Try, Buy, Dream – December 2023

Trying a car has never been easier - lots of car brands now offer subscription services on a monthly basis, with no down payment or exit fee so you can swap in and out of different models with minimal notice. Or you can lock in for longer, on a leasing deal, which still means you just pay a monthly amount and hand the car back at the end of the deal.
Then there’s the buy choice, whether it’s paying for the car with cash or signing up to a fixed term finance deal with the option to buy the car at the end. These are cars that make good long-term sense. And finally our fave section, for dreamers everywhere. The new luxe stuff, the wishlist option or the treat-yourself splurge, depending on how big that imagined windfall might be. Enjoy this month’s offerings!

Volvo EX30

Fantastic value for money from Volvo’s cheapest electric car. It’s a very clever design, making a styling feature inside using cheap, recycled plastics alongside sustainably sourced wool and other imaginative uses of more ethical materials. In its single-motor base form, this is a really great electric car to get on subscription and try out. And what you lose in rear leg room, the car makes up for in boot space, which is big enough to swallow a buggy or the family shop for a month. We love Volvos: they’re effortlessly cool with their Scandi chic lounge vibe inside, and an outdoorsy, rugged exterior design. Read our full expert review here

Fisker Ocean

We’re fully plugged in this month, with a second pure electric car on our shopping list. Fisker is a Danish/Californian brand which has got to punt it to the top of the desirability list straight away. Ultra snazzy features include the rear windscreen and little side rear windows all dropping down in California Mode, so your pooch can stick his head out into the wind. More Beach than Ken. And, if you live somewhere sunny (can we come?), you can specify solar panels for the glass roof which, although they block your view, can get you up to another £1,500 miles a year of electric motoring without plugging in. Oh, and the large touchscreen spins from vertical to horizontal, if that sort of thing floats your boat. Decent range, good price, rare badge. Tick, tick, tick. Read our full expert review here

Bentley Batur

There’s your dream car, and then there’s your dream-on car selection, and this £2m Batur falls into the latter category. Only 18 are being built and designed by Mulliner, Bentley’s in-house tailoring division, and all have been nabbed, but there’s always the secondhand market… You get 18-carat gold buttons, personalised paint colours, bespoke leather, wood and any other material you fancy, and the reassurance that you won’t see another on the roads. This is also one last glorious fling for Bentley’s 12-cylinder, 6.0-litre petrol engine, which naturally gets yet another power hike for the Batur, to 750 horsepower. That’s like stepping into a plane as it accelerates down the runway: heavy, inexorable, sweep-you-away power. Naim, another brilliant British luxury brand, provides the audio system in the car, and you can accessorise the experience with its beautiful home music systems, too. Read our full expert review here

Try, Buy, Dream – November 2023
Try, Buy, Dream – October 2023 Try, Buy, Dream – September 2023