Ford Motor Co. beat out a popular luxury carmaker to win a new title for its 2026 Lincoln Nautilus two-row midsize hybrid SUV.
On April 22, U.S. News and World Report put out a list of the best hybrid cars and SUVs for 2026 and it named the 2026 Lincoln Nautilus hybrid, which starts at $53,995, as the best luxury hybrid SUV — topping Lexus models in that category.
Lincoln is Ford’s luxury brand.
The win is significant because it is Lincoln’s top-selling vehicle. Last year, the Lexus NX won the top spot, whereas this year the Lexus NX came in second place. In third place, was the Lexus TX hybrid SUV.
Also, all the other vehicles on the magazine’s list in the other categories are from foreign manufacturers. Detroit automakers have had winning models on other U.S. News and World Report best lists in the past though.
Tony Markovich, senior editor for autos at U.S. News and World Report, said the publication has been doing these lists for several years now and it includes a variety of awards such as best cars for families and so on. But it published the hybrid list to coincide with Earth Day, April 22.
“Right now it’s especially important,” Markovich told the Detroit Free Press. “With rising gas prices, people are looking to save a buck and hybrids are a way to save on fuel costs.”
But he said this list is not just a list of the best vehicles and best fuel economy, that’s just part of the equation. Markovich said the publication used a variety of data points as well as a consensus from the general media reviews on the vehicles to rate them and form the awards.
The Lincoln Nautilus got the top score based on media auto critics’ reviews, the interior technology on the vehicle and “the biggest change this year versus last year was the Nautilus got a really strong safety score by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a higher JD Power rating for quality and reliability,” Markovich said.
Fuel economy and reliability
Markovich noted the luxury hybrid SUV category is unique because it is basically Lincoln against Lexus products. The Nautilus win “surprised people,” he said.
The surprise was mainly because the Nautilus had a lower fuel economy compared with the two Lexus models. It tied on highway miles per gallon with the Lexus TX, but the TX is a bigger vehicle, Markovich said.
The fuel economy of the three 2026 model year vehicles are as follows:
In its review of the Nautilus, U.S. News and World Report wrote: “The 2026 Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid is a luxury hybrid SUV that dazzles on first impression, but its handling and infotainment ease of use lag behind competitors.”
Specifically, the reviewer, Mike Hagerty, did not like the vehicle’s cushy ride and the lack of a traditional instrument display, offering instead “a curved 48-inch display divided into fourths” that runs across the bottom of the windshield.
Also, the Nautilus got a JD Power “predicted reliability score” of 80 out of 100, which is considered “average.” The Lexus TX got that same score. Whereas the Lexus NX got a predicted reliability score of 85 out of 100, which JD Power considers to be in the “great” category.
The scores are close
Still, the magazine said the Nautilus has an attractive interior that is comfortable and can easily seat five people and it offers ample storage room. It got a final score of 8.5 of 10, which is based on the evaluation of 15 pieces of research and data elements using various sources which includes Edmunds, Car and Driver and the Detroit Free Press.
“I’ve driven the Nautilus and I really liked it,” Markovich said. “You’re going to start seeing more vehicles with these long stretching screens and when you get into the vehicle it’s really nice. I did like the fact that (the screen is) a little higher so you don’t have to look all the way down to a center screen, but some people get overwhelmed by it.”
The magazine gave the Lexus NX a score of 8.4 out of 10. It marked the vehicle down for a small back seat and cargo area and wrote that the engine sounds buzzy when pushed hard. But the vehicle, which starts at $44,175, got high marks on its fuel economy, a smooth ride and nice interior, intuitive controls and a peppy acceleration.
The Lexus TX, which starts at $69,160, scored 8.3 out of 10. It got high marks for a powerful engine, safety and luxury features, and a lot of cargo space. But it got low marks for “mediocre real-world fuel economy, tight third-row legroom.”
Ford reacts to the win
In a statement, Ford spokeswoman Kelly Wysocki said of the Nautilus Hybrid that the vehicle drives Lincoln’s growth and strengthen its presence in the midsize luxury SUV segment.
“As Lincoln’s top-selling nameplate, it is introducing new and younger audiences to the brand,” Wysocki said. “Additionally, the Hybrid model accounts for more than half of Nautilus sales.”
Ford reported its first quarter sales on April 2 and while total sales were down nearly 9% to 457,315 vehicles sold compared with the year-ago period — the Lincoln luxury brand’s sales were nearly flat compared to a year prior.
Lincoln first-quarter sales dipped 0.5% to 23,610 vehicles sold in the quarter compared with a year earlier. Of those sales, the Nautilus, which Ford builds in China, was the best seller across the lineup, having sold 7,677 vehicles in the quarter, down 11% from the year-ago period.
The other winners
In the other categories, Toyota, Hyundai, Kia and Volvo had a lot of winners.
Here are the top three Best Hybrid cars in order:
The top three Best Hybrid SUVs:
The top three Best Plug-In Hybrid SUVs:
The top three best Luxury Plug-In Hybrid cars:
Top three Luxury Plug-In Hybrid SUVs:
To see the full list of U.S. News and World Reports winners and read more about them, go to www.cars.usnews.com.
Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer for USA TODAY Co. who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford luxury brand’s Nautilus hybrid SUV named best on this list
Reporting by Jamie L. LaReau, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
