Hey Zack, another outstanding review of one of my cars. This Capri was named "Misty" by one of its previous owners. We renamed it "Perry" as in Perry the Platypus because of its Australian roots and its color. Speaking of color, for some reason, digital photos and video show the car as blue rather than the Reef Green (blue-ish green) it is. The true color can be seen when you popped the hood. Since you drove it, I replaced the radiator which was leaking badly, with a very nice new aluminum unit. I will say, this Capri is tons of fun to just zip about, and I love it. Thanks again.
Oh hey! I used to own this exact car for an unfortunately brief time back in 2023, did a bunch of work to it like tires, wheel bearings, AC work, axles, trans service, shifter bushings, alignment, brakes and a lot more I was planning on doing but needed the funds for another project these things happen! These cars engineering wise are so strange and it was a real challenge to do some jobs. I’m so glad to see her out and enjoyed, also been watching this channel since it was at around 500 subs (from a different account, subbed here now too!) love seeing the channel grow, as someone also trying to do some automotive UA-cam the way the channel has evolved is awesome. OH AND THE SWITCH some previous owner before me and before the friend I had bought this car off of attempted to wire a Miata style winky switch for one of the lights but stupidly wired it to one of the running lights, when me and my gf figured that out we absolutely lost it laughing oh my god I was in tears.
Back in the day Ford/Mazda created a competition between the California based design studio and the Japanese counterpart. They were tasked to come up with a roadster. The California team developed a RWD model and the Japenese team came up with a FWD model based on the Mazda 323 platform. The RWD was all new and called Miata. Ford/Mazda saw enough of a niche to market the FWD model. They manufactured it in Australia and in the USA it was sold as Mercury Capri.
8:35 . That is so true. We definitely had so many options when it came to economy cars before 2000, to suit a wide range of budgets . 4 door sedan, 2 door coup or convertible, or station wagon. Power or manual windows/locks, automatic or manual transmission, AM/FM radio, AM/FM radio with cassette player, AM/FM radio with CD player, or AM/FM radio with cassette and CD player. Today's "affordable" under $30,000 vehicles you get one or maybe two engine options if you're lucky, with automatic transmission as only choice, as is the case with touchscreens and power windows/locks.
what I miss the most about older cars are transmission options and bold color options in and out. Interiors are specially predictable now that most of them are grayscale.
It was the late 80s, this car was about keeping the Sydney plant open that also assembled ford lasers. You were never going to get Falcons or territories, the union arrangements in America protect Thier workers, ford Australia had to fight every time to get a new model from the 80s on, we almost had ford replace the Falcon with the Taurus in 1997 but they were not suitable for Australia. Now ford sells 90% Rangers and the remainder the Everest, we have the transit but nothing else because bogans love dual cab shit box utes, and they are a tax write off due to so many people being businesses instead of employees.
@@harukinzaphod my guess is Ford was doing more than alright back in the early 90s, while Mercury needed some help over the last 2 decades before being phased out. Ford had a big lineup while Mercury didn't so this could've been the way they thought (along with the Villager and FWD Cougar) they could brush off some of their badge engineering image.
As a Ford Festiva owner, I love that you made a video on the Capri. There are a lot of similar parts shared between the two. The engine from this (and the Miata) are popular swaps into the Festiva, which was only offered with the B3 (1.3L) Mazda engine, but any B6 or B6T (1.6L/1.6L Turbo), or even the B8 (1.8L) will bolt right up to the Festiva transmission. The B8 immediately doubles the power figures, normally aspirated with only half a liter increase in displacement. If/when my stock B3 quits, she's getting upgraded to the B6T or B8 for sure... unless I go mad scientist with a 1.9 TDI swap 🫠
when I was doing part time job at a warehouse during high school, I met a sales agent who owned a Teal 93 Festiva. It was already 15 years old by the time I finished high school and I recall spotting the teal little car 10 years after that as I still pass around there on a semi-frequent basis. What I'm trying to say is many people didn't take care of these, but the few ones who did got hundreds of thousands of miles of good service.
My favorite taillights of any car ever. When I was a kid (in like 1997) my neighbor had a red one of these and I would just stare at the taillights fascinated by their strange waterfall shape
This car has Australian roots, Zack. Back then, as someone else commented, Ford had a controlling interest in Mazda, namely they were the majority shareholder. The Capri was developed and styled by Ford Australia, and as you rightly said, based on the Mazda Miata (known as the MX-5 in Australia). It was the only convertible Ford sold in Australia at the time. However, it wasn't successful, while the Miata MX-5 was a runaway success. In Australia, through the eighties and nineties, Ford sold many cars that were based on Mazda platforms, such as the Laser and Meteor, based on the Mazda 323, the Telstar and TX-5, based on the Mazda 626, and the Festiva, based on the Mazda 121. This was partly due to government policy in Australia at the time.
Hopefully fellow Capri owners will see this, and you might get a chance to drive an XR2. Nice example though you got to drive, it runs and drives woohooo! I hardly ever see these on the road.
I used to have a 91 XR2 Turbo Capri and absolutely loved that car for years until the engine took a dump. Always considered getting another one but the lack of replacement parts for these things is a deal breaker. Especially the window motors/regulators since they all break.
I had a couple of 91 XR2s for a combined 18 years. The turbo helped give it a little go. The way to use the back seat is as a 3 seater. Body on one side, legs on the other. Top was a bit of a pain though. I ended up trading mine in back in 2013 as I really wanted to take a cross country road trip, and doing it in a car that wasn't that common or on the market in the past 20 years seemed like it was asking to get stranded. And after 18 years, it was time for a change...
Love the cross between Mazda/Mercury/Ford. Reminds me of working on my old NC Miata. Even in 2008 you could find parts in the engine bay with the FoMoCo stamp!
I got to drive a Capri around for a long weekend back in the 90s, and it was really fun to drive! If it came in a hatch back with a sunroof, I'd be on the look out for one.
I really like your reviews and review style, I've never seen a Mercury Capri review, thanks for that. I also appreciate you reviewing the same vehicle as some other reviewers so we have a thorough comparison and contrast❤
I forgot all about these. Last time I saw one I was a kid riding with my parents in Ellicott City MD when these girls in a red Capri ran the light and got t-boned by a Camry. Everyone seemed to be ok. I didn’t know it shared its platform with the Miata. Making it fwd seems unnecessary. Never mind it shares its platform with the Mazda 323
My best friend had a 1991 Capri XR2 turbo and these cars are so much fun to drive!! They're like little four-cylinder go karts that roll around on rails!! The only problem is finding parts for the car.
Let’s get even weirder and discuss how the older mercury capri had a 5.0. The professional world must’ve been fun before mandatory drug testing became a standard
Woah, how did I miss this when it came out? Cause about a month ago I picked up one of these Capris myself! Manual, red, with hardtop! Just a fun cruiser, though winter setting in has limited my chances to drive it lol.
my friend's grandma had one it was an auto , the trans was goin out at 112k . drove it once it was a soft cruiser. it also had a xr2 trunk lid but it was not .
I was a teenager and dated a girl who drove a red Mercury Capri. I was fascinated by it even then! I cannot remember the story of how she ended up with it. It's such a "cute" car.
I've owned a 91, two 93s and a 94 Capri. by far the most refined of them was the 94 with a 5 speed. If you get the chance to review a 94 XR2 definitely take it! The automatics on these cars are a bit sluggish and fragile, I would avoid them both of my 93s were auto and both had catastrophic transmission failures.
It's been mentioned numerous times in this comment thread and in numerous other Shooting Cars videos, but just in hopes this reiterates it: 1:11 - Ford did not own Mazda. Stop saying that; it's not true. A controlling interest does not equate to ownership.
The xr2 I used to have had a turbo. Quick little car. But if you leaned on it, say, to kiss someone, the body panel would go thunk and you'd have a big dent in your fender.
The rear wing is not an option on this car because it is not turbocharged. Only the rear wing came on the Capri XR2 turbocharged cars. This car is also missing the fog lights.
You're incorrect about the rear wing/spoiler. Also, this car is not "missing" the foglights. Foglights were optional and this car had filler pieces that looked like grilles and let air flow through. They were removed so foglights can be installed, but they haven't yet.
The turbo version of these was at least interesting. Im surprised you love it. Have you driven the same age mazda 323 or Ford escort/laser? All the same platform.
Strange little car. Cool, but not particularly sporty like a Miata. Between this and the last Cougar, Mercury did a lot of switching RWD to FWD. These are uncommon cars now.
Calling it a fwd Miata is an insult. These were garbage. They would fall apart while driving. And why did they try to make it a 4 seater?!? 😆😆😆 Who thought that was a good idea?!?
@wigletron2846 I test drove one when they were new. I ended up getting the Mazda based 1991 Ford Escort GT which used the Mazda 1.8. a much better car than the Capri.
Ford sold Land Rover and Jaguar to Tata Motors of India many years ago. Ford never owned Mazda but did have a controlling shareholding of Mazda for a number of years, reaching a maximum of 33.4% in 1995. Over the years, Ford sold down its shareholding of Mazda and selling the final tranche 2.1% of Mazda stock around 2014.
Hey Zack, another outstanding review of one of my cars. This Capri was named "Misty" by one of its previous owners. We renamed it "Perry" as in Perry the Platypus because of its Australian roots and its color. Speaking of color, for some reason, digital photos and video show the car as blue rather than the Reef Green (blue-ish green) it is. The true color can be seen when you popped the hood. Since you drove it, I replaced the radiator which was leaking badly, with a very nice new aluminum unit.
I will say, this Capri is tons of fun to just zip about, and I love it. Thanks again.
Oh hey! I used to own this exact car for an unfortunately brief time back in 2023, did a bunch of work to it like tires, wheel bearings, AC work, axles, trans service, shifter bushings, alignment, brakes and a lot more I was planning on doing but needed the funds for another project these things happen! These cars engineering wise are so strange and it was a real challenge to do some jobs. I’m so glad to see her out and enjoyed, also been watching this channel since it was at around 500 subs (from a different account, subbed here now too!) love seeing the channel grow, as someone also trying to do some automotive UA-cam the way the channel has evolved is awesome.
OH AND THE SWITCH some previous owner before me and before the friend I had bought this car off of attempted to wire a Miata style winky switch for one of the lights but stupidly wired it to one of the running lights, when me and my gf figured that out we absolutely lost it laughing oh my god I was in tears.
Back in the day Ford/Mazda created a competition between the California based design studio and the Japanese counterpart. They were tasked to come up with a roadster. The California team developed a RWD model and the Japenese team came up with a FWD model based on the Mazda 323 platform. The RWD was all new and called Miata. Ford/Mazda saw enough of a niche to market the FWD model. They manufactured it in Australia and in the USA it was sold as Mercury Capri.
8:35 . That is so true. We definitely had so many options when it came to economy cars before 2000, to suit a wide range of budgets . 4 door sedan, 2 door coup or convertible, or station wagon. Power or manual windows/locks, automatic or manual transmission, AM/FM radio, AM/FM radio with cassette player, AM/FM radio with CD player, or AM/FM radio with cassette and CD player. Today's "affordable" under $30,000 vehicles you get one or maybe two engine options if you're lucky, with automatic transmission as only choice, as is the case with touchscreens and power windows/locks.
what I miss the most about older cars are transmission options and bold color options in and out. Interiors are specially predictable now that most of them are grayscale.
I will never understand why Ford Australia built these for the US market but Ford refused to bring the Falcon and Territory to the US.
I would have loved a falcon or any ute
It was the late 80s, this car was about keeping the Sydney plant open that also assembled ford lasers.
You were never going to get Falcons or territories, the union arrangements in America protect Thier workers, ford Australia had to fight every time to get a new model from the 80s on, we almost had ford replace the Falcon with the Taurus in 1997 but they were not suitable for Australia.
Now ford sells 90% Rangers and the remainder the Everest, we have the transit but nothing else because bogans love dual cab shit box utes, and they are a tax write off due to so many people being businesses instead of employees.
Company politics. The other unexplainable thing is why sell through Mercury rather than Ford?
@@harukinzaphod my guess is Ford was doing more than alright back in the early 90s, while Mercury needed some help over the last 2 decades before being phased out. Ford had a big lineup while Mercury didn't so this could've been the way they thought (along with the Villager and FWD Cougar) they could brush off some of their badge engineering image.
As a Ford Festiva owner, I love that you made a video on the Capri. There are a lot of similar parts shared between the two. The engine from this (and the Miata) are popular swaps into the Festiva, which was only offered with the B3 (1.3L) Mazda engine, but any B6 or B6T (1.6L/1.6L Turbo), or even the B8 (1.8L) will bolt right up to the Festiva transmission.
The B8 immediately doubles the power figures, normally aspirated with only half a liter increase in displacement. If/when my stock B3 quits, she's getting upgraded to the B6T or B8 for sure... unless I go mad scientist with a 1.9 TDI swap 🫠
when I was doing part time job at a warehouse during high school, I met a sales agent who owned a Teal 93 Festiva. It was already 15 years old by the time I finished high school and I recall spotting the teal little car 10 years after that as I still pass around there on a semi-frequent basis.
What I'm trying to say is many people didn't take care of these, but the few ones who did got hundreds of thousands of miles of good service.
My favorite taillights of any car ever. When I was a kid (in like 1997) my neighbor had a red one of these and I would just stare at the taillights fascinated by their strange waterfall shape
Ford had controlling stake in Mazda, they didn't own the brand 100%.
I recall in the early 90's it was 30%. But that conglomerate lasted throughout the last quarter of the 20th Century.😎
This car has Australian roots, Zack. Back then, as someone else commented, Ford had a controlling interest in Mazda, namely they were the majority shareholder. The Capri was developed and styled by Ford Australia, and as you rightly said, based on the Mazda Miata (known as the MX-5 in Australia). It was the only convertible Ford sold in Australia at the time. However, it wasn't successful, while the Miata MX-5 was a runaway success. In Australia, through the eighties and nineties, Ford sold many cars that were based on Mazda platforms, such as the Laser and Meteor, based on the Mazda 323, the Telstar and TX-5, based on the Mazda 626, and the Festiva, based on the Mazda 121. This was partly due to government policy in Australia at the time.
This was from back in the day when there were a lot of low priced small sporty cars and suvs on the market (Samurai, Amigo, Sidekick etc)
This was also sold in Australia as a Ford.
Hopefully fellow Capri owners will see this, and you might get a chance to drive an XR2. Nice example though you got to drive, it runs and drives woohooo! I hardly ever see these on the road.
I used to have a 91 XR2 Turbo Capri and absolutely loved that car for years until the engine took a dump. Always considered getting another one but the lack of replacement parts for these things is a deal breaker. Especially the window motors/regulators since they all break.
I had a couple of 91 XR2s for a combined 18 years. The turbo helped give it a little go. The way to use the back seat is as a 3 seater. Body on one side, legs on the other. Top was a bit of a pain though. I ended up trading mine in back in 2013 as I really wanted to take a cross country road trip, and doing it in a car that wasn't that common or on the market in the past 20 years seemed like it was asking to get stranded. And after 18 years, it was time for a change...
The turbo cars were fast.
Love the cross between Mazda/Mercury/Ford. Reminds me of working on my old NC Miata. Even in 2008 you could find parts in the engine bay with the FoMoCo stamp!
I got to drive a Capri around for a long weekend back in the 90s, and it was really fun to drive! If it came in a hatch back with a sunroof, I'd be on the look out for one.
Then you'd be looking at a Ford Probe GT. The 2.5 was a screamer engine in this car.
I really like your reviews and review style, I've never seen a Mercury Capri review, thanks for that.
I also appreciate you reviewing the same vehicle as some other reviewers so we have a thorough comparison and contrast❤
I didn't know this model existed - nice! The name Capri certainly fits this better than it does the heavy family hatchback they're putting it on now.
I forgot all about these. Last time I saw one I was a kid riding with my parents in Ellicott City MD when these girls in a red Capri ran the light and got t-boned by a Camry. Everyone seemed to be ok. I didn’t know it shared its platform with the Miata. Making it fwd seems unnecessary. Never mind it shares its platform with the Mazda 323
I always thought these were 2 seaters. Learn something new everyday.
My best friend had a 1991 Capri XR2 turbo and these cars are so much fun to drive!! They're like little four-cylinder go karts that roll around on rails!! The only problem is finding parts for the car.
I’ve had 3 of these. Parts are hard to find but super reliable honestly.
The fact this was actually a Mazda 323/Ford Laser/Escort(Usa) platform & with factory turbo to out-power the Miata could have been mentioned.
and Ford Fiesta
No mention of the fact it was built by Ford Australia,? Where it was sold as the Ford capri. They came in a turbo version too.
These are cool and I see them from time to time and want one
I remember people used to call it a 3 seater lol
It's sad to see sales figures for roadsters slowly dwindle over the decades. I hope the market has a resurgence in the future.
Never seen this car before, always cool to learn about these cars that was never sold in my country
Let’s get even weirder and discuss how the older mercury capri had a 5.0. The professional world must’ve been fun before mandatory drug testing became a standard
Going from a V8 fox body to an American Del Sol is wild
The Ford Capri was from England over in Australia, biggest motor was a v6 Essex.
I owned a 91 xr2 Capri best car I ever owned all i did was oil changes and rotations ....only car I trust for cross country trip!
Woah, how did I miss this when it came out? Cause about a month ago I picked up one of these Capris myself! Manual, red, with hardtop! Just a fun cruiser, though winter setting in has limited my chances to drive it lol.
One of the three concepts for the Miata was a fwd convertible that looked a lot like this. Very cool car.
I’ve always liked the look of these. Have never driven one.
I wanted one of these so badly when they were new.
my friend's grandma had one it was an auto , the trans was goin out at 112k . drove it once it was a soft cruiser.
it also had a xr2 trunk lid but it was not .
I was a teenager and dated a girl who drove a red Mercury Capri. I was fascinated by it even then! I cannot remember the story of how she ended up with it.
It's such a "cute" car.
I've owned a 91, two 93s and a 94 Capri. by far the most refined of them was the 94 with a 5 speed. If you get the chance to review a 94 XR2 definitely take it! The automatics on these cars are a bit sluggish and fragile, I would avoid them both of my 93s were auto and both had catastrophic transmission failures.
I think Americans are Lucky they have original Engens.......Big app Zack watching live from Malawi 🇲🇼
I’d love to see you get to review a B13 Nissan SE-R (1990-1994 Sentra SE-R).
In Oz, you can pick-up one of these with ~250k km for about AUD 4000
a cheap little project car
I had trouble selling one years ago for $1000. They were pretty meh.
In Australia these were the Ford Capri and this Mecury Capri may have been built in Australia as the Ford Capris were
Made in Melb, Oz-yay. Quality was a bit iffy, by memory. But yes, gd, affordable fun!
One of the quirky werid cars I have seen more of somehow and quite want It!
My friend’s dad had one of these and I always thought they were so cool. Seems like I was correct.
Here for the Back Seat Review.
As has been mentioned, Ford owned a controlling stake in Mazda, but did not own the company wholesale.
Let’s goooooo!!! We are here!! 🏆
It's been mentioned numerous times in this comment thread and in numerous other Shooting Cars videos, but just in hopes this reiterates it:
1:11 - Ford did not own Mazda. Stop saying that; it's not true. A controlling interest does not equate to ownership.
The xr2 I used to have had a turbo. Quick little car. But if you leaned on it, say, to kiss someone, the body panel would go thunk and you'd have a big dent in your fender.
The rear wing is not an option on this car because it is not turbocharged. Only the rear wing came on the Capri XR2 turbocharged cars. This car is also missing the fog lights.
You're incorrect about the rear wing/spoiler. Also, this car is not "missing" the foglights. Foglights were optional and this car had filler pieces that looked like grilles and let air flow through. They were removed so foglights can be installed, but they haven't yet.
The turbo version of these was at least interesting. Im surprised you love it. Have you driven the same age mazda 323 or Ford escort/laser? All the same platform.
323 and escort! Love them too!
How do you fit in that thing? I'm 5'8 and i didn't have leg room
I have a 1991 Capri, inlove it but I wanted to make it into a race car. I'm doing a k swap on it now.
Cool car look good 😊
Saw an earlier model one. I knew it was a late '80s, early '90s car. Thought it was a Chrysler K car
If you own one of these Capris, you could nickname it Capri-Sun. (like the dribk brand.)
technically Honda still makes a open top tho it's in another market along with a a tiny body
Honestly one of those might be a good pickup. Cheap manual convertible, with a japanese motor.
You don't sit in the back seat like a regular person in this car. You sit sideways across the back seat. The car can only carry three people!!
The Hairdresser with a Dui that specializes in Arson. Everyone says shes bad news but Capri is just right lol...
i need a mid size non muscle car convertible
Strange little car. Cool, but not particularly sporty like a Miata. Between this and the last Cougar, Mercury did a lot of switching RWD to FWD. These are uncommon cars now.
of course it has the same steering wheel as my obs f150
Is it as good as a Miata? Sadly, it is not. FWD vs. RWD makes all the difference.
Miata was FAR more reliable too. These were hot garbage back in the day.
I got offered one of these for free last week
The only reason this one's still kicking is it's manual. The autos were trash
These look way better than a miata
No…it’s not.
How does this compare to humans with less then two chins..
❤️🇻🇳VINFAST Auto is very modern, beautiful, high quality, fashionable and very luxurious.[/!
Looks like a Japanese engine. An early model obviously but none the less.
Calling it a fwd Miata is an insult. These were garbage. They would fall apart while driving. And why did they try to make it a 4 seater?!? 😆😆😆 Who thought that was a good idea?!?
I was alive when these were new and they were junk
@wigletron2846 I test drove one when they were new. I ended up getting the Mazda based 1991 Ford Escort GT which used the Mazda 1.8. a much better car than the Capri.
Hummm i mean that's kinda of a cool car i think djdbsk
Made in Australia 🇦🇺
I used to work with someone who had one of these. It was an absolute POS.
nah they weren't.
FWD,heavier and less reliable
Big downfall, Prone to Engine Fires 🔥
ford still owns mazda, land rover, jaguar etc. mercury capri it's American.
Ford no longer owns any of those brands. They divested themselves off those brands during the Great Recession.
This comment gave me a proper laugh. Ford hasn’t owned Land Rover literally since 2008.
Where have you been dude? 😂😂
Ford sold Land Rover and Jaguar to Tata Motors of India many years ago. Ford never owned Mazda but did have a controlling shareholding of Mazda for a number of years, reaching a maximum of 33.4% in 1995. Over the years, Ford sold down its shareholding of Mazda and selling the final tranche 2.1% of Mazda stock around 2014.
Aussie car.