1985 Ford Capri Special from UK and Ireland - Comments

Heater fan never worked- a real pain when the screen was misted up.

I had to put a gearbox in the car when I bought it from my best friend - £150 for a 5 speed. These are known to be weaker than the 4 speeders.

The reason for the low reliability score is the fact that it simply refused to start on more than one occasion, even though no fault could be found.

Let's shoot down a few 2.8i myths shall we? For such a quick car the brakes were barely adequate, even with vented discs and braided hoses. It was noisy, crashy and the ease with which it went sideways in the wet was lethal. Some owners will tell you it's fun - not when you're driving home after work at 2am in London and you just want to get home.

Sure it was quick, especially in it's day, but you've really got to wind it up - not much flexibility at all. And you pay the price at the pumps - I never saw more than 20mpg. The Mk2 Escort RS2000 I owned afterwards was much better, laser sharp throttle response and gearchange unlike the Capri.

Despite being a Dagenham dustbin, the parts are not cheap - if you bend it (and you will with that sloppy back end...) the panels are stupid money. As are the interiors, as all the boys want the bits for their 1.6 L's. Fast Fords of a certain age seem to be seriously inflated in value, considering their lack of sophistication and limited abilities, and the plain fact they are Fords, not Alfa's or BMW's.

Despite this, these cars will always have their fans, and not without reason. They are the epitome of the muscular cheap coupe in terms of styling and image. For a lot of people, that is enough.

A bit unfair on the old 2.8. She's a performance car - you shouldn't expect to get many mpg out of her - and with a V6 engine, she's always going to produce a bit of noise! Also, I don't know where you go, but I find the parts are cheap and plentiful.

Totally unjustified, parts expensive? I think you must be mistaken. Parts are cheap and plentiful, a new wing costs £140 from a ford dealership, compare this to a new wing on a Toyota MR2 at £500 and you soon see how cheap these cars are to run.

And by saying that the handling is poor, and that you have had to replace body panels in the past obviously says a lot about your driving skills.

Michael fowler.

I own a Capri a 2.8 and I think it's the greatest car I have ever driven! It might not be the fastest or hold the road in the wet, but who cares? It has a lot of character, which is more than can be said about more modern cars. Who wants to go for a drive and not have to think about driving? Not me.

Obviously someone who just doesn't 'get' the Capri experience.

I bought my first Capri a year ago and have found it to be the best car I have ever owned, (and yes I've had a few modern ones!). I was a bit apprehensive about the Capri's reputation to be a bit 'tail happy' but I've found this too be massively exagerated. Only when provoked or driven with ignorance will the back end become a problem.

I reguarly drive my standard Capri hard, including high speed cornering and have not had any incidents in 30,000 miles.

Yes you can buy more sophisticated sports cars that return higher MPG, but will a 200SX, 3 series, MR2 or any other bland modern car, but will they turn as many heads as a Capri?! I think not! Does a five year old coupe have remotely as much character as the retro style of the Capri? No chance!

The Ford Capri, not everyone gets it, or deserves it!

I think this particular 2.8 capri was a bog standard car, perhaps suspension is a little past its best. Standard brakes are poor and don't match performance. If you drive a properly sorted V6 capri ie modifyed engine, suspension, brakes, etc it's a match for most things on the road.

To beat a car like this would take a really quick car such as a mitsubishi EVO or Porsche, but look at how much more motors like these cost. Little to touch a modded 2.8 for the same money. No 4 cylinder car of the same cash outlay looks or sounds like my V6, or goes like it, huge fun!