New Ford Capri Coming Soon: Specs, price and release info

Tumultuous times at Ford as it moves away from its traditional core products like Fiesta and Focus to embrace electrification and collaboration with VW on key models like the Transit and new Explorer. And into this mix lands the all-new electric Capri, Ford repurposing an iconic name from the past in a curious move that will simultaneously infuriate purists who remember the original so fondly while meaning nothing whatsoever to those who don’t. Emotional baggage aside exactly what is the new Capri and where does it fit into Ford’s overhauled range?
• We’ll have to see when prices are confirmed but it looks like the Capri slots in beneath the new Explorer • Big central screen hides My Private Locker storage for your phones while coupe styling supposedly celebrates the classic Capri • Big promises on range, with the standard rear-wheel drive version claiming 389 miles and even the all-wheel drive one supposedly capable of 368 miles • Standard Capri has 286 horsepower and is good for 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds while the all-wheel drive Premium has 340 horsepower and slashes the time to just 5.3 seconds • No release date yet but it won’t be far off • Pricing also to be confirmed

Think of the Capri as Ford doing what it did with the Mustang Mach-E, which is to say reimagining an iconic sporting coupe from the past into an electrified SUV crossover for the future. In that sense it’s history repeating itself, given the original Capri was always considered Ford’s European equivalent to the all-American Mustang and shared its working class hero status as an attainable sporting coupe anyone could afford. And so it is again, the new Capri designed for European tastes but very much following the tyre tracks of its Mustang big brother. In styling terms that translates to a coupe-backed crossover with a sloping roofline celebrating the original, the slit-like black grille and quad headlamps another cue carried over from times past. Beyond that it’s a very modern car, though, the raised ride height concealing the batteries in the floor in the usual way and claims that this would be the Capri Ford would be making now anyway if production hadn’t stopped in the 80s the hook on which the whole project hangs. Or, at least, the justification to those less happy that such a legendary heritage has been recycled in such a manner.

In new-school Ford style the interior is dominated by a giant, vertically orientated touch-screen between the driver and front-seat passenger that you can adjust the angle of to fine tune your view and access the hidden My Private Locker storage cubby behind. A smaller digital instrument gauge sits behind the steering wheel, buttons notable by their absence other than for the bare essentials. In the rear a flat floor should help make all three seats usable, though having sat in the back the sloping roofline does limit headroom for adults. It also has an impact on boot space, the load area long but a little shallow. The tech powering the screen is the familiar Sync system seen in other Fords, with wireless support and charging for your phone whether it be Android or Apple. Even the standard model gets heating for the steering wheel and seats, the driver also getting a massage function. The standard stereo uses a soundbar in the dash while upgrading to Premium gets you a 10-speaker B&O system along with a panoramic roof, ambient lighting and more. Curiously a range improving heat pump is an option, and not standard.

Just two options here, which help keep things simple! Based on VW’s shared electrical platform, the Capri is but one degree of separation from the ID.4 (and others) and the standard version uses a familiar single-motor set-up with 286 horsepower and a 77kWh battery good for a claimed 389 miles. The more powerful Capri Premium has 340 horsepower from its twin-motor, all-wheel drive set-up and claims 368 miles by the official WLTP test. At a suitably powerful public charger you’ll top up at a rate of 135kW in the standard car and 185kW in the Premium, which should keep charging stops on longer journeys manageable where the infrastructure is there to support it.

Pricing and an on sale date are to be confirmed – watch this space for updates!

With the Mustang Mach-E, Explorer and now Capri in play Ford has bases covered in the mid-size electric crossover and SUV markets but with new players moving into the space once dominated by the Fiesta and the Focus on borrowed time Ford needs something to reclaim its position as a big volume player in the affordable space.

Pretty much everything! Mid-size crossovers and SUVs are the dominant format as manufacturers electrify and Ford is up against an ever growing number of rivals, both from established players like VW, Skoda, Audi and Cupra from which the Capri takes its tech and the likes of Tesla and the many and various Chinese brands entering the market.