Can an EV drive like a Capri? Ford brought about uproar when it reintroduced the long-lasting identify for its new electrical SUV – so, is it any good? We take a look at it

It was hard to miss the relaunch of the Ford Capri earlier this year.

French Manchester United legend Eric Cantona was the face of the campaign, with his now infamous tag line ‘the legend is back’ part of an oddball media blitz of bogus ads, viral social media clips and goat flags at Glastonbury.

But it’s Ford’s decision to use one of its most iconic legacy nameplates for a new electric SUV that triggered widespread uproar.

‘It has the soul of the classic Capri, reinvented with a new, modern design,’ according to bosses at the blue oval brand. But it’s fair to say the public response has been anything but welcoming.

Despite the critics, the new battery-powered Capri will arrive in the UK in a matter of weeks. But before it does, we test drove it in Marseille to see what it’s like beyond the controversy.

Addressing the elephant in the room – the Capri name 

‘I’m sorry but that is not a Capri!’

This was one of the comments I received on Instagram when posting snaps of the car in the South of France.

And since Ford unveiled the reborn Capri to the public this summer, social media and mainstream press has been awash with similar – if not far harsher – sentiments.

So, there’s no option other than to bravely address the elephant in the room – the fact that many Ford fans aren’t happy about the name.

Even Ford’s director of marketing, Peter Zillig, said he’d seen someone write that the brand’s ‘really stress-testing the notion of all publicity is good publicity’ with the new Capri.

And many people are right to take aim at the car maker.

The 2024 Capri isn’t the burbling, petrol-gulping, low-slung, affordable, two-door sport coupe for boy racers of the past; it’s a silent, battery-powered, high-riding, expensive, five-door sports utility vehicle aimed predominantly at eco-conscious families.

Ford has – in its defence – applied a nod or two to the original, including the oval LED inclusion in the headlights, the C-shape rear pillar, and the black blade panel stretching across the back like the Capri RS variants of old.

But it’s efforts have been in vain in the eyes of the motoring fraternity.

‘Using the Capri nameplate for this is blasphemy and disrespectful to the original Capri,’ one social media user wrote on an official Ford social media channel.

Another user commented: ‘Imagine previously making good cars for years, the cars of the everyday person, then getting rid of great vehicle lines for soulless and costly electrification and now producing this and calling it a Capri somehow? A fall from grace.’

For balance, I have scrolled [for some time] to attempt to find positive comments but have found little better than someone posting: ‘I kind of like it.’

Why do people feel so passionately about Capri? A very brief history lesson

The history of the Capri is a long essay, so here’s a brief recap…

The original was built to be the UK’s answer to the roaring success of the Mustang in the US. It looked brilliant, offered fantastic value, and came with some genius marketing.

And there was a Capri for most tastes – from sensible 1.3-litre engines all the way up to sexier limited-numbered RS3100 performance options.

Naturally, the two-door coupe instantly became a hit in the early seventies; Ford famously sold 400,000 of them in the first 24 months alone.

And that was largely because prices started from £890 in 1969, which equates to around £12,500 today – a third of what the cheapest new EV version will cost.

If you want to flip a negative to a positive then you can say that Ford’s heritage is essentially sacrosanct at the point, as the reaction to the Capri has shown.

With so many new brands entering the EV space, Ford has a legacy many brands would kill to gain in the next 100 years.

And that’s value. Big value.

The problem is it can be as much a disadvantage as an advantage in terms of PR… as Ford is currently finding out.

Nameplate aside – what is the Capri like to drive?

To start, it’s best to judge Ford’s newest EV as a car with an indeterminate nameplate. So that’s what I’m going to do.

It’s built on the Volkswagen MEB platform, just like its bigger sibling, the Explorer. Essentially, there’s a VW ID.5 underneath the bright yellow bodywork.

But because it is 20mm lower than the Explorer – and Ford has fiddled with the suspension tuning – it feels far more accomplished in the corners.

The mild tweaks are a major boost to both agility and nimbleness compared to the boxier Explorer, and being lower to the ground there’s less roll in corners, too.

Geert Van Noyen, vehicle dynamics manager for Ford of Europe, confirmed that the suspension is ‘one notch’ stiffer than the Explorer and that balance has been shifted towards the rear to give a sportier sensation. And it has worked.

Its shape and size (maybe this is just the case for someone of my limited height) also lends itself to better visibility; the Explorer’s all-round view wasn’t good, and you couldn’t easily tell placement of the front wheels especially on roundabouts.

Another big win is that Capri is also much quieter than the Explorer, picking up less road and wind noise, which provides a more cossetting and relaxing driving experience.

I was delighted that despite having a suite of safety assists – there are 12 ultrasonic sensors, five cameras and three radar sensors – I wasn’t nagged at all by the systems. This was a welcome change to the constant pinging most new cars give you.

During my stint in Marseille, I took both the 79kWh 335bhp all-wheel drive version and the 77kW 282bhp rear-wheel drive options for a spin. For reference, the RWD has a longer range than the AWD (389 miles versus 367 miles) those is slightly slower off the mark managing 0 to 62mph in 6.4 second compared to 5.3 seconds.

Again, these stats mirror those of the Explorer.

But overall, if it’s the Capri versus the Explorer, the ride height and composure of the Capri wins out by a small margin.

Fords says it’s an ‘urban electric sports car’ that’s good for the whole family, and in that light, it drives well, has excellent range and is a very comfortable coupe-SUV for a wide range of people.

And it does start from around £10K less than a Polestar 4 (also a coupe-SUV) and has slightly quicker acceleration than its Swedish rival – though the Ford is nowhere near as luxurious inside.

But the big question every sceptic will ask is: does it drive like a Capri?

That’s when the world, which for the most part is marmite towards EVs, screams ‘no!’

That’s despite most Capris of old not always being golden to drive. You can’t overlook the fact that they had Cortina ‘Kent’ engines. And press cuttings from the day dubbed the MK2 a ‘sheep in a wolf’s clothing’.

But Capris always had personality.

Unfortunately, the new one simply feels too samey. Close your eyes [while not recommended while driving, of course] and you’ll struggle to tell it apart from most EVs already on the market today.

No matter what Ford tells you and I, the Capri EV is missing the flare and likeability of its predecessors.

Interior – is it a nice place to spend time and is it practical?

The interior is pretty much a complete copy and paste of the Explorer’s cabin: aside from one or two small individual details, including a single steering wheel spoke at six o’clock.

Is that a bad thing? 

For comfort and practicality, no – the Capri is a very comfortable car to be in and there’s a lot of practical storage.

The mega console (an incredibly deep centre storage space under the arm rest) and the locker behind the infotainment screen (the screen moves and there’s a hidden compartment behind) – are both welcome additions but, given they already feature in Explorer, don’t feel all that special or unique.

The 14.6-inch infotainment screen is also the same as we’ve seen previously, which is a pity as it isn’t a very intuitive system and is fiddly to operate. We recommend syncing your Apple CarPlay or Android Auto from your smartphone, which is marvelously easy to do in the Capri.

Ford has also nailed boot space, offering 572 litres with a second floor and a side storage compartment.  

It’s class-leading (the Polestar 4 only has 526 litres) and is much bigger than the Explorer’s 450-litre capacity.

Headroom and legroom are both also both impressive, even for the giants of the world.

It’s just a pity that for a car with the star power of the Capri name, Ford hasn’t designed a bespoke interior to pay tribute.

Range and charging times and extras worth buying

The new Capri EV offers between 346 miles and 389 miles on a single charge, depending on the option you go for.

Fast charging taps out at 100kW, which gives you 10 to 80 per cent charge in 26 to 28 minutes.

Ford said that to keep costs down for all buyers, a heat pump is not a standard feature, instead you can opt to add one for an extra £1,050.

A heat pump – which uses heat from the battery to warm the cabin – saves you roughly about 10 per cent range so it is a useful feature to add if you’re going to add anything. 

There’s also an retractable tow bar option for £750, which allows the Capri to tow up to 1,000kg, which is probably worth getting if you want to maximise your active lifestyle. 

Pricing and trims

There are just two Capri trims (the same as the Explorer): Select and Premium.

Both trims are generously kitted-out, with Ford giving even the base trim all the same safety assists and cameras, as well as comfort features like heated seats. 

The Premium additions include matrix headlights, a hands-free tailgate, ambient lighting, a panoramic roof, and a 10-speaker B&O sound system.

The Select RWD option will be the cheapest starting at £42,075 with the Premium AWD 79kW going up to £56,175. 

For comparison the Polestar 2 (which many people say the Capri looks like) costs between £42,950 and £55,950, the VW ID.5 (with the same platform) is priced between £45,860 to £55,720 and the Volvo EX30 from £31,995 to £42,495.

Order books are open with deliveries commencing later this year.

Ford Capri EV: The Cars and Motoring Verdict

Trying to persuade people that an EV is deserving of a moniker bestowed to one of the most loved British cars of all time is at best ambitious marketing – and at worst a complete lack of judgement.

And it’s not as if Ford doesn’t have a wealth of legacy nameplates that would have caused far less offence. An Escort for the EV era? A battery-powered Sierra? People might have accepted that.

Ford has clearly earmarked a target audience of nostalgia-driven motorists – possibly because this is the demographic that can best afford the steep asking price. 

And therein lies its biggest failing.

The original Capri was dubbed ‘the car you always promised yourself’ and was for young people. It was bold, it was exciting, it dressed up a Cortina and made it cool.

The new Capri is a nice EV. It’s not that it’s not a good car to drive but it does feel somewhat underwhelming.

As a young person in a world where three quarters (77 per cent) of 25 to 34-year-olds are likely to go electric for their next vehicle – and half of young learners want to take their driving test in an EV – the new Capri seems like a missed opportunity.

There’s no affordable, era-defining EV for young people. Especially not one that will go on to become a legend like the original Capri.

It seems a shame that Ford didn’t decide to give young people of today a Capri of their own.