@chastw I’m sorry to hear that Motability refused to allow you some flexibility, no doubt because they want to keep you in the scheme and don’t want to make it too easy for you to leave. They may, however, have shot themselves in the foot.
Given your very low mileage, the fact that you drive a modestly priced car and look after it as if it was your own car, they make a very handsome profit out of you every 3 years. If you have the means to buy privately, it will hurt a bit the first time (much less if you buy used, as the vast majority of private car buyers do) but, thereafter, you will have a hefty deposit towards your next purchase due to having a trade-in.
With all the adverse changes that are being implemented to the scheme, including the removal of aspirational brands purely for ‘optics’ rather than to save money, the scheme is becoming less and less attractive. I think it’s getting to the point that it will only make sense for those who want an EV or WAV, those who may be eligible for a grant, or those who perhaps do not have the means (or confidence) to explore other options and / or are dead set on having a new car every 3 years.