Uh-Oh, The New Ford Capri Is An Electric Crossover

It’s a risky business for a car maker to revive one of its beloved past nameplates and slap it on a car totally different to the original. Yes, nostalgia and heritage are powerful marketing tools, but you risk enraging some of your brand’s die-hards. Ford’s clearly willing to make that sacrifice, because it’s just unveiled this: the new Ford Capri.

Yep, a name once given to a brawny, working-class hero coupe with the option of a punchy V6 now sits on an electric crossover. Ford may want to limit its social media comments for a while.

The name’s going to inevitably define online discourse around this car, just as it did when the Mustang and Puma names were given to crossovers (potentially more so this time – at least the old-school Mustang remains on sale alongside the Mach-E, and the revived Puma offered a lot of fun in ST guise until it became a downsized, auto-only disappointment).

The thing is, it’s Ford’s name to do as it pleases with, and the slightly unfortunate truth is that there’s more money these days in sloping-roofed crossovers than fun, punchy sports cars. So that aside, what are we actually looking at here?

Like its close sibling, the Explorer, the Capri is based on Volkswagen’s MEB electric car platform. Where the Explorer is basically a VW ID4 with some butch, American-style looks, the Capri is an ID5 wearing a slightly retro, sporty suit.

As such, it comes with two powertrain options, both shared with the equivalent VW: a single-motor, rear-wheel drive version with 282bhp, or a dual-motor, four-wheel drive setup with 335bhp. The rear-drive car will accelerate to 62mph in 6.4 seconds, while the four-wheel drive one drops that to 5.3 seconds. Both get a limited 112mph max speed.

Unsurprisingly, opting for the more powerful car means sacrificing some range: the single-motor car will travel a quoted 390 miles on a charge, while the dual-motor version can manage 368 according to the official numbers. Both versions will charge from 10 to 80 per cent in under 30 minutes on a rapid charger.

Both drivetrains can be paired with one of two trim levels. The basic car, the Capri Select, gets standard heated front seats with a massage function for the driver, and a 14.6-inch portrait infotainment screen which can be slid up and down to suit driver preference and to reveal a hidden storage cubby.

The Capri Premium, meanwhile, throws in 20-inch wheels, a Bang & Olufsen sound system, and a few other niceties.

Right now, pricing kicks off at £48,075. Further down the line, less powerful, cheaper versions will arrive. Ford reckons the first cars will be with UK customers in mid-autumn this year.