It’s a brand new Ford Capri! And yes, it’s now an electric SUV

It’s quite likely that anyone over the age of 40, when they see Ford’s new interpretation of the Capri, will spend five minutes simply saying, “That’s not a Capri, is it?”. And despite Ford’s marketing department’s feeble proclamations that this new Capri is “what Capri would have been” and that “the legend is back,” very little remains of the long-hooded two-door coupe that always smelled strong. four-star petrol and five-seater five-door semi-SUV with a high ridership.

This is also pure electrical energy. Suspension of disbelief is necessary and the reality of spending many millions of pounds to create a new label must be considered. Ford just uses what it has – see Puma for details.

Still, there are some hints of Capri. The front “dog bone” modification that connects the headlights is vaguely familiar, and “Capri” is still spelled with the same letters. After that, it’s an Explorer-based electric SUV. Ford agreed with VW some time ago to share some elements of electric production, so the Explorer is a redesigned ID.4 and the Capri is an ID.5. Simple, really.

And considering that, the Capri doesn’t look bad at all. Slightly generic in that there’s a definite hint of Polestar in the C-pillar, and the stance is that weird EV height without an SUV, but the funky fashion sense means it’s unlikely to date that quickly. And yes, there’s a lot of Explorer in there (doors, hood, bumpers, etc.), but that doesn’t hurt it.

From launch in the UK we get two models, both labeled ‘Extended-range’, in either standard or premium trim. The current base version is a 284-horsepower single-motor rear-wheel drive that has a 77-kWh battery and a range of 390 miles, or 0-62 mph in 6.4 seconds. That’s 48,075 pounds.

The faster all-wheel drive version has a pair of 336bhp engines and a 5.3 sz 0 to 62mph, with a still very good 368 miles on the WLTP cycle. That costs four grand more, with the premium spec adding nice toys and a bit more to the bottom line. It’s worth noting that after the initial wallet mine among the first, there will be a rear-wheel drive version with a smaller 52kWh battery and 168bhp listed at £42,075. So it comes cheaper.

In terms of comfort, the 77kWh car gets 135kW max DC charging, the 79kWh 185kW, so that means 10-80 percent in 28 minutes and 26 respectively, and both get 11kW AC, so pretty decent.

Inside, it’s almost Explorer-like, neat and well-made, with a 14.6-inch vertical touchscreen in the center that can be moved up and down as needed, which also reveals a “secret” storage area behind it, although it’s not so secret now. . There are the usual ADAS and convenience features, and although the Capri’s tech is based on VW’s latest generation software (VW has already moved on), it seemed to work well in the car we saw.

There’s also a ‘megaconsole’ central storage bin that holds 17 liters of stuff, but while useful for keeping stuff out of sight, it feels more like a place to simply forget what you own in a giant hole. The rear seats are roomy but dark, the boot large – at 627 liters loaded up to the roof, it’s actually bigger than the Explorer. So it’s perfectly practical.

And as for the way it rides, that remains to be seen – the Capri will have a 10mm lower suspension than the Explorer and a slightly sportier camber, so it should be decent. Which means if you want an electric blue oval SUV, you now have quite a choice between the Mustang Mach-E, the Explorer and the Capri.

The Mach-E is meant to be the top of the line – though both the Capri and Explorer could eat up some of the low-end sales – and while it doesn’t look like the name suggests, it also looks like a solid electric SUV offering. Just to be sure, we’ll wait and see how it goes.

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