2025 Ford Capri Review: The Name Is Its Most Interesting Feature

How are we all feeling now we’ve had time to process the Ford Capri being an electric crossover? Of course, here in the UK, that name has a storied history of some of the most desirable everyman’s coupes to come out of the 20th century.

With years of rumours of a return coming to fruition, any sort of comeback would’ve been a pretty seismic moment. When it turned out to be a VW-based electric crossover though, the reaction was inevitable.

You probably have a strong opinion on it. It seems most of the internet hates it, and we won’t necessarily disagree. Equally though, we can understand the reasons Ford has chosen to go with it.

There is the point about them not having to mess around with the cost and effort of a new trademark, and people who otherwise couldn’t tell you a Focus from a Fiesta might have actually heard of a Capri, so it’s an easier sell.

Although Ford probably won’t publicly say it, the probable biggest factor is knowing the reaction it would get. After all, what better way to get people to talk about your new product by branding it in a way that goes against everything it stands for?

It’s an interesting point of discussion at least, anyway. But what about that car behind it: is it interesting enough to be more than its name?

On the face of it, not really. What we have here is another VW MEB platform-utilising car wearing a Ford badge. In effect, the Capri is the bones of the Ford Explorer wearing a slightly swoopier body and with a bigger boot. It may not surprise you to learn that from therein, the story is mostly the same behind the wheel.

Hop inside and there’s nothing outlandish about the Capri to suggest it’s trying to be unconventional. The interior feels functional, nicely put together and there’s lots of extra storage space, but it’s on the whole pretty uninspiring. Two additional holes on the third spoke of the steering wheel aren’t enough to change its character.

Like the Explorer, it carries over VW’s instrument cluster but replaces a naff infotainment system with a vertically-set display using Ford’s Sync software. This is generally a good thing – Sync runs smoothly and is quite user friendly for most things – but too many controls are buried in there.

Climate control is a particular gripe to faff about it with, as are the over-intrusive safety systems like a speed warning that often gets the limits of the road wrong, which is then turned back on whenever you restart the car, buried within two menus. That last system isn’t Ford’s fault, given EU regulations now mandate it, but physical buttons to make the process easier would be wonderful.

Despite the sloped roofline, the Capri doesn’t feel robbed of headroom compared with the Explorer – largely down to a 200mm longer overall length which helps absorb some of that impact. There’s still loads of legroom too, not something you’d say for an original Capri…

It also gets more boot space because of that length – with 572 litres compared with the Explorer’s 543 litres – which is enough alone to recommend it over the boxier stablemate.

Yet, the name Ford Capri wouldn’t normally have you thinking about practically, functionality, keeping the kids happy. It was meant to be a driver’s car, one that felt as exciting to be behind the wheel of as it looked. Unsurprisingly, the electric SUV follow-up doesn’t capture any of that.

It’s a quick thing off the mark in Premium AWD guise as tested. A dual-motor setup gives you 335bhp and 501lb ft of torque to call upon, quoted as cracking 0-62mph in 5.3 seconds.

That’s amusing for about three pumps of the throttle, and then you’ll quickly get bored of that. Cornering isn’t going to enlighten things – it’s no sportier-feeling than the Explorer despite the name, so it’s a similar story. It’s composed enough not to feel horrible but there’s still a little bit of body roll, you feel quite disconnected from what’s going on with the front axle and there’s no sound to get you going.

Forgivable on the Explorer, slightly less so on the Capri. A little bit of sportiness, even by way of fake 2.8 Injection noises, might’ve worked well to win over some doubters.

Granted, there’s only so much engineers can do to counteract a near 2.2-tonne kerbweight.

In normal driving, it’s absolutely fine. It’s not the last word in comfort, but it doesn’t ride overtly harshly, visibility is generally decent except out of the back, but that’s the case with most electric crossovers and cameras help counter that. You’ll be able to park it no easier or trickier than anything else its size, and there’s nothing inherently bad about how it goes about its business.

It doesn’t really throw up range concerns with a quoted 346 miles from its 77kWh net capacity battery, which you’ll realistically get 300 out of. That isn’t exactly mind-blowing, either.

We’d take one over an Explorer simply because they drive almost identical, but the Capri has a slightly bigger boot. You will have to stump up quite a hefty bit of cash for one though – prices start at £42,075 with this top-spec, well-optioned press car listed at £60,325. That’s about £2-3k across the board more than a car it’s largely the same as.

The biggest problem with the Ford Capri is its name, and it’s not for the reason you think. Calling it a Capri makes for an interesting talking point, which is just about the only interesting thing about it at all.