I'm a little curious about these little convertibles. From what I have read so far, they are based on Mazda 323 mechanicals, have slightly underpowered 1.6 L engines , are front wheel drive, were made to compete with the Miata and are built in Australia. And their resale value is quite low. But enough of all that. I would like your input/comments on this car, positive or negative. Thanks, Kit
I have never personally owned one but a friend collects them like people here collect Fieros. I usually end up helping out with the fix up work. All the normal maintenance items - brakes, suspension, steering etc - for an older car are easy to work on and pretty cheap. Get a manual XR2 if possible. You get about 130 hp and decent acceleration. Any other model hardly has the power to get up to speed in traffic especially 20 years later. The shifter mechanism tends to wear out and be very very sloppy. I made bushings from nylon to replace the ones that had fallen apart but I believe there are kits available to do the job. Never changed out the top but it is supposed to be an easy job. The locking handle at the windshield tends to break so if you see good ones in the junkyard, grab them. Oh and if you can get the hard top I would. They run about $250 or so on the used market and are much better for wind noise and I think they seal better which is nice during the winter months.
Thanks for the input. I By the way, don't be afraid to give me the negative side. I think it's wiser to look at things with a critical eye. On another note....anyone know why the resale is sooooo low on these cars? For a convertible the resale is surprisingly low, especially here in Ca. Kit
I owned one for several years. It was an XR2 Turbo model. It was a fun car, but the Miata is a better car in that class. Only issue I had was the top. It falls apart, rips and didn't seem to fit well. It was great for warm weather, but sucked during the winter and in the rain.
I replaced the top on it in the several years I had it, but I gave it to my sister and she had it for about four years and she had to replace the top too during that time. She ended up blowing a head gasket and sold it for next to nothing.
It is a fun summer car, but in my opinion not a good year-around daily driver.
Ive never worked on one or known anyone with one, so all I can say is theyre butt ugly. No style whatsoever. May be great if you only need transportation.
My cousin had several and # 2 daughter wrecked his first, a turbo convertible. His next Capri, # 2, he had he drove it for several years up and down I-95 from Merritt Island to south Florida almost daily. I stored it I my place for a while once he move to Raleigh where he got # 3 another turbo that needed a turbo overhaul. His #1 daughter drove # 2 up to Raleigh and emptied my garage. She drove the # 2 for a while. He got into Buick Reattas and sold both Capris to a collector in North Carolina.
His # 2 ran great, # 3 with the bad turbo wasn't as good. The car's body is made from light gauge metal and flimsy. They are small convertibles and are an abandoned car like a Fiero with hard to find parts.
Ive never worked on one or known anyone with one, so all I can say is theyre butt ugly. No style whatsoever. May be great if you only need transportation.
That covers a lot of cars, and transportation is a good thing.
I prefer the early 70's "Ford" Capri. My dad had one in England. My friend had a mid 80's Mercury Capri which was basically a Ford Mustang with a bubble hatch. Not very stylish and broke down a lot. Not sure about the reliability of the 90-94 Capri, but I don't think the styling improved that much. Sorry...not much help
Cute little cars. Can't be too bad if it was based on a Mazda.
Ford Australia produced a Mazda Miata rival named the Ford Capri from 1989, which ironically, was based around many Mazda 323 mechanics. Therefore, it is Front Wheel Drive as opposed to the Mazda Miata's Rear Wheel Drive. From the 1991 model year, this car was sold in North America as the Mercury Capri. The car was sold until the 1994 model year with minimal changes (1994 models did get a minor cosmetic update that included new front and rear bumpers as well as taillights). The XR2 also came standard with an independent rear suspension, and offering reinforced front and rear sway bars.
Ford sought to import the Australian convertible in response to Mazda's Miata, necessitating the addition of a driver's airbag for the US market. The Capri featured four usable seats, a lockable top storage and lockable fold down back seat that made the trunk accessible through the interior when the soft top is up. Popular options included a removable hard top.[citation needed]
Two versions were offered for all model years: base and XR2. The base model featured a Mazda 1.6L DOHC 4-cylinder rated at 100 hp (75 kW). The XR2 featured a turbocharged version of 1.6L engine rated at 132 hp (98 kW). Both the base model and the XR2 had a 5-speed manual transmission standard; a 4-speed automatic was optional only for the base model.
I prefer the early 70's "Ford" Capri. My dad had one in England. My friend had a mid 80's Mercury Capri which was basically a Ford Mustang with a bubble hatch.
Ya me too. They were basicly a Mustang, and I liked the front better than a Mustang. The taillights on them were also interchangeable. I did a lot of custom Mustangs and installed Capri tail lights in them for a completely different look. You just had to modify the wiring harness with about 15 minutes of work.
