Ford revives its iconic Capri as an EV
Capri has borrowed some styling elements from the Explorer, such as body panels, the bonnet, front fenders, and doors.
Ford claimed ‘the legend is back’ when they introduced the new all-electric Ford Capri earlier this year, rewired for the EV generation. Ford believed the nameplate would bring back fond memories among older car buffs for the iconic two-door sporty coupe launched back in 1968 as an affordable car which went on to become a motoring icon by the end of production in 1986, by which time over 1.8 million were produced.
New Capri was engineered in Europe for European drivers. The model is based on the Volkswagen Group MEB platform used by other EVs from Volkswagen and other brands within the VW group, including ID.4 and ID.5, and Skoda Enyaq Coupe, as well as Ford’s Explorer EV. Capri also uses Volkswagen-supplied batteries.
This model is longer (wheelbase 2767mm), wider, and higher than Explorer. For me, the somewhat bland styling doesn’t make the car stand out from the crowd despite its coupe-like styling, but the eye-popping Vivid Yellow exterior colour of my review car certainly stood out. The large 20-inch alloys looked quite spectacular and added their own pizazz to the car.
Capri has borrowed some styling elements from the Explorer, such as body panels, the bonnet, front fenders, and doors. Look hard, and you will also note some heritage features from the former Capri.
The interior is spacious, well-finished, and luxurious with a minimalist and digital feel. The quality of the design and finish is top-class. Synthetic leather front seats look good and have integrated headrests. Front seats can be heated. My driver’s seat had 12-way power adjustments and included a massage function, lumbar support, and three memory settings.
A panoramic glass sunroof added even more light into the cabin.
The dash is dominated by a big 14.6-inch touchscreen with excellent graphics, connected navigation, and is compatible with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Much of the technology is shared with the Explorer, which I’d already test-driven. But there aren’t enough physical buttons for key controls. Push up this big touchscreen to reveal a lockable storage space with USB ports. A wireless mobile phone charger is standard.
You can customise the 5-inch instrument cluster, but why bother when you can see your current speed and directions at eye level on the good Head-Up display on the windscreen? There’s very good visibility out front and sides, but my rear view was somewhat restricted by the narrow rear window. There are, however, excellent blindspot monitors and parking sensors.
Cubbies include a 17-litre MegaConsole centre storage area, good front door bins, a cavern below the large front armrest, and a smallish glovebox.
The slope of the roofline may pose a problem for taller people in the back, but they’ll have good legroom and no tunnel to manoeuvre feet around. The middle seat back lowers as an armrest with two big cupholders.
With a power tailgate, luggage space is up to 572 litres, and there’s a foldable boot floor.
The entry-level gets 19-inch alloys, rear-view camera, while the Premium moves to 20-inch alloys, the B&O sound system - the soundbar speaker runs across the dash top, and hands-free tailgate, dual-zone climate control, heated folding door mirrors/steering wheel. Options include Active Park Assist, Lane Centring, and a 360-degree camera.
Just two trims of Select and Premium are offered and two electric powertrains — a 52kWh battery with rear-wheel drive standard range with a claimed range of 391km and a 77kWh battery option, available on both trims, with a claimed range of 627km on a single charge. You can DC fast charge the car from 10-80% in around 26 to 28 minutes. Home charging with an 11kW charger takes around seven hours for a full charge.
Ford’s engineers have certainly produced a car with a sporty drive that will appeal to many drivers. I enjoyed how well the car handled but found the steering quite light. Being an electric car, you get instant torque, smooth acceleration, and a mostly silent drive. The car’s ride height and roof height help provide a lower centre of gravity, which helps the coupe stay more level around corners.
Drive modes are Eco, Sport, Normal, and Individual. The Sport option makes the accelerator pedal more responsive, provides more steering feedback, and has been specially tuned for Capri to adjust electronic stability control. Time will tell if the new Capri EV will have the same appeal, but it would be very difficult for any car nowadays to reach the legendary status of that former Capri.
Capri EV was awarded a maximum five-star rating in crash tests by Euro NCAP. The car carries a three-year/100,000km warranty, which is not as good as some competitors.
PRICES: Pricing is from €45,798 for the entry Select RWD 52kWh standard range; the Premium RWD 77kWh extended range is from €50,990. Prices include Government subsidies.
