2025 Lincoln Corsair

The 2025 Corsair offers serious luxury for not much money. It’s all relative, of course, but the Corsair is among the most affordable compact premium SUVs. Yet it still comes standard with leather seating, a plush and hushed cabin, plus plenty of tech. Although it’s based on the Ford Escape, Lincoln has given the Corsair a classiness that transcends its humble roots. Our many positive owner reviews say the same thing. To anyone who thinks an Audi or Mercedes-Benz equivalent is way too expensive, we say check out the Lincoln Corsair.

We’ve logged hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of compact luxury SUVs, including the Lincoln Corsair.

After a 2023 update, only a few changes take place for 2025. The Jet Appearance Package, previously offered with the first two trims, is now available with the top Grand Touring model — bringing black exterior elements. A couple of exterior paint changes and one interior color change are the only other differences.

Premiere with all-wheel drive and the Grand Touring plug-in hybrid are both popular choices, so go with what your budget allows.

Close rivals to the Corsair include the Lexus NX, Genesis GV70, and Acura RDX — all with higher starting prices.

Before buying a new Corsair luxury SUV, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should be paying. Resale values are about average for the class. Recouping more money when selling a vehicle can mean a bigger down payment and lower monthly payments on the next one.

Developing 250 horsepower, the two lower trims of the 2025 Corsair can accelerate from standstill to 60 mph in just over six seconds. We’d say that is sufficient for urban errands and highway cruising alike. It’s similar muscle and speed to the BMW X3 xDrive30, but the overall driving experiences are much different.

The Corsair concentrates on the cosseting side of luxury compact SUVs, whereas the X3 brings the kind of edge a driving enthusiast would prefer — at a considerably higher price, we should add. The Corsair pairs an exceptionally quiet cabin with a remarkably smooth ride. We’ve found that’s also true of the Grand Touring with its 266-horsepower plug-in hybrid drivetrain.

Fuel Economy

With all-wheel drive, the non-hybrid Corsair models achieve 24 mpg in combined city/highway driving. Add one mile per gallon for front-wheel drive. To compare, the Lexus NX 350 makes the same figure with more power.

Being a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), the Corsair Grand Touring can run for an EPA-estimated 27 miles on battery power alone, which is pretty good, although the Lexus NX 450+ can manage 37 miles. With this electric range factored in, the Grand Touring is rated at 78 MPGe combined. Operating as a regular hybrid, fuel economy is 33 mpg combined.

According to the EPA’s calculations, annual fuel costs for the Corsair PHEV are $1,200 — on the basis of driving 15,000 miles a year at an average gas price of $3.60 a gallon. Using that same formula, the standard turbo-4 with all-wheel drive costs $2,400. The PHEV saves $100 a month.

Regular gasoline is acceptable with both Corsair drivetrains, although Lincoln prefers premium gas for its turbocharged engines.

Even in its entry-level Premiere trim, the Corsair delivers a full-on luxury experience. Power-adjustable front seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, and proximity keyless entry with push-button start are included. Commanding the infotainment system is a generous 13.2-inch touchscreen. The interior color change for 2025 is that Sandstone is replaced by Light Smoked Truffle.

As well as having some of the best-in-class second-row legroom (38.6 inches/36.7 in the Grand Touring), the sliding second-row seats can travel fore and aft. Consequently, they can add another 6 inches of extra passenger space or increase the capacity of the cargo area — which, at 27.6 cubic feet, is better than average. It’s noticeably more than the 22.7 cubic feet of the Lexus NX, but a bit shy of the Acura RDX’s 29.5 cubic feet. With the second-row seats folded, total cargo space is 57.6 cubic feet — better than most rivals, with the exception of the RDX (with 58.9 cubic feet). Because of its hybrid battery, the Grand Touring has 26.9/56.2 cubic feet of cargo area.

Lincoln took the extra step to partner with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to record a series of audio alerts. They replace the typical beeps and pings found in other vehicles with soothing musical sounds. A nice touch. All things considered, the Corsair is one comfy compact SUV.

Let’s face it — many SUVs look alike. Designers face the thankless task of trying to differentiate their creation from a hundred other SUVs. In our opinion, however, Lincoln’s stylists have given the Corsair an elegant, purposeful, and dignified appearance. We applaud their efforts.

Grand Touring trim becomes eligible for the Jet Appearance Package this year. It adds 20-inch alloy wheels and various other exterior details all finished in black. In the paint shop, Silver Radiance and Ceramic Pearl are no more, while Crystal White Metallic and Harbor Gray Metallic come on board.

Co-Pilot 360
This is a standard set of safety and driver assistance technologies that includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assistance, lane departure alert, intersection assistance, automatic high beams, and rear parking sensors.

BlueCruise
This is a hands-free (but not eyes-free) adaptive cruise control system that functions on highways all over the United States. It includes lane-changing assistance and lane re-positioning (to edge away from adjacent vehicles that veer too close). We’ve found it works really well. It’s optional in Reserve and Grand Touring trims.

Revel audio
This excellent 14-speaker setup can be tailored to a listener’s tastes. For example, selecting Traditional Stereo, Audience (concert hall), or On Stage (surround-sound) delivers markedly different aural experiences. Optional in Reserve and Grand Touring trims.

Head-up display
Anything that reduces the amount of time a driver’s eyes leave the road sounds good to us. Head-up displays project vital information (such as current speed) onto the windshield just below the driver’s line of sight. Again, optional in the top two trims.

Hands-free tailgate
Give us convenience every time. This powered tailgate opens automatically with the wave of a foot under the rear bumper while carrying the key fob. Sadly, it’s an option only with the top Grand Touring model.

EasyFold seat
By pushing a button located in the cargo area, the 60/40 rear seatbacks fold down automatically. Another option for the Grand Touring trim.

Propulsion in the Premiere and Reserve versions of the 2025 Corsair SUV comes from a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine making a decent 250 horsepower and 275 lb-ft of torque. This connects to an 8-speed automatic transmission, and a standard front-wheel-drive system, or optional all-wheel drive.

The Grand Touring is a plug-in hybrid, with a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine and two electric motors. Together they generate a total of 266 horsepower, which goes to a standard all-wheel-drive system through a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

4-Year/50,000-Mile Warranty

Lincoln’s new-vehicle warranty lasts four years or 50,000 miles whichever happens first. These are typical terms in the luxury sector. Powertrain coverage of six years or 70,000 miles is a little better than usual.

Safety Ratings

The Corsair earned top scores of Good in a few crash tests carried out by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), but didn’t do so well in an updated side impact scenario, where it took the third-highest Marginal rating. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave the Corsair a maximum 5-Star overall score. Standard safety features include forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, plus blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert.