The Lincoln Aviator was deliberately designed to look like a 9/10ths-scale Lincoln Navigator. Aviator is more than a foot shorter than the Navigator, 4 inches narrower, and about 6-1/2 inches lower. Aviator seats six or seven, depending on the seating configuration ordered, while the Navigator has room for eight.Like the Navigator, the Aviator sports a generous application of chrome trim, from the grille to the roof rack to the rear license plate holder. Aviator wears the same chrome-framed waterfall grille as the Navigator, though it looks somewhat less imposing in the Aviator's smaller size. The Aviator comes with truck-like running boards, which are a necessity for short-legged passengers. The Aviator shares its basic structure with the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer, both of which were re-engineered for 2002. The Aviator is more than just a re-badged Explorer, however. For starters, the Aviator is slightly longer and wider than the Explorer. It uses the Explorer's independent rear suspension, a design more common on luxury cars than trucks, to improve ride quality and allow room underneath for the third seat to fold flat into the floor. The Aviator's suspension has been specially tuned, and lightweight components have been substituted, for improved on-pavement ride.
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