While Lincoln’s full-size Navigator is great for big families and towing, the recently redesigned Lincoln Nautilus should have broader appeal for SUV shoppers. It’s a midsize SUV that seats five and boasts distinctive styling, lots of premium features, and an eye-catching curved display that spans the width of the dashboard. So how does this Lincoln measure up to the competition? To find out, the car experts at Edmunds compared it to the Mercedes-Benz GLC, a benchmark for luxury SUV excellence.
Power and fuel economy
The Nautilus offers two engines, a turbocharged four-cylinder that produces 250 horsepower and a hybrid version of the same engine that bumps output to 310 horsepower. The non-hybrid engine delivers an EPA-estimated 24 mpg in combined city/highway driving. Opting for the hybrid gets you 30 mpg combined. Those are decent figures for a luxury SUV. Edmunds has found the Nautilus’ acceleration is underwhelming, however. At the Edmunds test track, the hybrid Nautilus accelerated from zero to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds.
The GLC 300, which is the base version, is also powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. It produces 255 horsepower and gets an estimated 26 mpg combined. It’s also quicker than the Nautilus; it hit 60 mph in a respectable 6.1 seconds. The GLC 350e, which is new for 2025, is a 313-horsepower plug-in hybrid model. The EPA has yet to release its fuel economy estimates as of this writing, but Mercedes says it provides a lengthy 54 miles of all-electric driving before it switches over to operating like a regular hybrid when the battery runs low. Mercedes also offers a high-performance version, the 416-horsepower AMG GLC 43.
We like that Lincoln offers an available hybrid, but the GLC’s superior acceleration and fuel efficiency help it win this category.
Winner: GLC
Interior and tech features
An expansive dashboard-spanning screen dominates the Nautilus’ interior. It displays the instrument panel and other information like navigation directions and music. It also has a full Google integration that lets you use helpful features like the voice-based Google Assistant while driving. But all this impressive tech is let down by functionality. The center console button layout is confusing, and the lower touchscreen controls almost everything including the air vents. The unlabeled steering wheel controls are also difficult to use.
The GLC offers a more elegant and luxurious interior thanks to a wide selection of leather upholstery and wood trim. Its display screens are smaller, but the interface they display is much easier to use. The same goes for the GLC’s button layout and navigation and voice assistant systems.