Halloween in Montgomery: Lincoln Cargo and Passenger Space for Fall Plans

In this article Will It All Fit? The Navigator L Cargo Numbers How to Load It for the US-82 Run Before You Leave Eastern Boulevard The Load Is In. Now Drive. The US-82 corridor out of Montgomery runs 104 miles of anticipation, and on a Saturday morning in October it belongs to Crimson Tide fans. We'll give you the plain answer before the details start. Yes, a 2026 Lincoln Navigator L fits your whole crew and your full tailgate setup in one vehicle, and it manages that without folding a single seat. That's the part people don't expect until they actually look at the numbers. Will It All Fit? The Navigator L Cargo Numbers The Navigator L earns its place on this run because of one specific dimension. Lincoln lists 37.4 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third row on the 2026 Navigator L (the usable space when all eight seats are occupied and nobody's sitting on a cooler). On the standard-wheelbase Navigator, that same measurement is 22.9 cubic feet. That 14.5-cubic-foot difference works out to exactly one large rolling cooler plus a folding-table bag. It matters. Which is why we reach for the L when a game-day haul comes up. Load width between the rear wheel wells measures roughly 48 inches on the Navigator L, so a standard 48-quart hard-sided cooler (about 23 inches wide) slides straight in without angling. Two of them, side by side, still clears. Game-Day Item Typical Dimension / Weight Fits Behind Row 3 (Navigator L)? 48-qt hard-sided cooler ~23 in W x 16 in H x 18 in D Yes (two fit side by side) Folding 6-ft tailgate table (folded) ~72 in L x 6 in W x 3 in H Yes (lays flat across the full width) Four folding camp chairs (stacked) ~36 in L x 12 in W x 12 in H Yes (stacks neatly alongside the table) Pop-up canopy (bagged) ~60 in L x 10 in diameter Yes (lays flat next to the chairs) Two-burner propane grill (bagged) ~24 in L x 14 in W x 8 in H Yes (tucks in front of the coolers) Bag of charcoal or propane cylinders Varies, typically under 30 lbs Yes (floor space to spare) Soft-sided grocery bags (4-6 bags) Varies Yes (fill gaps around hard items) A full competition-level tailgate rides in the cargo area, and the third row still seats everyone else. Those numbers are what 37.4 cubic feet looks like in the real world. Fold the third row and Lincoln lists 84.5 cubic feet behind the second row on the Navigator L. That opens the door for a full catering situation or an EZ-Up with a weighted base. We won't tell you it's necessary for the Quad. We will say it's available. How to Load It for the US-82 Run Loading this rig well comes down to order and floor height rather than brute strength, and getting it right saves your back at dawn. The standard Navigator gives you 22.9 cubic feet behind row 3, workable if you're traveling light, though the geometry changes the moment a canopy joins the pile. Put the heaviest items (coolers, grill) flat on the cargo floor first, closest to the rear seats. The Navigator L's load floor sits lower than the standard wheelbase once the power liftgate opens, which reduces the lift height on a loaded cooler. That matters at 6 AM when nobody's fully awake. The 2026 Navigator L runs a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 rated at 432 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque, paired with a 10-speed SelectShift automatic. A fully loaded run to Tuscaloosa (crew, coolers, gear) draws on maybe a fraction of what that powertrain was built to handle. You'll notice the loaded weight in exactly one place, your fuel economy. Browse our current Navigator inventory to see what's on the lot. The EPA rates the 2026 Navigator L at 15 MPG city and 22 MPG highway. Your 104-mile route on US-82 is mostly two-lane highway, with a long stretch through Bibb County where you'll hold a steady 65 mph. Call it 18-19 MPG on that stretch under real conditions. With a 27-gallon fuel tank, the Navigator L keeps the math simple. You won't stop for fuel on the way there. Whether you stop on the way home after a full Saturday is a personal decision. A full-size flagship comes with a plain drawback. The fuel economy is mediocre at full load. Balance that against the ride quality on US-82, where the road surface through Bibb County can get rough in sections, and the trade starts to make sense. The Navigator L's adaptive suspension was designed for exactly this kind of long-distance comfort, and passengers in the second and third rows feel that on a two-hour run. On the road to Tuscaloosa: The US-82 corridor through Bibb County includes a stretch where you'll want cruise control set and the cabin quiet. The Navigator's active noise cancellation and acoustic laminated glass work hardest here. Passengers in the rear will feel the difference between a flagship cabin and a standard SUV on this particular road. Prepare Your Navigator for Game Day Before You Leave Eastern Boulevard A hundred-mile day with a full load rewards about ten minutes of prep the Monday before Saturday, and this short list covers the small stuff that tends to announce itself only halfway to Centreville, when turning around isn't an option. Run it before you load. [ ] Tire pressure. Lincoln recommends checking cold inflation pressure, and a full load plus a two-hour highway run is exactly when under-inflation costs you. [ ] Fuel level. Top off in Montgomery; the 27-gallon tank means you won't need to stop, though full beats hunting for a station on US-82 near Centreville [ ] Liftgate operation. Confirm the power liftgate opens and closes cleanly (relevant if you're loading in a parking structure or under a low branch on campus) [ ] Climate system. Verify ventilated seat function and rear-zone climate (September afternoons in Tuscaloosa are still deep summer, and a three-hour post-game cabin cooldown matters) [ ] Cargo cover or net. Secure loose items so nothing shifts during the US-82 run; the Navigator L includes a cargo cover in most configurations, and a net keeps tall bags upright [ ] Driver-assist settings. Confirm Adaptive Cruise Control is enabled for the long Bibb County straightaway; these systems require an attentive driver and do not replace your judgment [ ] Phone mount or wireless charging. The in-dash navigation handles US-82 routing, but a mounted backup is worth the 30 seconds The Load Is In. Now Drive. The 2026 Navigator L carries the full tailgate, the full crew, and 104 miles of Alabama two-lane without asking you to compromise on a single seat or leave a single item behind. A pre-trip service check before a run like this is worth the hour, and our team on Eastern Boulevard is happy to look it over. The tradeoff stays real. Fuel economy at full load is not this vehicle's strength, and if you need outstanding efficiency, this isn't your pick. What you're choosing instead is a cabin that arrives in Tuscaloosa the same way it left Montgomery. Settled. Quiet. Ready. By the Stivers Lincoln of Montgomery Team | October 2026 Value Your Current Vehicle Before You Upgrade Stivers Lincoln of Montgomery 4000 Eastern Blvd, Montgomery, AL 36116 (334) 647-6905

In this article What's the Plan at a Glance? Court Square Fountain: Where the City Began Dexter Avenue and the Alabama State Capitol Old Alabama Town: The Neighborhood Side of Montgomery The Navigator and the Drive Between Start at Court Square Fountain, work your way up Dexter Avenue to the Capitol, then close the morning at Old Alabama Town on North Hull Street. Call it three stops, roughly four miles of downtown driving, and October is the month to do it. By early October the humidity has finally broken. The light at that hour sits low and amber through the old oaks, and downtown Montgomery, which can feel relentless in August, opens up into something unhurried. We've driven this loop ourselves, and we'll tell you what we've learned about running it in a full-size vehicle. The 2026 Lincoln Navigator is what we'd take. What's the Plan at a Glance? Stop What to Do Best Time Parking Notes Court Square Fountain Walk the square, locate Rosa Parks bus stop marker First thing in the morning Street parking on Commerce or Dexter; metered and usually open early Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church and Alabama State Capitol Guided tour of the church basement; self-guided Capitol exterior and grounds Mid-morning (tours run Tue-Sat, hourly from 10 am) Church lot is small; the Alabama Judicial Building garage on Dexter handles a full-size SUV Old Alabama Town, North Hull Street Self-guided walk through 50+ restored buildings Late morning into afternoon Garage on Monroe Street, half a block north; fits a Navigator without issue Confirm tour availability at the church before you go. Reservations are recommended, and the basement mural (the reason to step inside at all) stays closed unless a guide is with you. Court Square Fountain: Where the City Began If you're still deciding which vehicle to bring, start the morning here, where the Court Square Fountain lays out the city's full arc in a single block and tells you fast how much of the day will be spent on foot versus behind the wheel. The Court Square Fountain has been standing since 1885, when Montgomery's city council built it over one of the oldest artesian wells in the region. The iron work was cast by the Mott Iron Works of New York. It marks the geographic point where two early settlements, Alabama Town and New Philadelphia, grew together to become Montgomery. It also marks the square that served as the city's central slave market through the mid-19th century, and it's the stop on Court Square where Rosa Parks boarded the bus in December 1955. None of that's decoration. Standing at the fountain, you can look straight up Dexter Avenue and see the Capitol dome at the far end of the block. The civic story of this city sits in a single sightline. Spend twenty minutes here, and read the markers with care, because the quiet is doing something in a place this layered. Insider note: Arrive before 9 am if you want the fountain to yourself. By mid-morning on a clear October weekday, it draws a steady crowd of visitors. The early light also falls down Dexter Avenue from the Capitol end, which makes the entire street worth photographing. Dexter Avenue and the Alabama State Capitol Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, at 454 Dexter Avenue, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974 because of its importance in the civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor there and helped organize the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. Drive slowly up Dexter Avenue. The redbrick church appears on the left before the Capitol, and the approach by car gives you the full scale of the street, something a walking tour can't quite replicate. The Lincoln Aviator seats three rows and handles downtown parking more easily than the Navigator if you're bringing a larger group. Still, both fit in the Judicial Building garage on Dexter with some patience. Alabama artist John Feagin painted the full-room mural in the church basement, and it tracks the Montgomery Bus Boycott with documentary precision. That's the reason to book a guided tour rather than simply drive past. Tours run Tuesday through Saturday, hourly from 10 am to 3 pm, and the basement stays locked outside a guided visit. Plan ninety minutes here. The Alabama State Capitol is steps away. Jefferson Davis was inaugurated on the West Portico in 1861, and a little over a hundred years later, the third Selma to Montgomery march culminated in Dr. King's "How Long, Not Long" speech from the front staircase. Self-guided access to the exterior and grounds is free, and you don't need a ticket to feel the weight of the spot. The view looking back down Dexter Avenue from the Capitol steps, toward the church in the middle distance, is what ties the entire morning together. Schedule a Pre-Trip Service Check Old Alabama Town: The Neighborhood Side of Montgomery Three-quarters of a mile northwest on North Hull Street, the city changes register entirely, trading the civic weight of Dexter Avenue for something domestic and lived-in, which makes Old Alabama Town the right second stop once the morning's heavier history has settled and you're ready for something quieter. Old Alabama Town is a six-block living history museum in historic downtown Montgomery, where you can explore how people lived and worked in central Alabama during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Visitors can enjoy self-guided tours through more than 50 restored buildings along North Hull Street, including rural homes, shops, and workplaces. The Landmarks Foundation manages the collection, and it's open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm. A modest admission fee applies. The guided tour of the Ordeman-Shaw House, an Italianate townhouse with original outbuildings, is worth the time if the morning allows. What makes Old Alabama Town work as a second stop is exactly that it's unhurried. There's no fixed-route pressure. You move through the restored blocks at your own pace, a different rhythm from the focused, guided experience at Dexter Avenue. The contrast between the two sites, one civic and activist, the other domestic and rural, gives the morning a real arc. The Lincoln Nautilus is the right call for a couple who wants comfortable seating and easy downtown maneuverability without the full footprint of the Navigator, and we'd call that a fair tradeoff out loud. Next step: Before you plan the route, walk through our inventory online or call our team at (334) 647-6905. We're on Eastern Boulevard and happy to match the right vehicle to the kind of driving you actually do. The Navigator and the Drive Between The honest version of the Navigator case is that its strengths here have nothing to do with speed and everything to do with how it filters out a city morning, which is exactly the job on a slow four-mile downtown loop. You won't be chasing horsepower on these blocks. The 2026 Navigator's adaptive suspension and enhanced active noise control are engineered for exactly the kind of low-speed, start-and-stop city driving this route demands. Lincoln lists the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 at 440 horsepower and 510 lb-ft of torque. That power is never what you're reaching for in downtown Montgomery. What you notice instead is what's absent: the tire noise on brick streets, the cabin intrusion from other traffic, the fatigue that accumulates on a longer morning. The Navigator's soft-close doors don't feel like a feature until you've stepped out at Court Square in the morning stillness and appreciated the silence that followed. The tradeoff is size. Navigating the tighter blocks around Old Alabama Town asks for patience. Parallel parking on North Hull Street in a long-wheelbase Navigator L requires a specific approach, and we'd say so plainly to any client who asked. The Monroe Street garage is the better choice there, and it handles the full footprint without drama. We've watched clients return from a morning like this one changed in a way that a highway drive doesn't produce. October in Montgomery, low sun, cool air, and a cabin that genuinely holds quiet, tends to slow things down in a way that suits both the vehicle and the history. Let it. Explore Financing Options Stivers Lincoln of Montgomery 4000 Eastern Blvd, Montgomery, AL 36116 (334) 647-6905

It's no secret that the Lincoln Navigator shares its mechanical bones with the Ford Expedition, but as the Navigator formula continues to evolve, direct tactile connections to its corporate sibling are harder than ever to find. That's especia lly true of the current model, which was redesigned for 2025. Unsurprisingly, the year after a full redesign brings few changes, but the 2026 Navigator is still worth revisiting, which is what Yahoo! Autos did this past summer when it tested a Navigator Reserve trim. Stivers Lincoln tells you what the publication discovered. In today's SUV-focused world, the Navigator essentially serves as the flagship of the Lincoln lineup, much like the original legendary Continentals once did sixty-some years ago. It is big and powerful, and can carry plenty of people and things, but the focus from bumper to bumper is on comfort and refinement. With price tags hovering around the six-figure mark, the Navigator isn't exactly attainable to everyone – but it does return quite a bit of refinement, comfort, and capability for the money. Under the hood of all Navigators is a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V - 6 engine producing 440 horsepower and 510 lb -ft of torque, paired with a 10-speed automatic and standard four -wheel drive. Yahoo describes it as “plenty powerful, giving ample support on the highway and providing ample getup for aggressive launches on surface streets.” The Navigator may not deliver the roar of a V - 8, but the whole point of a vehicle of this stature is not to hear the engine at all. In addition, on all interstates and most cross-country highways, you don’t have to drive the vehicle either, thanks to the standard BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system, which can even change lanes automatically. Instead, drivers and passengers alike simply enjoy the serenity of the cabin, with quilted perforated leather seats that look particularly inviting in Hot Chocolate or Afterglow color schemes. On the Reserve trim, the front seats feature 24-way adjustment, heating, ventilation, and massage functions. The Black Label trim adds 6 more seat adjustments for a total of 30, putting even the most sophisticated executive office chairs to shame. The eye-catcher, however, is the 48-inch pillar-to-pillar line-up of screens along the base of the windshield, which is designed to minimize eye diversion from the road ahead. These displays provide full driver-centric information, both navigation and audio system info, camera displays to assist in parking, and additional information for the front passenger. They are a bit far to reach, so they are controlled by an 11.1-inch touchscreen in the center of the dash. The steering wheel’s rather ovoid shape enables full above-the-rim visibility of the driver display without the abrupt corners of a flattened upper or lower rim. Elsewhere in the cabin, there is ambient lighting, a panoramic moonroof, a 28-speaker Revel audio system, and a unique “Rejuvenation” feature which, as Yahoo describes, “releases scents and puts meditative scenes like waterfalls on the screens, all reinforce the luxurious feel.” On the more practical side, the second-row seats can be either a 3-seat bench or two-seat “captain’s chairs.” That is shared with almost every 3-row SUV, so the Reserve and Black Label models also offer the " PowerPitch and Slide" captain's chairs, which feature heating, ventilation, and massage functions. At 42.0 inches, the second-row seats provide plenty of legroom for adults, but the third-row seats actually have more, with 43.5 inches. Behind the third row of seats is 22.9 cubic feet of cargo space. That grows to 69.9 cubic feet with the third row seat down. For full cargo mode with the second - and third -row seatbacks folded, Navigator provides up to 107.0 cubic feet of space. All these figures grow considerably with the available long-wheelbase Navigator L models. All this space and luxury is wrapped in a n exterior design that emphasizes restraint and elegance from bumper to bumper. As Yahoo! states, “In contrast, the Cadillac Escalade has grown more severe to the point it's an almost brutalist design, and Lincoln's elegant lines offer a refreshing exercise in simplicity. Yahoo! author sums up his Navigator Reserve review with the following: “I consider the Navigator to be near the top of the large luxury SUV segment. I think it's more tasteful than its archrival, the Escalade, though the Cadillac has outsold it nearly two-to-one in 2026, and the Escalade is better than ever. I put both a cut above the Infiniti QX80 and Jeep Grand Wagoneer in this highly competitive arena.” If a full-size luxury SUV is on your wish list, the Lincoln Navigator simply must be shopped; the place to do that shopping is Stivers Lincoln of Montgomery. Visit Stivers Lincoln of Montgomery for your Navigator test drive.