The grant was accepted for a 7 seater car/suv with a maximum AP of £3500, the renault is a 9 seater and £5k AP, I placed the order with the dealer and it all went through, they were happy for me to pay the shortfall for the AP. The grants policy states you can only contribute 50% of the grant or £750 whichever is lower and because you get £750 back when you dehire, you cannot contribute anything else. Like you say I’m not after a sporty number, just a base model vehicle that ticks the boxes to make life better for my wife. The grant terms state that family can be taken into account when choosing
you used to be able to put 50% top up, but I’m sure thats limited to £500 now (despite the paperwork saying, but if the paperwork says your could argue this point), so this could be your barrier too
hopefully others can offer you more advice,