Ford Capri

Despite the classic name and retro details, the new Capri is a thoroughly modern EV On sale Late 2024 Price from £48,075

- Steve Huntingford

IF NETFLIX HAD stuck with its original business model of sending DVDs through the post, it's safe to say it wouldn't have survived - let alone become a $670 billion company. And, similarly, as popular as the Ford Capri was in the 1970s and early '80s, it's hard to imagine a car like that being successful today, given how few people now buy traditional coupés.

That explains why Ford was never going to build one of those when it decided to revive the Capri name. Instead, it's created a coupé SUV that provides the sort of elevated driving position that so many car buyers love today.

It's perhaps a little disappointing that the finished product looks more like a Polestar 2 than a Ford when viewed from the side. However, the designers clearly took inspiration from classic Capris when they were shaping the headlights and side windows.

As for what lies beneath the skin, here the new car borrows heavily from the Ford Explorer electric SUV - and, by extension, a host of Volkswagens. You see, a few years back, Ford signed a deal that gave it access to VW's electric car mechanicals, with the Explorer and Capri the first and second Fords to use these.