Cars have become so expensive because too many don’t actually care. If you buy through finance, the key figure will be the monthly payment. Whether you’re leasing or financing with a balloon payment or guaranteed future value, the only thing that matters is the end result of £x per month. Add in corporate leases or salary sacrifice and the monthly payments shrink while manufacturers still get the same value. I firmly believe that’s why a £25,000 car has jumped to £40,000+ in not much over a decade. Add in EV pricing and the ‘cost of ownership’ reduction in monthly costs including fuel and it’s possible to justify spending more on the car whilst saving on the monthly total. Then a standard large(ish) family car becomes £50,000 with the promise of over 300 miles per charge.
Or buy used and save a fortune compared to all of those options!