Cadillac Won't Like the 2025 Lincoln Navigator's Perfect Position Seats

Cadillac Won't Like the 2025 Lincoln Navigator's Perfect Position Seats originally appeared on Autoblog.

Comfort is a must in a luxury SUV

It’s probably a rare occurrence when a customer buys a vehicle for its seats, but the comfort of the front seats can make you or break you. When it comes to the full-size luxury SUV war, it has long been a two-horse race in America: Cadillac’s swanky and stylish Escalade versus Lincoln’s innovative and feature-rich Navigator. These two posh behemoths have traded punches for the better part of three decades, and they’re not letting up anytime soon. The Escalade sells in bigger numbers than the Navigator, but Lincoln has a secret weapon in its corner: its much-lauded Perfect Position Seats. More than just a clever name, these highly customizable, supremely comfortable front thrones may be the Navigator’s strongest weapon yet—and Cadillac definitely won’t like it.

The art and science behind Perfect Position Seats

Perfect Position Seats weren’t just designed—they were engineered with surgical precision. They were first introduced in the now extinct Lincoln Continental luxury sedan in 2016 and then in the Navigator. Since then, the seats have been refined and upgraded, with the 2025 version being the most advanced yet. Developed in collaboration with orthopedic experts and guided by biometric research, these seats are built to combat driver fatigue, improve posture, and elevate long-distance comfort beyond even the expectations of luxury vehicles.

Perfect Position seats provide a mindblowing 30-way power adjustability on the Black Label trim (24-way on Reserve models), including industry-first independently adjustable thigh bolsters, shoulder support, and lumbar zones. The thigh bolsters alone are worth the price of admission because they can be adjusted individually up or down, forward or back. If you like your left leg higher than your right, done. More extended support on your right thigh? No problem. These adjustments can be fine-tuned via Lincoln’s SYNC 4 infotainment system or directly through the seat-mounted controls.

The seats also feature active motion massage, heating, ventilation, and memory settings, making them arguably the most advanced seats in any SUV on the market. What sets the Perfect Position Seats apart from the rest of the pack is ergonomic customizability that goes far beyond even 18-way adjustable seats found in luxury automobiles and SUVs.

How the Escalade’s seats compare

The 2025 Cadillac Escalade doesn’t exactly disappoint in the seat department, providing 12-way or 16-way power adjustments, heated seats, 4-way power lumbar support, and, in higher trims, features like ventilation and massage functions. However, Cadillac’s system lags behind in terms of functionality and refinement. Don’t get us wrong, they’re very good seats, but they lack the microadjustability of the Navigator’s Perfect Position Seats.

The Escalade’s front seats lack the multi-contour design and individualized adjustability that make Lincoln’s system so unique. For long road trips or for buyers who spend a lot of time on their daily commute, the Navigator’s Perfect Position seats are several notches above the rest. No one will balk about the Escalade’s plush seats, but the level of support and customization the Navigator’s seats provide is the right kind of overkill. They can’t be matched by Cadillac or anyone else, for that matter.

Some customers will gravitate toward the Escalade on street style points, and that beautiful and industry-leading 55-inch curved OLED display (the Navigator’s still a sizeable 48 inches). Others may find Lincoln’s focus on stratospheric levels of physical comfort provides a stronger draw for customers in their late 40s to early 50s, the highest percentage of those buying full-sized luxury three-row SUVs.

Perfect Position Seats are no gimmick

How comfortable can these things be? Are they just some visual differentiator that provides a unique look? Is their marketed functionality just some gimmick? According to multiple third-party reviews and customer testimonials, Lincoln’s Perfect Position Seats consistently outperform expectations. The folks at J.D. Power reviewed the Navigator and said the Perfect Position Seats were "exceptionally comfortable". We've sat in them for long drives when the current Navigator debuted, and we can attest that they are impressively comfortable and supportive.

It's vital on long drives to have comfort AND support, so they can't just be plush seats. They need to properly disperse pressure. The Perfect Position seats do that very well, but they also provide individual micro-adustability that conforms to virtually any driver's physique.

On top of that, the optional massage function is also more than just a mechanical back rub. The system's active motion features subtly shifting support points in the seat during driving to reduce pressure points and improve circulation. Occupants can choose five modes: Circular, Relax, Recovery, Rolling, and Pulse. Users can also select from three intensity levels —Low, Medium, and High — for each massage type. The seats can even employ specific targeted areas and vary the pressure. Rather than putting you to sleep, these massaging seats keep you alert and reduce fatigue. It contributes to driver wellness and, quite possibly, safety.

Final thoughts

As it stands, Lincoln can't beat Cadillac in every aspect of the full-sized luxury SUV game. The Escalade has the flash, the power, and the sales dominance to remain the full-size luxury SUV of choice in America, at least for now. But the 2025 Lincoln Navigator can claim the crown of redefining comfort. With its unmatched Perfect Position Seats, the Navigator offers a tangible advantage by providing truly customizable comfort. For drivers who spend hours behind the wheel or for families that rack up road miles, the Navigator's Perfect Position Seats reign supreme. Competitors like the Escalade may follow suit as they seek to round out their flagship SUV steeds.

Cadillac Won't Like the 2025 Lincoln Navigator's Perfect Position Seats first appeared on Autoblog on Jul 17, 2025

This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared.