Here’s Why The 2021 Lincoln Nautilus Was Quiet Perfection

Want a used luxury crossover? It’s okay, you definitely aren’t the only one, but it might hit the pocketbook harder than expected. See, because everyone wants late-model crossovers, they’re expensive. So what if I told you that there’s a recent luxury crossover that’s commodious, comfortable, and shockingly affordable on the second-hand market? I’m talking about the 2021 to 2023 Lincoln Nautilus, one of the finest vehicles to ever roll out of Ford’s Oakville assembly plant.

Why the 2021 to 2023 Nautilus specifically? Well, some cars don’t get their wings as soon as they’re born. Think of the E30 BMW 3 Series. It started life as respectable transportation, but it ended life with the legendary M3 and iconic 325i models. The Nautilus is a little like that, just without the touring car trophies. Let me explain.

Welcome back to Beige Cars You’re Sleeping On, a weekly series in which we raise the profile of some quiet greats. We’re talking vehicles that are secretly awesome, but go unsung because of either a boring image or the lack of an image altogether.

Through the latter half of the 2010s, Lincoln decided it was done with forgettable alphanumerics and ready to embrace names once again, so for 2019, the MKX midsize crossover became the Nautilus. It got a new family face ditching the old waterfall grille and looked far better than the car it replaced, however, one little problem remained for the first two model years.

The 2019 Nautilus had plenty of interior space and width for three child seats across the rear bench, but it still had an interior carried over from the days of the MKX moniker, and that just wasn’t it. Lincoln was still harmonizing its brand identity, and the Nautilus had to catch up. For 2021, it finally happened, when the brand’s midsize two-row crossover finally gained an interior with all the goodies.

Not only did it get the typewriter key-style shifter buttons from the Continental and Aviator, it got Sync4 with a crisp 13.2-inch touchscreen, improved interior materials, and just straight-up nicer center console controls. After all, you don’t normally see the outside of your car while you’re driving, so it’s what’s inside that counts.

Speaking of what’s inside, let’s talk about what’s under the hood. While the 2021 Nautilus did come standard with a perfectly adequate two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 250 horsepower and 280 lb.-ft. of torque, the real catch was the optional 2.7-liter twin-turbocharged V6. Sure, fuel economy around town was abysmal, but 335 horsepower and 380 lb.-ft. of torque did a solid job of moving more than two tons of crossover. I mean, Car And Driver clocked a zero-to-60 mph time of 5.9 seconds out of the mechanically identical 2019 model, and that’s not bad. However, you don’t buy a Lincoln Nautilus for its speed, you buy it for its road manners.

Ease it up past 60 mph, and you’ll find that the 2021 Lincoln Nautilus is unexpectedly sublime. It absorbs potholes and frost heaves like a sponge, it’s library silent at highway speeds, and its multi-way power seats mold to your body like the world’s most supportive bean bag chairs. How do I know? A few years ago, I had to get from Windsor to Toronto late at night, and a 2021 Nautilus was my steed.

If I were driving a Cadillac XT5 or an Acura MDX or an Infiniti QX50, I’d have stayed another night and tried to gamble with traffic in the morning, but because I was in the Lincoln, a midnight 230-mile one-shot drive across an entirely monotonous landscape wasn’t just easy, it was pleasurable. The seats always held me just right, the Revel sound system sounded sensational for the segment, and the steely beams of the headlights pierced the inky night with the ferocity of stars. Sure, sports cars are fun, but on that stretch of highway, at that hour of night, a couch is what you really need. I stepped out of that car more alert than when I got into it, and even if for that reason alone, it’s not dull at all.

Despite being three model years old at the oldest, the 2021 to 2023 Lincoln Nautilus is outstanding value for money on the used market. These things start at around $25,000, such as this 2021 Nautilus Reserve up for sale in Florida for $24,998. Sure, black-on-black might not be the most inspiring color combination ever fitted to a vehicle, but this one has just 38,014 miles on the clock and is going for truly sensible coin, especially for a three-year-old luxury vehicle.

Want the V6? Expect a higher price tag, but one that’s still fair for a vehicle of this age and segment. Here’s a 2021 model up for sale in Wisconsin for $33,473, and it’s in an intriguingly subtle dark green. With 60,108 miles on the clock, it’s still new enough to offer some proper life, along with a true slice of luxury for reasonable coin.

The 2021 to 2023 Lincoln Nautilus isn’t a car you’ll see at the Nordschleife, or on your teenage offspring’s bedroom wall, but it’s an excellent real-world highway warrior that’s way better and way less expensive than you’d expect. If you’re looking at used BMW X3s and Audi Q5s and are okay with a little more car, you owe it to yourself to put that three-model-year run of Nautilus on your shortlist.

(Photo credits: Lincoln, Autotrader sellers)

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