic features. AWD has worked excellent for me. I took this vehicle into a snow storm driving up a mountain side (not by choice) and it perfomed very well. All around classy car!

Second row seating is absolutely terrible. Electronic sensors are terrible and at this point (60,000mi) I wish I didn't have them. Transmission isn't great, but you can't expect much better after 60K miles.

I love this car regardless of its flaws. I think its a elegant, classy build and its worth its weight in gold. I will continue to get it fixed until it becomes a hand me down car.

Style, comfort, powerful engine

The Aviator has been a good car with perhaps a few too many "significant" necessary repairs.

One problem we currently have is structural and inherent in the Aviator's original design. This problem is a bit trivial but is definitely built into the vehicle. There is a crack on the hatch back portion of the tail gate, on the right side of the emblem, from the glass down to the bottom of the hatchback. About 6 inches long. This crack just showed up one day a couple years ago and since then, I've noticed identical cracks on other Lincoln Aviators... lot's of them.

Are you familiar with this issue or have a comment?

very reliable, as long as you keep up the maintance, I still get approximatly 420 miles to a tank of gas.

hard to find parts for it now

I wish lincoln would re produce the Aviator, it is the right size, and the style was great.

Comfortable interior, heated and cooled front seats, premium sound system, smooth ride

Multiple warning systems glitches, transmission, tires

Bought used with 17,000 miles. Car was like new. Very clean. At about 60,000 miles, started experiencing problems with tire pressure warning system. 60,000 miles later, dealer still can't resolve problem with faulty tire pressure warning signal. Replaced tires, monitoring valves to no avail. Recently, door ajar and liftgate ajar warning signals have become troublesome. At just over 100,000 miles, transmission became problematic - slipping at high rate of acceleration. Driving like my grandmother ever since, trying to avoid replacing transmission. Front windows have become troublesome, bouncing up and down while trying to close. This car was a solid choice through 60,000 miles, but ever since there has been one thing after another going wrong.

When facing the front of this SUV, you will fall in love with the smooth classy looking front frame, the shape, and angle of the head lights. My SUV is white, and the coat looks great when kept washed and waxed. Even the original Lincoln rims look good on this SUV. The seats have several adjustable positions, from low to seating up high. There is a button for adjusting the pedals to allow for vertically challenged people to a tall person. The moon roof or sun roof has a slide back cover to allow a solid interior look, you can choose to use the moon roof/sun roof button to open it at an angle or slide it all the way back; either way you can enjoy a great ride in either direction. It also has several storage areas on the door and two consoles between the first and second row of seats for small items to keep your suv clean. Wider front windshield view to avoid blind spots.

It does not have the automatac button in the rear of the suv like the Navigator,(so what).

This vehicle was so close to being brand new; it was like a dream come true for me. Everything about it was in mint condition when I purchased it. The attention to details from the wood grain steering wheel to the fine leather seats was truly a luxury fitting the name Lincoln. For a mid-to-large size SUV, driving it is a very smooth ride. The outside sounds are so muffled out, you have to be very careful to be alert for emergency vehicles approaching you, it may be hard to hear them coming. This vehicle also has a third row seat which is very helpful when shopping for groceries at a large warehouse or other large items you need to bring home. The second row seats are split, and the handle to allow someone to access the third row seat is very simple to use to let the seat down and to slide forward.
Although the third row seat folds flat, it does leave a gap in between the second seat, it may be a slight inconvenience for some but not for my needs. I love this vehicle; (she) is silky smooth.

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Sorry, this is the best suv I have owned.

Looks good, V8 engine, roomy.

Rides great when not breaking down for one thing or another.

We purchased the 2004 Lincoln Aviator on 6-19-2007 thinking we were buying a great vehicle it's turned out to be the worst car ever! We drove from St Augustine FL down to New Smyrna Beach, FL traded in our Mitsubishi. Which by the way never gave me a problem wanted to buy an American made car traded it in for the Aviator worse thing I've ever done. After around 10 miles from the purchased car lot and 10pm at night went over a bump and the back end was all over the place. The dealership had closed and we wanted to get back home. Brought it in to the Ford dealership in St Augustine, FL 2 days later, and I've been taking the Aviator almost every month for problems. On 2/27/08 took it yet again for noises coming from the front end they had to fix the rack and pinion picked it up on 2/28/08. Took it back today 3/03/08 for the same problem!! I've dealt with Lincoln corporation months ago on all of the issues is there nothing I could do??

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Mitusbishi Sport

Beautiful interior, quiet ride and handles like a dream.

Lack of leg room in rear seat. Only takes premium gasoline.

We had purchased a 2003 new aviator the year previous and were smitten by it. So when it came time for me to replace my lexus we decided to purchase an aviator for me as well. The 2004 Aviator has given us nothing but problems. We have had problems with it not starting in the morning almost since we bought it and they have become more frequent in the last three months. Quite frequently you get a shock when you touch the vehicle that is quite strong. The dealer has been very good about trying to repair the vehicle and they always give us a loaner but we are at our wits end never knowing if we are going to have to call for road service or ask someone for a jump.

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2003 Lincoln Aviator

Smooth ride, lots of features, voice activated radio,cd and nav system, great sound system (get the THX system!), heat/cool seats, very upscaled interior

2nd row leg room! 2nd row leg room! 2nd row leg room! 2nd row leg room!

If you have read the other great reviews about this SUV, then this review is about the same, except... The second rows leg row SUCKS! I'm 6'0" and my friends are the same height. When I drive I have the seat all the way back. This leaves no room in the back, even for my 5'0 wife. Here is a suggestion Lincoln, remove the third row seat(no one can use it), and move the second row back about 6-10 inches and have an optional V6 with about 245 hp. One problem I did have was that 4 out of 5 NEW Aviators that I tested here in LV had some type of problem that had to serviced. Such as problems with the tires, squeaking and raddling noises. But the varies dealers did correct all of the problems. It just started to give me a bad feeling about the SUV. The tires were a problem because the cars sit on the lot for months in 100+ degree tempertures and then develope flat spots. The squeaks and other noises were because they cars were demos that were handled very badly.

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Toyota 4Runner

Ride, handling, quiet, body structural integrity, independent suspension, heated/cooled seats, sound system, AdvanceTrac stability system, overall appearance, amenities, retro dash board, interior styling and finish, power everything, powerful engine, smooth shifting transmission, performance in inclement weather conditions!

Absolutely none that I can identify so far!

This vehicle has not been without its flaws. But what has been very satifying to me as a consumer it that Ford takes care of things with not ifs, ands or buts. I bought my Aviator in July of 2003 and have put almost 30,000 miles on it to date. Several long distance jouneys and my daily commute comprising a 60 mile round trip. This vehicle is a pleasure to drive. Comfortable seats, quiet interior, and excellent road manners. I tried several SUV's before this one and believe me NONE can compare. Some come close but still don't measure up. I find it amazing that after almost 30,000 miles of driving including off-road conditions there is not a rattle or squeek to be heard. This is very typical of Ford's vehicle body designs...especially their trucks. I have read all the reviews at this site and I must say, with the expception of the one individual who rated it a one all of your comments are "right on the money". I will give you my "ten cents worth" on the gas mileage. I did two round trips to Denver Colorado (6500 miles total) with the AC on at an average speed of 70 MPH and I consistently got 18+ MPG. I have also read complaints about needing to use premium gasoline. Keep in mind that this is a 32 valve high performance V8. Most if not all V8's in this category require 91 octain or greater to perform optimally. For some of you who may not be aware the Aviator has experienced problems with the 373 rear end on some vehicles. The problem is a whinning sound in the rear end which is primarily noticable at highway speeds up to 70 MPH. The noise is quite obvious given the Aviator's quiet ride and interior design. I began to notice the rear end noise on my Aviator at about 3000 miles. Ford has recently released a fix for the problem which involves a complete rear end change-out. I just had mine changed out this week and man what a difference. Higher speed rear ends like the 373 tend to be a bit on the noisy side under normal operating conditions. Ford has done and excellent job of quieting it down in the Aviator. Between the 302 HP V8 and the high speed rear end you can't beat this SUV for power and performance. I also have AdvanceTrac which is a real plus for winter driving. I give the Aviator a big thumbs up for its handling in winter weather. All-in-all it's hard to single out specific features that set this apart from the rest of the SUV pack. I would have to say that the combination of all its excellent features is what makes it a winner. If you've driven other SUV's and feel that they meet your expectations, try the Aviator...it will EXCEED your expectations!

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Bronco, Explorer

Ride, luxuriously appointed, air conditioned seats, great stereo, visibility and has a great towing package that is hidden until you need it.

third seat is useless, poor gas mileage

When looking for a car my priorities were: 1) legroom and comfort for the driver 2) price (either low cash price or low monthly lease payment) 3) four doors with lots of safety features 4) presented a good image (well appointed, 'p i m p ed out' but not too flashy) 5) I enjoyed driving the vehicle As you can clearly see, the priorities I set forth were fairly broad and fit many vehicles from SUV's to sedans and crossover vehicles. However, I set out for Schaumburg, IL (suburb of Chicago)where there are many automobiles represented and wanted to drive as many that seemed to fit my bill. To begin with, I test drove the fad cars. I drove the Scion xB (I know I know not exactly well appointed). Nice car, cheap, lots of bells and whistles but underpowered and I felt like a 16 year old driving a milk wagon. Then I drove the Honda Element. Again, lots of neat features but strange looking (my wife hated the car), not very comfortable for 4 adults (the suicide doors are interesting but they basically are like crew cab pickup doors that have to be opened in order to get someone in the back of the car). Then I got serious and looked at the Cadillac Deville as they had some really good lease rates available. The Deville was very well appointed, comfortable to drive (although there wasn't much legroom for the driver as your right leg is kind of blocked by the lower dash). Rode like a couch on air. However, very stodgy and I felt like I was 60 in the car (I am 34). I also tested the Escalade and SRX which I found to be over priced for the amount of plastic inside. They rode well but they didn't seem like a bargain at all and did not excite me to drive or even occupy. I looked at the Lexus LS430 and was very impressed by the attention to detail, appointment, stereo system and ride. This $58K vehicle had it all and I liked everything about it but the fact that it seemed to be a car built for older people and although I was impressed by the workmanship, I was bored by the car. I then looked at the Chrysler 300C and loved the looks on the outside, did not like the interior as it was all plastic, couldn't stand the dealership (they priced these cars over invoice and would not let you drive the car unless you put money down on one - how strangely amusing). As I drove on, I thought I would drive the Lincoln LS (as I was in sedan mode). I pulled into the lot and got out of my Mini to be greeted by a salesman who complimented my little car. I welcomed the compliment and let him know that I was looking for one with a little more room and comfort. It was nice to drive a go cart for a couple years but I was truly done with the novelty of it. Hany (the salesman) asked what I was looking for. I told him my priorities and said, "I guess I'll look at the LS or towncar". He asked me when I turned 50 and I laughed. Immediately, Hany said I have to look at the Aviator. "A young guy like you should have a car that says something." "Yeah but what." I said. "Get in." We got in one of the well appointed Aviators and I was impressed with the layout of the dashboard. The tach, speedometer and fuel gauges were white on a black background. There was a cover over the stereo system (that was retractable) and the wooden accents were well placed throughout the cabin. I got into the driver's seat and melted into the leather. Hany turned on the air conditioned seats before I got in and started explaining the features. As the cool seat embraced my back side, I placed the car in drive and headed out of the lot. The car rode just as well as the cadillac deville and had more pickup off the line. It was also quiet, luxuriously appointed and fit my large frame well (I am 6'3"). The stereo was great (no mp3 playback on cd's but hookups for satellite / aux). Lots of bass response. The back seat was not as big as our x5's but comparable. The third seat would work in a pinch but was otherwise useless. Some neat features were adjustable pedals, split hatchback (window opens or the whole gate lifts up), air conditioned seats, fully functional steering wheel (you can do just about anything from the wheel - volume, change stations/tracks, cruise control, fan speed, temperature, etc.), reclining rear seats, onboard computer (although you don't need to see that you are only getting 5 mph when accellerating). All in all, I fell in love with the car the minute I drove it and had to take it home with me. I know many people read reviews like this (I did) and I found it very useful to narrow my field of interest. However, I strongly suggest driving as many cars that fit your priority list and only making a selection when you actually find 'the one'. As it turns out, I got a great deal (at least I was happy) and occasionally in the middle of the night I catch myself thinking about the ride in the morning...ahhh.

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BMW x5, Cadillac SRX