The Lincoln Navigator has a commanding presence, but effuses a softer, more sophisticated look than other large SUVs. Navigator was completely re-engineered for 2003, but the visual changes made then were subtle, especially on the outside, and it took a reasonably keen eye to distinguish a 2003-04 Navigator from a first-generation (1997-2002) model.For 2005, however, the Navigator got a significant facelift that resulted in a cleaner, more upscale appearance. New side cladding dispensed with the old fussy, double-layered look and integrated better with the restyled running boards. Similarly, the front fascia traded the stubbly jawed suggestion of a brush bar for a clean, boldly horizontal lower air intake. A straight black band across the bottom of the fascia reduced the visual mass of the blocker bar designed to improve the safety of people in other cars in a collision.
Those changes gave the Navigator a richer, more substantial look. It looks more like a Lincoln. For the past 70 years (at least) Lincoln's most memorable designs have been its most pure and clean, while the Lincolns we'd like most to forget appear to have resulted from occasional, unrestrained impulses to try to out bling-bling Cadillac. In short, the current design is the best-looking Navigator ever.