Luxury SUV test: Edmunds compares the Lincoln Nautilus and Mercedes-Benz GLC

abcnews.go.com:

Shoppers looking to buy a luxury SUV can choose among many models from various brands

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.

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