While Lincoln’s full-size navigator is great for large families and towing, the newly redesigned Lincoln Nautilus it should have a wider appeal to SUV buyers. It’s a five-seater mid-size SUV with distinctive styling, a host of premium features and an eye-catching curved display that spans the width of the dashboard. So how does this Lincoln stack up against the competition? To find out, the auto experts at Edmunds compared it to Mercedes-Benz GLCa benchmark for luxury SUV excellence.

Power and fuel economy

The Nautilus offers two engines, a four-cylinder turbo that produces 250 horsepower and a hybrid version of the same engine that boosts power to 310 horsepower. The non-hybrid engine returns an EPA-estimated 24 mpg in combined city/highway driving. Opting for the hybrid gets you 30 mpg combined. These are decent numbers for a luxury SUV. Edmunds found the Nautilus’ acceleration to be disappointing, however. On the Edmunds test track, the Nautilus hybrid accelerated from zero to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds.

The GLC 300, which is the base version, is also powered by a four-cylinder turbo engine. It makes 255 horsepower and gets about 26 mpg combined. It is also faster than 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 at the time of writing, but Mercedes says it offers a long 54 miles of all-electric driving before switching to operating as 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 technical features

An expansive screen spanning the dashboard dominates the Nautilus’ interior. Shows the toolbar and other information such as navigation directions and music. It also has full integration with Google, allowing you to use useful features like the voice-based Google Assistant while driving. But all this impressive technology is let down by functionality. The center console’s 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 range of leather upholstery and wood trim. Its display screens are smaller, but the interface it displays is much easier to use. The same goes for the layout of the GLC’s buttons and the navigation and voice assistant systems.

In terms of comfort, both luxury SUVs boast very quiet interiors. The GLC offers a smoother ride that absorbs bumps better. Edmunds found the Nautilus to ride a little too firmly on rough surfaces.

Winner: GLC

Utility

Nautilus is the best choice if you have a lot of stuff to carry. The cargo area offers 36.4 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats. That’s considerably more than the GLC can fit. In addition, the rear seats fold down completely for more space. Storage for your small personal items is also impressive thanks to a generous storage area under the center console, which is big enough for a purse or bag, and large door pockets.

The GLC’s 21.9 cubic feet of cargo space is less than the Nautilus can hold, though its rear seats also fold nearly flat. Wide door pockets and a decent-sized glove box provide adequate storage for small items, but it’s still not as much as you can fit in the Nautilus.

Winner: Nautilus

Price and value

The Nautilus’ base Premiere trim starts at $53,485 (including destination), and the hybrid powertrain adds $2,000. The Reserve model adds nearly $10,000, and the top-of-the-line Black Label model tops out at $76,645. If you stick with the Premiere model, the Nautilus offers plenty of value, as it comes with a long list of features, including plenty of advanced driver aids and BlueCruise, a hands-free highway driving system. But the higher end models are expensive, offering less value.

The GLC 300 starts at $50,400, and the GLC 350e plug-in hybrid has a starting price of $61,050. The GLC doesn’t come standard with that many features, but if you add most of the optional packages and features to a GLC 300, it will set you back about $65,000, which is about the same price as the mid-level Nautilus Reserve.

Winner: tie

says Edmunds

Lincoln has launched one of its most compelling SUVs to date with the new Nautilus. Worth considering if you want a spacious and stylish SUV. Otherwise, Edmunds thinks the GLC’s superior fuel efficiency, acceleration and ease of use make it the winner of this comparison.

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This story was given to him The Associated Press from the car website Edmunds.

Michael Cantu is a contributor to Edmunds.