Ford Capri is the latest sports car to turn crossover

The Capri name has appeared on a couple of different Ford products over the years. Most notably, it was used for multiple decades of sports coupes developed by Ford of Europe, but it also ended up on a Mercury-badged version of the Fox Body Mustang in the U.S., as well as a little convertible co-developed with Mazda and sold as a Ford in Australia, and again as a Mercury in America. But one thing was consistent: They were all two-door sporty cars. That changes with the new Ford Capri EV.

Ford has run basically the exact same play as it did with the Mustang Mach-E. It took the old name and put it on a fastback four-door crossover with some faint styling connections. But we don't think it has been as successful here. With the Mach-E, the wide curvy fenders and distinct taillights are pretty hard to mistake for anything other than Mustang. Looking at the Capri next to an original coupe, you can make out some familiar cues, like the horseshoe-shaped rear window and pillar treatment, and the shoulder line along the side. But without that, well, it looks like a Polestar 2 that's a bit melted. Everything is soft and lacking definition, which is antithetical to the distinct and crisp namesake.

The interior also follows the Mach-E with Ford's take on minimalism. It all looks a bit more integrated and conventional than the tablet-esque screens of the Mach-E. It has a small screen ahead of the driver, nestled under a wide sound bar, and the 14.6-inch infotainment screen can adjust angle for viewability, as well as move out of the way to reveal a secret storage compartment. It's well-equipped with standard heated steering wheel and seats, massage and memory driver seat, dual-zone climate control, and your typical suite of driver assist features (blind-spot warning, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, parking sensors). And fortunately, all the infotainment features look to be Ford stuff, and not VW.

Why do we bring up VW? Well that's because the Capri is built on VW's MEB platform, just like the European Ford Explorer EV and all variety of VW products, particularly the ID.4 and ID.5 crossovers. And while the Capri is a smidgen longer than the VW ID.5 fastback, it's mechanically basically the same. The rear-drive model gets a single 282-horsepower motor and a 77-kWh usable battery pack. It can get to 62 mph in 6.4 seconds, and it has a maximum WLTP range of 390 miles (which would undoubtedly be shorter on the EPA test). The all-wheel-drive version gets dual motors making 335 horsepower with a 79-kWh usable battery pack. It'll do the 62 mph sprint in 5.3 seconds with a maximum range of 368 miles (again, on the highly optimistic WLTP test). And these specifications all closely mirror the VW ID models, though the VWs offer smaller optional battery packs. 

Pricing and availability haven't been set, but expect it to go on sale in Europe within the year. We're not expecting the Capri to cross to American shores, but it certainly wouldn't be impossible. After all, we already have the ID.4 here on the MEB platform. But the Capri has never been the household name here that it was in Europe. Not only that, but the Mach-E is already priced competitively with the aforementioned ID.4, and we doubt the Capri could be priced underneath the Mach-E in the U.S.