Ford Capri Review (2024-present)
Ford Capri cars for sale
4.0
Expert review
Pros
Enjoyable to drive
Massively spacious
Generous standard equipment
Cons
Some ergonomic quirks
Heat pump costs extra
No vehicle-to-load functionality
The CarGurus verdict
Ford may be using its impressive catalogue of heritage models to shine a spotlight on its new electric cars, but many will argue that the Capri badge is misplaced for a family SUV. If Ford had badged this car 'Sierra' or 'Mondeo', it'd be much more reflective of what it actually is.
Anyway, if we forget about the naming awkwardness of the Capri, this is actually a decent electric family SUV. It’s peachy to drive, huge inside, very well equipped and has a battery size to suit every buyer. It’s not cheap, and there are some irritations: including the touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons, the fact that a heat pump is a pricey option, there’s no V2L, and same may find the ride comfort too firm for a family-oriented car. But if you’re okay with all of that, and can get a good deal, then the Capri is a fine all-rounder.
What is the Ford Capri?
The new Ford Capri is the latest electric vehicle to join Ford’s lineup, sitting above the Ford Explorer and below the Ford Mustang Mach-E. The Capri has arrived very soon after the Ford Explorer, and both share the same platform, batteries, infotainment and dash layout. Basically, the Capri is the coupe SUV version of the Explorer, although at 4.63m long it’s a touch longer, so actually has a bigger boot.
That means that the Capri gets the same 52-, 77- or 79kWh lithium-ion NMC batteries as the Explorer, complete with an official WLTP range of between 250 and 389 miles provided you go for one of the single-motor, rear-wheel-drive models.
If you want all-wheel drive, you have to go for the 79kWh battery, which gets loads of power and a WLTP range of 367 miles.
The new car plays rival to all sorts of other electric SUVs and crossovers, including the Tesla Model Y, Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Renault Scenic E-Tech, Peugeot E-3008, Vauxhall Grandland Electric, Mini Countryman, Skoda Enyaq Coupe, VW ID.5 and more. In fact, talking of the Enyaq and ID.5, it’s worth pointing out that the Ford Capri (and Explorer) share the same MEB platform that underpins Volkswagen’s electric cars. The Capri has even inherited some familiar VW switchgear in the cabin.
It doesn’t look like anything from Volkswagen’s automotive stable, though, as Ford has obviously given the Capri its own treatment. Smooth surfacing, a somewhat Polestar 2-like roofline, and various cues that Ford will tell you hark back to the original Capri (‘the legend is back’, according to Ford...). It looks slick, and it looks a bit like a Ford Explorer, but does it look like a Capri? Even a modern reimagining of a Capri? Not sure about that, but it feels like a bit of a missed opportunity that the Capri isn’t a bit more striking, and doesn’t take more from its namesake.
How practical is it?
The Capri is remarkably practical. It’s a bit longer than the Explorer, and that’s paid off with a huge, 567 litres of boot space, which is virtually on a par with the Skoda Enyaq, and that car remains one of our favourite electric family SUVs (in part thanks to its hugely spacious cabin and general practicality). There’s also a useful variable-height floor that creates some underfloor storage for your cables, plus there’s a through-loading hatch in the back seats, which split and fold in a 60/40 divide.
There’s tons of passenger space in the rear seats, too, plus charging ports and vents, a centre armrest and a flat floor that gives an airy feel and plenty of foot space, even for a middle seat occupant.
Up front, the Capri’s dashboard is taken from the Explorer, which is no bad thing. It means that you get the large, portrait, Ford SYNC Move touchscreen, which tilts to reveal a lockable storage space beneath, and to help avoid any glare on a sunny day. The materials all feel dense and good quality, and the dash design is simple but clean. There’s a decent driving position, too, with plenty of adjustability, particularly for the driver’s seat.
Visibility to the rear isn’t great, though, as the rear window is fairly narrow and the three headrests on the back seats cut into your view further. Other annoying aspects include the air-con temperature controls that are in the touchscreen, and the haptic touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel are particularly infuriating as they’re too easy to hit by accident.
What’s it like to drive?
The Capri is really enjoyable to drive. It gels well on a good road, steering keenly without feeling nervous, and controls its body movement well. In short, it’s neat and tidy, and more than fast enough.
Even the single-motor, 77kWh model that offers the longest range manages a 0-62mph sprint time of 6.2 seconds courtesy of a 282bhp electric motor driving the rear wheels. The dual-motor, 79kWh model is the sportiest of the range and offers a hot hatch-rivalling 0-62mph time of 5.3 seconds thanks to its 335bhp. Not enough to impress Tesla fans, of course, but we spent time in the Ford Capri AWD on our test drive event, and it is seriously rapid, and good fun on a twisty road.
Not as keen as a sports car, of course, and we’d also say that the Kia EV6 and MINI Countryman are a fraction sharper and more enthusiastic. But the Capri is peachy to drive, and it’s fairly comfortable, too. The ride is firm but well-damped, so you’ll be aware of a poor road surface, but it doesn’t get jarring. However, a Skoda Enyaq or Renault Scenic E-Tech will be a comfier family EV, if that’s more of a priority.
Ultimately, the Capri is one of the better electric family cars to drive, but it’s not what many will expect of a car wearing the Capri badge.
Technology, equipment & infotainment
The Capri has got loads of equipment: Ford will tell you that it’s equivalent to some £3,000 of kit over equivalent rivals at the same price. Even the entry-level Select model gets standard keyless entry, massage seats, heated seats and steering wheel, wireless phone charging, 19-inch alloy wheels and reversing camera.
Also standard is a 14.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system with over-the-air updates, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and nav software that can find and factor in your charging stops. The system uses Ford’s own software, rather than adopting what's in VW's electric models. It’s not bad at all, with decent graphics and a useful homepage with configurable shortcut buttons so that you can set the one-press menus that you use most often. Even so, there are some weird frustrations, like the fact that you have to manually go back to the home or nav screen after you’ve changed a drive mode or accessed the full climate control menu.
The Capri Premium is the top-spec model, and adds fully-adaptive Matrix LED headlights, Bang and Olufsen multi-speaker sound system, 20-inch alloy wheels, adjustable ambient lighting and various styling upgrades.
Every Capri gets an abundance of safety systems including adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, and even a system that tells you if there’s a cyclist or car approaching when you’re about to open your car door.
What is annoying is that a heat pump – which is an efficiency-boosting bit of tech that improves your driving range in winter – is an expensive option.
Ford Capri running costs
The shorter range 52kWh Ford Capri starts at around £42,000, while the 77kWh model that most will want comes in at close to £48,000: or over £50,000 if you want the Premium model. Going for the sporty AWD Capri will push the price up again.
These prices are competitive with some rivals, like the Tesla Model Y, Kia EV6 and Peugeot E-3008, but the Ford Capri is quite expensive next to alternatives like the Renault Scenic, which is a bit smaller and doesn’t have as big a boot, but you can have it with a 380-mile range for the same price as the 250-mile range Ford Capri.
A full charge from a home wallbox will cost roughly £17 for the 77kWh Capri, depending on your home tariff, working out at roughly 6p per mile with a real-world range of 300 miles.
If you exclusively charge up using cheaper overnight tariffs then that price can drop to less than £7, for costs of just 2p per mile.
Public rapid charging is much more expensive (although prices vary dramatically depending on the charge provider) and can even make an electric car more expensive to ‘fuel’ than an equivalent petrol or diesel car.
For some context, a petrol car doing 40mpg will cost around 15-18p per mile, or a diesel doing 55mpg will be around 11–14p per mile.
Ford Capri reliability
It’s difficult to judge the Capri’s reliability as it’s so new, but other cars based on the same MEB platform and hardware have proven reliable overall, albeit prone to software glitches. Given that the Ford has its own touchscreen software, we’ll have to wait and see regarding the Explorer and Capri’s reliability.
Ford as an overall brand (so, factoring all of its petrol and diesel cars as well as electric models) was rated a reasonable 14th for reliability, out of 31 brands surveyed in the 2024 What Car? Reliability survey.
Unfortunately, the Capri comes with a rather underwhelming standard warranty of three years and 60,000 miles, which may be industry standard but is overshadowed by the much longer standard warranties offered by Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, MG and Peugeot. The Ford Capri’s high voltage battery is covered by an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty.
- The 79kWh Capri Extended Range AWD gets a peak DC rapid charging rate of 185kW, so you’ll get a 10-80% charge in 26 minutes. The rest of the range has peak charging speeds of 135kW, and will take around 30-40 minutes for a 10-80% charge.
- The Capri has a CCS and Type 2 charging socket in the rear wing of the car. They’re the European standard socket-types, and are compatible with almost all public chargers in the UK and Europe.
- Unfortunately, there’s no word on Ford bringing vehicle-to-load (V2L) technology to its EVs any time soon. This is a nifty feature that allows you to charge any electric device from an EV’s high voltage battery pack, via a three-pin socket. Kia, Hyundai and MG have all offered V2L for many years, so it does feel like it’s about time that the rest of the industry caught up.
- If you want the best value: Stick with the Capri Select, but what battery you should go for is really up to your lifestyle. Don’t discount the 52kWh model that’s arriving a while after the bigger battery models, as it’s usefully cheaper and the 250-mile range will be more than enough for most. The majority of buyers will go for the 77kWh Extended Range as it gets the full 389-mile claimed range.
- If you want the best company car: We’d still stick with the Select model, given how well equipped it is, but go for the 77kWh battery and add the heat pump and a few other choice options so that you’re covered for longer miles in comfort.
- If you want the best high mileage commuter: As above! Sticking with Select trim brings smaller alloy wheels, so it’s the best trim to go for if range is a real priority. You could consider the 79kWh AWD Extended Range; it gets that very gutsy performance and a WLTP range of 367 miles (22 miles less than the RWD Extended Range), but also the highest charging speeds, which can be more important if you’re going to be regularly charging on the go.
- If you want the best family car: The Premium could be worth it, as it gets a panoramic glass roof that brightens up the cabin. It’s a lot of cash, though, and the Capri Select will still be a very spacious, comfortable family car even if you don’t add any options.
