Right, let’s address the elephant in the room. The Ford Capri should be a coupe. Two doors, sleek lines, the kind of car you’d see cruising down a coast road with the sun setting behind it. Not a four-door family hatchback. But you know what? I’m going to let that go.

I tested this car earlier in the year and wasn’t particularly impressed, but coming back to it with fresh eyes has completely changed my mind. Sometimes you need that second look, and the Capri definitely deserves one.

Simple but effective

The touchscreen is brilliant – a portrait-oriented display that actually works. Maps take up the top section, with audio, charging info and phone controls below. What’s clever is a button at the bottom that lets you tilt the whole screen up, revealing a genuinely useful hidden storage compartment behind it. Pull it back down and it sits flush with the dash. Simple but effective.

There’s wireless charging, a heads-up display, and a wonderfully minimal screen in front of the driver – maybe eight inches by three and a half – showing just speed, cruise control and essential safety bits.

The fully electric seats have a good range of adjustment, and there are some nice retro touches: the flat-bottomed steering wheel has a central spike at the bottom with machined holes that echo the style of the original Capri. It’s a small detail, but I liked it.

Power... Drop your foot and you are pushed back in your seat nicely, and the ride quality is surprisingly good on roads that had been harsh in other test cars. There’s a little body roll in hard corners, but nothing excessive – I wouldn’t have noticed if I wasn’t looking for it.

250 miles on a charge

Range-wise, this test car was showing 82% charge with 242 miles available. Add that 20% back on and you’re pushing 300 miles on paper. Realistically? You’ll easily get 250, even if you’re not being gentle. That’s four hours of driving, which is perfectly reasonable.

The interior is functional. Lots of hard plastics – quality ones, mind you – but it’s not luxurious in the traditional sense. Then again, the original Capri wasn’t either. It was advanced for its day but never pretended to be a luxury car. The seats are comfortable with decent side support, and there are a few nice carbon fibre touches on the centre console.

This test car was bright yellow – seriously bright, sunshine yellow – which, combined with the massive panoramic roof running front to back with no bars, floods the cabin with light. It’s a lot of yellow, though. I probably wouldn’t buy it in this colour, but it does look good.

Heritage matters more than strict definitions

So, back to it not being a coupe. Here’s the thing: if you ignore everything below the halfway point on the doors, the upper profile is actually quite coupe-like. Ford reused the Puma name years ago and I forgave them. I’ve decided to forgive the Capri name too. Things change. Heritage matters more than strict definitions. Apart from with the Mustang Mach-E.

The Capri was worth a second look. My first impressions weren’t accurate, and I’m genuinely glad I drove it again.



Toby Aiken is a copywriter and marketer with more than 18 years' experience writing for many different topics. A self-proclaimed petrol head, he loves all things automotive, and keeps an ever-changing five-car dream garage in his head at all times. While that line-up will always include at least one EV, he is a die-hard fan of a V8.