Try a prestige car from Europcar before you buy. Or you could just go to a dealer.

You can hire a BMW 5-Series (pictured) from Europcar before you buy

It’s always good to have a promotion to get punters through the door, but the latest PR promo from Hertz does seem to have a very visible flaw in its logic. According to Europcar – the leading car hire company in Europe, don’t you know – the best route for trying out a new prestige car before you buy is to give them a call and book a day or three in the cars of your choice.

Europcar say you can have anything from a 4×4 to a luxury saloon and performance cars, with the suggestion you can pit a Mercedes SLK against an Audi TTS or check out the differences between a new E-Class or new 5-Series.

Europcar say it will cost you ‘just’ £158 a day (assuming you book a three day weekend) for an E-Class or 5-Series, and a MINI Cooper S will cost just $50 a day.

Europcar’s Ken McCall says:

Buying a luxury vehicle is a big step, with a significant financial commitment, but hiring from our Prestige fleet means customers can test a vehicle without taking an expensive leap of faith. Prestige by Europcar continues to invest in the quality of our fleet, ensuring we offer the widest choice of vehicles, for even the most discerning motorist. And now they can try before they buy for the ultimate in convenience.

But have Europcar never heard of car dealers? In our experience, most car dealers keen for your business will be more than happy to arrange an extended test drive before you buy, and at pushing on £500 to try out a 5-Series it does seem a very poor way to try out a new car.

Or are we missing the point?

By Cars UK