WHEN it was launched back in 1969, the Ford Capri was billed as “the car you always promised yourself”: the motoring public agreed, and the long-bonnet sports coupe became an automotive icon of the 1970s and 80s - an attainable dream car for the working man, with a trim level to suit every budget.
Now, after endless online speculation and enthusiastic homemade digital renderings of what a 21st century Capri might look like, the Ford’s much-loved ‘European muscle car’ is finally back in production for the first time in almost 40 years.
However, despite Ford crowing that “the legend returns” and making bold statements like “the new Capri is rebellious to the core” and that it is “exactly how the iconic sports coupe would have evolved had it stayed in continuous production”, the car they presented us with at last week’s launch (with an unexpected assist from an ad campaign fronted, somewhat bizarrely, by Eric Cantona) bears little resemblance to the sleek, sporty motor your dad probably still gets misty-eyed over.
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
Ford may have thought it got a rough ride from petrolheads over besmirching the Mustang’s pony car credentials with its all-electric Mach-E crossover – actually a decent car once you start driving it and thus no longer have to look at that thoroughly unappealing exterior design – but the immediate and vociferous backlash it has received over the new Capri has been next level.
Why is everyone annoyed? Well, where to begin? Let’s start with the name: Capri was originally a two-door model, which gained a hatchback with its mid-70s update as Capri II and was consistently marketed as a practical yet fun sports coupe right up until its demise in 1986.
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A FAMILY AFFAIR
Instead, the new Capri is a five-door model with a cavernous 520-litre boot, which may remind those of a certain age of the Ford Granada mk3, the blue oval’s premium sedan for the executive class family man of the 1980s. If only they’d decided to revive the Granada name instead – or even its successor, the Scorpio.
Of course, neither of those badges come with the same kind of cache as Capri. It’s a shame, then, Ford seem to have pretty much completely ignored every aspect of the Capri’s history when designing the new version, and the idea that the original cars would have eventually “evolved” into what they’ve come up with is as depressing as it is laughable.
SHARING IS CARING
Rather than copy the winning Mustang-inspired formula which made the original such a hit - perhaps because it’s now actually available in UK-spec right hand drive form anyway - the new Capri attempts to be all things to all men with its awkward, some might argue paradoxical, ‘crossover’ coupe SUV pretensions.
Like its SUV sister the Ford Explorer, the new Capri is basically a Volkswagen ID 4 beneath its Ford bits, as the two companies share VW’s MEB platform and powertrains for cost-cutting reasons. Indeed, it actually looks quite similar to the Explorer, and with good reason: the two models share a variety of parts, including doors and wing mirrors.
That’s the main reason why this new Capri is more SUV than coupe. OK, Ford have made a half-hearted effort to include the signature C-shaped curve of the original’s rear windows, but gone is the even more iconic long bonnet under which you could spec everything from an underpowered and viciously frugal 1.3-litre engine to a throbbing, understeer-provoking 3.0-litre V6 lump - the South Africans even got a proper V8, courtesy of the privately converted and officially Ford sanctioned Perana model.
SHE’S ELECTRIC
By contrast, the new Capri has a snub nose, with a current choice of just two electric drivetrains: either a 282bhp single motor driving the rear wheels, which can shift from 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds, or a dual motor all-wheel-drive unit putting out 335bhp that can do the 0-62 sprint in 5.3 seconds.
Both are powered by Ford’s 77kwh ‘Extended Range’ battery pack which promises up to 370 miles of range (WLTP combined) in the rear-wheel drive car: the all-wheel drive version has a reduced combined range of 346 miles at the expense of that extra, towing-friendly torque.
Top speed of both varients is 111mph, slower than the big engined Capris back in the day – another let down.
HELLO DARKNESS
As with the Mustang Mach-E, things aren’t quite so bad inside the Capri: it actually looks pretty decent in there, being pretty much identical to the comfortable and cavernous Explorer, including that nifty tilting central touchscreen now featuring a refined Ford-tweaked user interface which hides its VW roots even better than before.
It’s just a shame the same can’t be said for the awful VW-made haptic switchgear on the steering wheel.
However, the Capri does at least get its own model-specific sports seats, which look pretty cool - particularly the half-leather versions with cloth inserts, which feature a ‘deckchair’ style stripe strikingly similar to the Cadiz interiors found in the original Capri S models of the 1970s.
An abundance of black surfaces including the headliner means it’s pretty dark in there, so you’ll be wanting the fixed panoramic glass roof to allow a little extra light into the cabin – but brace yourself, because it’s going to cost you.
WHAT’S THE DAMAGE?
The pricing of the new Capri is another big bugbear: it currently starts at a whopping £48k on the road for the entry level Select model in standard Frozen White with zero options ticked.
While a cheaper 55kwh-battery powered option is promised for later in the year, even it is set to start at £42k.
Yep, gone are the days of there being a Capri to suit every budget.
Indeed, should you want one that looks like the Vivid Yellow car featured in the pictures on these pages and indeed in the Ford promo video alongside Mr Cantona, you’ll be paying a shade under £54k for a Premium edition model with optional 21-inch alloys (yours for a mere £1,000).
For reference, a bare-bones new Ford Mustang GT will set you back a just shade under £56k - but at least it’s a proper sports car.
Those are the only Capri trims available, the Premium being the equivalent of the old ‘luxury’ Ghia spec and featuring desirable goodies like full ‘Sensico’ leather seats, Matrix LED headlights, powered hands-free tailgate and a 10-speaker B&O sound system.
However, even the Select cars come pretty loaded with extras – you didn’t get heated seats with massage functionality in the base models of old, that’s for sure.
Tick every optional extra box – Driver Assistance pack (£1,300), Heat Pump (£1,050), Retractable tow bar (£900), rear doggie barrier (£90) – and you’ll be paying over £61k.
Far be it for me to suggest spending a third of that on a mint condition ‘proper’ Capri and putting the rest towards a nice second-hand Explorer, but I know where my money would be going.
AT A GLANCE
Capri Select 77kwh
- Cost (OTR): £48,075
- Drivetrain: 77kwh ‘Extended Range’ battery pack, single electric motor, rear-wheel drive
- Power output: 282bhp
- 0-62mph: 6.4 seconds
- Maximum speed: 111mph
- Electric range: 370 miles (WLTP combined) / 289 miles (WLTP motorway)
- Estimated delivery time: 16 weeks
