► CAR magazine drives the reborn Ford Capri in the UK
► Does it really deserve the Capri name?
► Or is it just another characterless electric SUV?
This is 2024’s most controversial car, no doubt. I’m not sure any electric SUV has ever caused such a stir, but reviving the Ford Capri, first as an electric car, and second as a large(ish) SUV was never going to go down well with fans of the original Capri. And unsurprisingly, it hasn’t.
CAR’s reaction to the new Ford Capri was our most read story of 2024, and even six moths on, if you dare tweet about the new Capri (I did), you will get a barrage of abuse hurled at you. Of course, Ford reviving old car names is nothing new. We’ve had the Puma, Kuga (albeit with different spelling) and Mustang Mach-E but the Capri especially has people riled.
But now the ‘new’ Capri has now landed in the UK, is it a credible electric car and is there any hint of the OG within?
At a glance
Pros: Very spacious, smart interior, good to drive
Cons: The name (obvs), expensive, glitchy VW software
What’s new?
Compared to the old Capri? Everything. The only similarities between the two cars are their badges and the shape of their rear quarter windows. The front grille strip is *slightly* remiscent of the Capri Mk1, too. Ford says the new model is ‘exactly how the iconic sports coupe would have evolved had the Capri stayed in continuous production’. You’re not doing yourselves any favour, Ford.
If you can ignore the name for a second, it’s best to compare the Capri to the new Ford Explorer, with both cars built around the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform and share the same interior, though it must be said Ford has done a good job of making it not feel and look like a rebadged VW ID.4.
The Capri is longer and lower than the new Explorer, with a much bigger boot owing to its stretched ‘coupe’ like shape and in the process essentially makes the Mustang Mach-E redundant.
What are the specs?
They’ll be familiar to anyone who’s spent time researching Volkswagen Group EVs, as the Capri is based on the same MEB tech. From launch, there are just two models to choose from called Extended Range RWD and Extended Range AWD.
The Extended Range RWD features a 77kWh battery pack and a single electric motor on the rear axle. It produces 282bhp and 402lb ft of torque, which is enough to punch the Capri from 0–62mph in 6.4 seconds. It also has a maximum electric range of 390 miles.
Extended Range AWD models come with a slightly larger 79kWh battery pack and an additional electric motor on the front axle to bump power up to 335bhp. Torque remains the same at 402lb ft, but the added traction afforded by the extra motor trims the Capri’s 0–62mph time down to 5.3 seconds. Maximum range falls to 346 miles, however, and based on our testing in winter, you can take another 100 miles off that figure. So a real-world 250-mile range is really not a lot for a £55,000 car.
In the first half of 2025, Ford will introduce a cheaper‘Standard Range’ model with 168bhp and a a 52kWh battery, bringing the claimed range down to 242 miles.
The Capri’s charging speed varies depending on the version, with a maximum of 185kW on the all-wheel-drive car, though Ford claims all can charge from 10 to 80 per cent in less than half an hour.
How does it drive?
Considering it uses VW’s MEB underpinnings, Ford has been able to put its own stamp on the way the Capri drives. Despite the blue oval’s marketing fluff, this is no sports car, but it drives better than many in its class – and a Volkswagen ID.5, though that’s not exactly high praise.
The steering weightens up nicely in sport though there’s less feedback the more you turn, leaving you sometimes fidgeting with the wheel mid-corner. The more powerful 335bhp AWD model is certainly not lacking in pace, with excellent overtaking pace, though it feels fast for the sake of it, rather than genuinely enjoyable.
The standard RWD would seem the better car to me, though the extra traction of the AWD system is impressive, even in greasy and wet conditions it never struggles to put its pace down with a slight element of rear bias (the motor at the rear is considerably more powerful) before the traction control reigns it in. Good for an SUV, but not a sports car.
To be fair to Ford, it has at least managed to improve the MEB platform’s suspension. For starters, the Capri’s damping is firmer than any Volkswagen-branded MEB car, which means it can take better advantage of the chassis stiffness afforded by the battery pack. It’s a little more composed and far less body roll when you hurl it at a corner as a result.
The ride is firmer than a Volkswagen ID.4’s, but is generally comfortable with only repeated sections of rough tarmac unsettling the Capri. It’s not the most refined of EVs, though, with plenty of tyre noise emitted into the interior, particularly on more uneven surfaces. Wind noise also seems to circulate around the full-width glass roof.
The Capri’s brakes are the real weakness. There’s not much resistance in the pedal, which makes it difficult to drive the Capri in the ‘sporty and enthusiastic’ manner the brand’s marketeers insist it is capable of. There’s no bite in the pedal when the pads contact the discs, and it’s quite hard to bring smoothly to a stop. You’re best off letting the regenerative braking do its thing.
What about the interior?
It’s a carbon copy of the Explorer upfront and Ford does a largely good job of distinguishing it from a Volkswagen interior, with only the steering wheel-mounted gear selector, small dash display and irritating touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons carried over.
The large 14.6-inch touchscreen works better than that of a Volkswagen, and though almost offensively large at first, it’s well compartmentalised so that the information you want is easy to see or access. Though it’s all on a touchscreen, adjustment for the ventilation, demister and heated seats are at least permanent. The screen also can slide, from being completely upright to more integrated into the dashboard, depending on your preference. A neat touch.
None of it screams ‘sports car,’ though. The front seats are wide and accommodating (rather than tight and well-bolstered), the view out of the front is clear (if you ignore the mile-wide A-pillars) and there’s loads of storage space. The central bin alone can hold 17 litres – and you even get a hidden storage area behind the infotainment system that’s large enough to hold your phone, wallet and house keys.
Space in the back is good too, with a generous amount of legroom and headroom fine for all but the tallest. They’ll need to watch themselves getting out, though, as the door opening is quite narrow – on several occasions I had disgruntled passengers shouting ‘bloody car’ after bashing their heads on the pillar. At 572 litres the boot is a great size and isn’t impacted too much by the sloping roofline. I did several tip runs in the Capri over the Christmas break and each time was surprised by just how much the boot could hold.
Before you buy (trims and rivals)
The Capri currently comes in two trims – Select and Premium. Standard equipment is quite generous and includes 19-inch alloy wheels, a massive 14.6-inch infotainment system, a wireless smartphone charger, a massaging driver’s seat and a heated steering wheel.
The Capri Premium builds on that with 20-inch alloy wheels, a hands-free tailgate, an interior ambient lighting system and a bumpin’ Bang & Olufsen stereo.
Priced from £48,075 for the Extended Range RWD and £52,175 for the AWD (only available in the top Premium grade), the Capri’s pricing is its biggest letdown. It costs more than a Volkswagen ID.5, Skoda Enyaq Coupe and Cupra Tavascan, all on the same platform, and like-for-like rivals such as the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 will both cost less.
While the new Standard Range will drop the Capri’s starting price by around £6,000, a likely real-world range of around 170-mile range just isn’t enough for a £42,000 car.
Over the two weeks I had the Capri it also had various software issues, not too surprising given its VW underpinnings. A highlight was it telling me I couldn’t turn on the heated seats because the car wasn’t turned on… while driving on the motorway. More concerning was a temporary ‘electric drive motor too hot’ fault A bit more fettling is needed, it seems.
Verdict
The link between the old and new Capri is just too tenuous for a car that really has minimal hint of sportiness about it. The fact Ford channels its line that it has ‘resurrected an icon’ makes it all the harder to get on board with. That said, has any other electric SUV ever got such an incredible amount of attention? Probably not.
If you can ignore the name for a second, the Capri is a likeable car. It’s spacious, the interior is smart and it generally drives well by class standards. But it’s not a sports car, as much as Ford might try and tell you otherwise.
But my biggest personal issue with the Capri is the price. Even though the Capri is a better car than the ID.5, would you really want to spend more on a Ford-badged VW than Volkswagen itself charges?