Want outrage? Well, here it is. The reborn Ford Capri is the latest product of Ford and Volkswagen’s partnership for the European market, and it’s a controversial one. However, once we take a step back and clear our eyes of nostalgia’s mist, things are still a little bit odd. See, the new Capri is perfectly cromulent in a vacuum, but it has the potential to cannibalize another model in Ford’s range. Let me explain.
First, let’s take care of the elephant in the room — Ford is using an iconic coupe nameplate on a fastback crossover. Well, if we zoom out, what’s wrong with that? The original Capri was a rebodied Cortina family car with swoopier styling, and since the family car of 2024 is a crossover utility vehicle instead of a sedan, a fastback crossover bodystyle fits the original mission of giving everyday people a more rakish roofline. If the original Capri was the European equivalent to the Mustang, the new Capri is sort-of like the European equivalent to the Mustang Mach-E.
Unfortunately, that’s where it starts to fall down, because not only is the Mustang Mach-E on-sale in Europe, it also starts at a lower price than the Volkswagen ID.5-based Capri. Granted, the Capri has substantially more range than the standard-range Mustang Mach-E, but in the UK, the price gap between the Capri Premium with its panoramic roof and 20-inch wheels and the long-range Mustang Mach-E Premium is £295 in the Mach-E’s favor, so how does the Capri distinguish itself?
Well, let’s start with the styling. The reborn Ford Capri cuts a more fastbacked figure than the Mustang Mach-E, although from the rear three-quarters, doesn’t it remind you of the Polestar 2? Well, Ford had to work around the hard points of Volkswagen’s MEB platform, so that imbues the Capri with a short dash-to-axle ratio, a fixed cowl height, and immovable suspension hard points, so Ford did what it had to do. Compared to the ID.5 the Capri shares an architecture with, Ford’s stylists pulled the beltline up, added chamfered surfaces above the wheel arch trims to grow the arches and visually shrink the amount of sheetmetal on the side of the vehicle, added some thick black cladding to detract from visual bulk, and went with a defined, filled-in step on the hatch to emulate a deck lid. The result is definitely more svelte than the ID.5, but it also makes you wonder how Polestar is feeling right now.
Moving to the interior of the new Capri, you’ll likely be displeased to know that many of the ergonomic SNAFUs of the Volkswagen ID.5 haven’t been removed by Ford. There are still two window switches on the driver’s door panel to control four power windows, still capacitive touch buttons on the steering wheel, and still touch-sensitive sliders on the center stack. It’s all well-disguised thanks to a vertical touchscreen, a new steering wheel, and rich interior panel surfacing that eschews Volkswagen’s somewhat uninspired brand of minimalism, but if the tech annoyed you on models like the ID.4 and ID.5, it’ll annoy you on the Capri as well.
Right, let’s talk high-voltage. The Capri comes standard with a 77 kWh NMC battery pack, a single electric motor in the rear, peak output of 282 horsepower, and a peak DC fast charging speed of 135 kW. Ford claims zero-to-62 mph in 6.4 seconds and a range of 389 miles on the optimistic WLTP cycle. Step up to the dual-motor extended range AWD model, and battery pack capacity jumps to 79 kWh, peak DC fast charging speed gets a significant boost to 185 kW, output jumps to 335 horsepower thanks to a second motor on the front axle, and the claimed zero-to-62 mph time falls to 5.3 seconds. Opting for all-wheel-drive also tips the scale on pricing back in the Capri’s favor, as a dual-motor Capri Premium retails for £730 less than a dual-motor Mustang Mach-E Premium. However, the Mach-E is still quicker, and £730 for a Mustang badge isn’t a bad price at all.
With the introduction of the newborn Capri, Ford now has two products fighting for essentially the same segment in Europe. It’s an odd choice, and it makes you wonder what sorts of deals were made to put this thing into production. Either way, one thing’s for certain — the crossover age is here to stay, and we likely won’t be seeing a rebirth of mass-market coupes anytime soon. That’s the way the world goes sometimes, right?
(Photo credits: Ford)
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It’s much better looking than the MachE or most current VWs, so it’s got that going for it. Too bad about the interior, though.
I’m guessing they are offering both to hedge for production capacity.
The C pillar and window shape is reminiscent of the mark I Capri.
That and the 4 wheels are the only connection to the original Capri.
I actually quite like the dead flat belt line with matching inverted swoops at front and rear.
Looks great, hope it’s got good ergonomics and UX in side.
Eagerly anticipating Adrian’s rage.
Also, if we’re going to do a heritage name we could call this the Ford Galaxy since it’s a VW in a Ford suit.
Came here to say both these things. It is such a disappointment. Is it the iD7 that looks like a proper wagon rather than an SUV? Could Ford not have used that as a starting point to get more of a long, low Capri feeling instead?
> Well, if we zoom out, what’s wrong with that?
Keep zooming, and you’ll find the Mustang name on a 4-door crossover, and keep zooming and you’ll find a car market awash with oversized blobby anonymous cars that aren’t particularly good any anything. Why should I buy this? What’s the sales pitch over the ten thousand other identical models?
I am outraged! The Capri name should be only be used for full size Lincoln luxury cars!
Err I mean it should only be used for German sport coupes!
Actually, it should only be used on American muscle cars!
No, it should only be used on small roadsters!
What I wonder now about the Mercury variants we got here in the states – did people actually pronounce it “CAP-ree” like the original Ford version?
From what I recall, it was always “Mercury ca-PREE” but I could be wrong.
I pronounced it CRAP-ee, but maybe that’s just me.
Outrage? No, not really.
Sadness? Disappointment? Very much so.
Why is everyone spelling this “Capri” when it should be “Crapi”?
Sorry, I knew the original Ford Capri. Capri was a friend of mine. You’re no Capri.
The name Capri does not fit the vehicle at all. There’s nothing whimsical, fanciful, or footloose about this design. Sometimes a rebrand works well, like with the Maverick, and sometimes it doesn’t. They should’ve just called it the Outrage and been done with it.
College Frat brother had a Capri, bubble butt Fox body with a Pinto motor and a stick. Good times!
It doesn’t look bad, just like it needs dropped 6″. The shape is pleasing, but should not be on stilts. I’ve not interacted with the VW interfaces so have no concrete opinion. I suppose you get used to it?
That really looks like a Chinese nock off of the already Chinese polestar 2 haha
More hatchbacks the better.
Where does this stack next to the Ford Explorer EV? (another VW-based Ford)
They have so many names they could pull from and recycle that no one would really bat an eye at… and they use the Capri and the Mustang name for electric CUV’s. Yikes.
They did it right using the Maverick name. No one truly cared that the brand recycled that, and the product was compelling enough to make it right. Why haven’t they used the Galaxy (or Galax-E) name plate? Or anything from Mercury (or other dead Ford brands). I don’t get it.
Frankly shocked they didn’t style this the Capr-E.
There really seems to be a contingent at Ford right now who is die-hard on “no, the direct connection to the earlier ones is totally going to generate positive feelings!”
I feel like this or the Mach-E would have made for a great Falcon.
They put an Austin Allegro steering wheel in it. That is really all you need to know.
The headlights are all wrong
They look retro, but in an unintentional and ungainly way. Like the front fascia of a 2005 Saturn Ion coupe.
I’m struggling with them – are they supposed to recall the 4 round ones on the original models? If so, why not just make them round?
The side view looked okay to me but I am very confused about the front end.
You know when Torch does his picture of any car thing where he overlays all the cars onto one to get the average car….
….well that image is getting sharper.
I don’t understand this.
Ford already has a great EV platform in the Mach-E. And they’re apparently working on next gen stuff. Why did they need to use VW’s?
Edit: I see what they’re doing with the Explorer over there, and it still doesn’t make sense. Maybe it’s a part of automotive economics and safety testing that isn’t clear to me. Just seems if you’re going to take a platform that on sale in the EU and customize it to capitalize on sales in that market, that you’d use your own platform that’s already available there.
It reminds me of how Honda made a deal to use the GM Ultium platform and has since walked it back.
My guess is that Ford of Europe thought the development of their EVs was running behind (for whatever reason) so they signed a deal to quickly get on the market. It sounds like this is Europe only and they’ve already said it’s going to be a short-lived partnership.
I always thought the Polestar 2 had a chunky awkwardness in real life that somehow doesn’t translate into pictures, Ford seems to have found a way to make that come through even in photos.
No.
Thomas’ outrage is so wonderfully polite. Is Adrian going to pull an all-nighter to deliver a Shakespearian-quality broadside that will leave the entire site dark and crispy around the edges for months?
I got my popcorn ready!
I am displeased to know everything about this. It is Bad and Wrong.
I kind of want to see it in Brooklands Green with plaid seats. It still won’t be great (I mean, I see a couple of the retro elements they were trying for, between the front hoodline and the window line), but darker colours might do a little more to hide the rest of the bulk they’ve failed to hide.
I know everyone has strong feelings on the Mach-E, but consensus seems to at least be it’s reasonably lively for an EV crossover. Not sure anyone’s said anything positive about how any of VW’s stuff drives, and that’s probably the biggest letdown unless Ford’s engineers work some miracles.
I watched a review of the new euro Explorer EV. It was interesting because the host was saying that it was “too soft” and not very Ford like in its driving dynamics.
I agree largely with your take here.
At this point, I’ve accepted the Mach-e (and I’ve owned the same Mustang for 20+ years, so I’m not someone excited to pretend a crossover is the same as a pony car) as the way things are going, so it’s something that it is at least trying to offer a semblance of enthusiast fun and not just a purely cynical cash grab. It’s disheartening this doesn’t seem in the same vein.
The plaid seats idea is genius BTW. I think some of the Broncos offer those, right?
Looks like the Heritage Edition, yeah. I like what Jack White did with his personal Bronco a bit more, but anything beyond plain black is a plus.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpsttlUuk5E/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=8529fd44-153d-44f0-8ae3-e475d20f3eaf&img_index=1
If I’m a car company CEO looking to rebadge an EV as one of my own, there’s not a chance in hell that any of the VW offerings are my first choice. If someone held a gun to my head and forced me to choose a VW, it’d be the Buzz.
Ford really holds no nameplate sacred, no matter how revered and storied. They seem to chose from the great Bingo Ball Cage of historic and trademarked names for the next badge engineered whatever-mobile that comes out.
What makes it more galling is that Ford seems to be choosing names of recent enough vintage that people can recall (and then contrast with) the originals.
I’m still amazed that Ford won’t bring the Galaxie name back for an EV. Evocative for an electric, and the amount of people alive who have vivid memories of the originals (who could then complain) seems fairly small.
I’m sure they will at some point. This is what, like the 3rd or 4th EV they’ve made? They still have plenty of time.