I am head of procurement for a large organisation, so I am used to doing contracts, making decisions and sorting out “same but different” criteria all the time. Usually I search Motability, come up with a shortlist based on spec/size/engine/mpg/AP etc, then test drive them all, this usually whittles it down to two contenders, I then take the wife and dog along for another test drive of the two and her subjective choices are added to the mix, usually resulting in a winner. She won’t do the full test drive everything thing, last time that was 6 vehicles (Kia Soul EV chosen, second choice was a Toyota Rav4), the time before that, 12 vehicles (Ford S-Max chosen, second was a Skoda Kodiaq).
In life, it's not who you know that's important, it's how your wife found out.