Styling
There are nods to the original Capri in the styling of this car, including quad light signatures front and rear, that curved glass just aft of the back doors, and of course the sloped rear tailgate. But it's really not anything like the older Mk1-3 models at all, is it? Given it's a big SUV, not a low-slung two-door. In fairness to it, aside from a more-than-passing resemblance in profile to the
Polestar 2, we actually think it looks OK. It's certainly nicer to behold than the anodyne ID.5, which is an automotive bar of soap from a visual standpoint, while it could be argued that even the
Skoda Enyaq Coupe isn't quite as attractive either. Certainly, our test car's eye-catching Vivid Yellow paint (£800) and the optional 21-inch alloys (£1,000, not pictured on the German-registered example above) gave it plenty of kerb appeal and presence, and we imagine there will be plenty of people who will be won over by its looks under glittering showroom lights as a result.
Interior
As with the
Ford Explorer's cabin compared to the source material in the
Volkswagen ID.4, the Capri's interior is nicer than that of the ID.5. Understandably, it's almost identical to that of the Explorer, and therefore it's a passenger compartment that's not without some, er...
affordable plastics in places, shall we say? But generally, it looks swish, thanks to the band of contrast Sensico light 'leather' (man-made) on the door cards, dash and central armrest, while we're big fans of the 14.6-inch Sync Move touchscreen - this is far superior to even the much-improved MIB4 in the VW ID cars, while the feel of the screen as it slides from completely upright to its angled, lower position is top quality and satisfyingly hefty.
Sure, there's a curious mix of Ford and Volkswagen DNA in here, with the small 5.3-inch digital instrument cluster a direct lift from the German firm's ID family, even if it's populated with Ford fonts and displays. This sits in direct juxtaposition with the gear indicator on its right-hand side, which is still in VW's text, as is the column-mounted selector lever too. Also, the Capri has what is clearly a black, polygonal Volkswagen key with a Ford oval stuck onto it, when only a few weeks before we were driving an
Amarok that had a VW-logoed key, which was obviously taken from a certain Dearborn-based manufacturer.
However, we approve of the giant 'UFO on the upper console' B&O speaker in the Ford, while the ambient interior lighting is also particularly swish. So about out main gripe is that the Capri has a steering 'hexagon', a new item which seems to be proliferating in the motoring industry but we really,
really wish it would go away forever, and this is further saddled by haptic buttons (urgh) and then finished with a questionable central spoke that's supposed to look like a Mk1 Capri's steering wheel. It's nothing more than a token gesture to the past that the new EV could probably have done without, to be honest.
Practicality
As with the related ID.5 and Enyaq, the Capri is a properly big old thing inside. There's plenty enough room for a quartet of tall adults to get comfortable onboard, while a flat floor in the rear means anyone sitting in the central position will at least have space for their legs and feet - although the seat squab itself is a little high and narrow, so it remains an occasional-use item rather than a proper 'full' chair. Despite this, though, the Ford's cabin has loads of large and useful storage areas, including the 17-litre configurable 'MegaConsole' in the central tunnel, the driving position and front seat(s) are both excellent and plush, visibility out of the car is superb, and the boot is a sizeable 567 litres with all seats in use. It's therefore a heck of a lot more practical in here than it ever was in the first three generations of Capri, although that's hardly unsurprising when comparing a large-boned SUV to the svelte form of a coupe...
Performance
Like the ID.5, the Capri comes with a single, rear-mounted motor and a smaller battery as the entry point of the range, stepping up to a bigger Extended Range (ER) power pack of 77kWh net for the mid-grade model (but retaining the sole propulsion unit and rear-wheel drive). This dual-motor variant represents the flagship Capri for now, then, equipping the additional front motor and a slightly larger battery again (79kWh), in order to allow for peak outputs of 340hp and 545Nm.
These are a match for the upgraded ID.5 GTX and Enyaq vRS models, but the Capri is - weirdly - lighter than, for example, the Volkswagen, if the printed figures are to be believed, by no small matter of 52kg. That makes the Ford a tenth quicker to 62mph than the very car it is based on, and it feels a livelier, swifter machine as a result. It picks up cleanly and powerfully from low road speeds, with strong acceleration maintained until well beyond motorway pace. Nicely calibrated throttle and brake pedals, with beautifully integrated regenerative deceleration, make controlling the speed of the Capri a thoroughly pleasant and second-nature experience.
And it's economical, too, as EVs go. After the first 70 miles on test, it was showing a handsome 3.6 miles/kWh efficiency. The Capri managed 3.5 miles/kWh on a 98-mile mainly motorway route, while after 200 miles of testing it was still returning a very decent 3.2 miles/kWh overall - with our highest figure a deeply impressive 4.1 miles/kWh while conducting shorter journeys on local roads. It's not even like we were treating it deliberately carefully, either, using plenty of its in-car electrical drains and enjoying the Ford's muscular performance on a regular basis. Therefore, while 346 miles in a single hit might not be possible, it looks like 250 miles to every charge ought to be a doddle all year round, while getting closer to 300 miles would be easy enough with a bit of care from the driver and some warmer weather outside.
Ride & Handling
It takes about 50 metres in the Capri to sense that this is another success from Ford's dynamic team. The steering and the suspension both have an immediate sense of lightness and fluidity to them that's most welcome, and once again - sorry, VW - it's another area where the Capri easily beats the ID.5. The German car was no doubt sharpened by its midlife update, but it still feels stodgy in the corners, and generally leaden and stiff-legged in comparison to the Ford. That's bearing in mind that our test Capri was on the huge 21-inch optional alloys, as well.
Don't get us wrong, we're not about to say the electric SUV delivers a seminal drive, because it doesn't. It's still nearly 2.2 tonnes at the kerb and more than 1.6 metres tall, at the end of the day, so it's not as if this is going to reorder your understanding of what a hefty, zero-emission machine can do. But the Capri is better to steer than almost any similar electric coupe-SUV we can think of in this class, and let's face it, if we take the rose-tinted glasses off for a second then it's not as if the original Mk1-3 cars were kinematically outstanding. Sure, they were rear-wheel drive and a bit lairy, but no one sane has ever cited an old 2.8 injection as the best thing they've ever driven. Obviously, if someone handed us the keys to a Brooklands 280 then we'd happily take them and drive off in the old-timer (and yes, we
have driven a number of 'classic' Capris before, because we're chuffing ancient, thank you very much), but on the same score we absolutely do not detest the way the new version of the Capri drives. If you're not benchmarking it against 40-year-old coupes that were a good tonne lighter for kerb weight than it is, then it's hard to come to any other conclusion than that the 2025 Capri's handling is genuinely very, very good.
As is the ride comfort and rolling refinement. You feel a little of the road surface on more broken-up tarmac, while there's a degree of tyre roar evident above 50mph in the Ford which perhaps hints that the purported 52kg weight-saving compared to the ID.5 GTX has been achieved almost solely in the department of sound-deadening. But the ride quality never deteriorates to unacceptable levels, while the generally quiet and cultured way the Capri cuts through the air and rolls along the road is highly commendable. This Ford, like it or not, is reasonably talented in all dynamic departments, and notably weak in none.
Value
This is one area where the new car cannot hope to compete with the old, even allowing for inflation and all that malarkey. And when you tell people your new Capri has cost you 60 grand, be prepared for an astounded intake of breath from everyone within earshot. It doesn't matter how you finance the car, that's a lot for something which was once an affordable way into the 'European
Mustang' back in the day.
In its defence, the Capri starts from a price that compares well with the entry-level examples of the ID.5 (£41,080), the Enyaq Coupe (£46,200) and the Polestar 2 (£42,950, all figures correct at the time of writing), and it comes with a wealth of desirable kit fitted as standard if specified as a Premium like this. But still... £60,325. For a Capri. It... doesn't quite sit right, eh?
Verdict
If you dislike SUVs in the first place, and you really dislike coupe-SUVs, and you positively hate electric coupe-SUVs, then no amount of coercion on our part - and no matter what Ford had decided to call this thing in the end - would convince you to like the new Capri. It's by no means a flawless machine if you can strip the sentiment out of your appraisal of it, and if you can't then it also won't matter one jot that the Blue Oval has already signposted that it's not afraid to use legacy, sporty nameplates on modern-era SUVs - witness all of the
Puma, the Cougar -
admittedly, with a different spelling - and even the
Mustang badges on the current raft of products in its portfolio.
The fact is, though, that somehow the 'Capri' name carries even more emotional heft in this part of the world than any of those three nameplates, and has thus upset so many people with its resurrection on this chunky creation. Ford could've easily avoided all of this uproar by simply calling it 'Maverick' or 'Sierra' or 'Mondeo', maybe, but it clearly felt that Oscar Wilde was right when he coined his aphorism 'there is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is
not being talked about'. And so the company reckoned risking the ongoing wrath of traditional Capri enthusiasts was worth it for the immense amount of publicity this stunt (for want of a better word) has generated in the first place.
The saddest thing is, the heated 'is it a Capri or not?' arguments drown out one simple fact: take away its nameplate, and this electric coupe-SUV from Ford is an excellent all-rounder that is, rather embarrassingly for Volkswagen, demonstrably better in several key regards than the car it is based upon. But you don't want to hear that, do you? No, you don't. Sigh.
