Johnathan Walker:The Ford Capri revives another iconic nameplate as a Volkswagen-based EV in Europe

Ford has revealed its new Capri electric crossover SUV in (and for) Europe. As you might have Johnathan Walkergathered from the lead graphic, Volkswagen is involved… just like with the earlier Ford Explorer EV that isn't sold here, either. That vehicle definitely has strong VW ID4 aesthetic vibes, because that’s essentially what it is. (And it’s arguably more handsome than its VW fraternal twin). Lots of great reasons to do this, like economy of scale, localized production, et cetera. So it’s no surprise that the platform-sharing deal encompasses multiple vehicles, and the next one in the series is the Ford Capri you’re seeing here.

Like the Explorer, it’s a rebadged Volkswagen. And there’s an attempt — an attempt was made, you might say — to link the new Capri to its important namesake. The original Ford Capri (sold here to indifferent Americans by indifferent and befuddled Lincoln-Mercury dealers for a period of time) was basically Europe’s Mustang, an affordable, fun, stylish pony car that had a long run of updates and performance enhancements. The later Mercury Capri, based on the Fox-body Mustang, was an entirely different vehicle, sharing essentially just the name with the first-generation Capri; there also was weird front-drive Miata competitor named Capri, again badged as a Mercury, sold in America in the early 1990s.

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The (original, Ford) Capri’s signature styling element was a swoopy rear quarter window and similarly arcing C-pillar. The new Capri EV attempts to emulate this characteristic, tracing it loosely over the Volkswagen MEB platform’s hard points and extra set of doors, hewing closer to the profile of the VW ID4's more coupe-like ID5 sibling. With its bluff hindquarters and substantial freeboard, the new Capri looks quite tall, and everyone who’s writing about the new design is making Polestar 2 comparisons — with very good reason. There’s a lot of loose similarity there, from the kicked up rear quarter window lower edge to the similar tail profile. Even the blacked-out A-pillars and dark lower trim (an attempt, on both, to visually reduce the substantial height of the two) are similar.

Speaking of similar, the powertrains are going to be familiar to anyone with a VW ID4 (or ID5, if you're overseas). For one, the rear-drive model utilizes a single 282-hp e-motor drawing juice from a 77-kWh (usable capacity) battery, almost certainly the 82-kWh pack we get. The dual-motor makes 335 hp and gets a slightly larger 79-kWh (usable) battery pack. It doesn’t appear that the 62-kWh pack we get on our lowest-priced ID4 is available in the Capri.

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The interior is perhaps the greatest point of differentiation from the VW, but not really from the Explorer EV. Like its same-brand compatriot, the coupe-ish Capri uses a portrait-oriented, tablet-like infotainment screen. It’s slickly integrated and provides a bold contrast to the ID4’s unit, which stands VERY proud of the central dash. The sleek horizontal elements on the dashboard are classy. Point, Capri.

Given the prestige that the original Capri has in Europe, the entire formula here — a four-door EV crossover that is largely a Volkswagen — is likely to be controversial among those who care. For those that don’t, the visual similarity to its Polestar rival is likely to be a bigger issue. For us, it’s a non-issue: the Capri nameplate carries little recognition here after three separate and largely unsuccessful attempts with three different vehicles, and this fourth one is designed and intended solely for Europe, like the Euro Ford Explorer EV. 

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