Slide of
Customisation sells.
Motorists relish in the idea of making a car their own and auto-makers – especially premium ones – happily provide an ever-growing list of personalisation options. Mixing and matching different wheel designs, paint colours and trim pieces sometimes creates a look that’s debatable at best, however, and buyers often end up paying for features that don't add real substance to a car.
While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you’ll have a difficult time convincing a fellow enthusiast that purple with bright yellow brake callipers works well on a high-end sports car. Here are the good and bad ways to configure 10 cars sold new in the UK.
- Slide of
Bentley Mulsanne Speed (bad)
Bentley offers a list of customisation options long enough to bridge the vast, dark void between the earth and the moon. Giving buyers the ability to dress a unique Mulsanne Speed from the ground up is a big selling point but it inevitably leads to configurations that go against even the most liberal definition of taste. Buyers who drape the saloon’s body in Passion Pink and add thick chrome trim around the grille are guaranteed not to go unnoticed in traffic – for better or worse.
Pictured: Bentley Mulsanne Speed
- Slide of
Bentley Mulsanne Speed (good)
For a more discreet look, we’d order our Bentley Mulsanne Speed in Midnight Emerald, which is one of the darkest greens on the firm’s colour palette. We’d select the blacked-out grille and order the trim around it in the same colour as the body to turn the bling-bling quotient way down. Finally, we’d add the dark-tinted 21-inch wheels to create a look that’s as timeless as the Mulsanne’s design.
Pictured: Bentley Mulsanne Speed
- Slide of
BMW 3 Series (bad)
Brown is making an unexpected comeback as a paint colour across all segments but it works better on some cars than on others. The Vermont Bronze on BMW’s palette mutes the lines of the 2019 3 Series. To make the matter worse, the standard-fit alloys on the 320d don’t quite fill the wheel arches. The result is a sport saloon that looks very much like a run-of-the-mill family car.
Pictured: BMW 320d SE (£34,280)
- Slide of
BMW 3 Series (good)
Silvers and grays occupy a sizable chunk of BMW’s colour palette. We’d order our 3 Series in Melbourne Red metallic. It’s certainly not boring or subtle but it doesn't go overboard, either. It brings out the saloon’s sporty side without compromising its newfound elegance. We’d pay extra for the optional 18-inch alloys to add a finishing touch to the look.
Pictured: BMW 320d SE (£35,030)
- Slide of
Citroën C3 (bad)
Citroën designed the third-generation C3 with an eye on customisation so it looks like it’s missing something in its most basic configuration. The inserts in the doors for the Airbump panels are empty and the plastic hubcaps give it a downmarket appearance that defines the term econobox, even with the optional Cobalt Blue metallic colour selected.
Pictured: Citroën C3 Touch (£12,415)
- Slide of
Citroën C3 (good)
Properly configured, the Citroën C3 proves a budget-oriented car doesn’t have to look or feel basic. Starting with the Feel model, we added Cobalt Blue metallic paint, a white roof, 17-inch alloy wheels and Airbump panels on both sides. These add-ons give the C3 more personality without tilting towards the freakazoid end of the design scale. The catch is that they nudge its price close to the £15,000 mark and don't change the way it drives.
Pictured: Citroën C3 Feel (£14,320)
- Slide of
Dacia Duster (bad)
Though it’s marketed as a budget-friendly SUV, the Dacia Duster quickly gets expensive as buyers explore the upper echelons of the trim hierarchy. The flagship Prestige model starts at £14,695 when ordered with the 115hp SCe engine. It’s better equipped than cheaper trim levels but many of the extra features are frivolous in this type of car.
Pictured: Dacia Duster 4x2 Prestige (£14,695)
- Slide of
Dacia Duster (good)
If we were configuring a Dacia Duster with off-roading in mind, we’d skip the Prestige model and instead start with the cheaper Essential trim. We’d lose features we can live without, like the 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels and the keyless entry card, but the Essential model still comes with – pardon the pun – essential equipment like A/C and a multi-function steering wheel. We’d order the 115hp dCi turbodiesel engine and four-wheel drive to end up with a Duster that’s more go than show and only slightly cheaper than the less functional flagship.
Pictured: Dacia Duster 4x4 Essential (£15,695)
- Slide of
Ford Fiesta (bad)
The Active package attempts to turn the Ford Fiesta into something it’s simply not: an SUV. The Active is a little bit taller than a standard Fiesta, it’s a little bit more plasticky and it comes with roof rails that are more decorative than useful. Race Red is the only standard colour so buyers who want another shade (like the blue pictured here) will need to pay more.
Pictured: Ford Fiesta Active (£18,790)
- Slide of
Ford Fiesta (good)
The Ford Fiesta Titanium ditches the gimmicky add-ons fitted to the Active for a cleaner appearance. Both variants use the same 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine but the Titanium’s makes 100hp, a 15hp increase over the Active. Selecting an optional colour (like Chrome Blue, pictured here) puts the Titanium’s price on par with the Active’s.
Pictured: Ford Fiesta Titanium (£18,810)
- Slide of
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque (bad)
It only takes a few clicks on Land Rover’s online configurator to make an entry-level Evoque look upmarket. Buyers can pay extra for a premium paint colour, the black exterior pack, 20-inch alloys, a black roof panel, privacy glass and premium LED headlights with signature daytime running lights. These features add curb appeal without boosting the Evoque’s comfort or usability.
Pictured: Land Rover Range Rover Evoque D150 FWD (£38,835)
- Slide of
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque (good)
Instead of ticking boxes that add style to Land Rover’s entry-level Range Rover Evoque, we’d start with the more expensive D180 variant which benefits from a 180hp turbodiesel engine, all-wheel drive and an automatic transmission. We’d keep the standard 17-inch alloy wheels and the stock headlights for an Evoque that’s comfortable, usable and stylish.
Pictured: Land Rover Range Rover Evoque D180 AWD (£37,350)
- Slide of
McLaren 720S (bad)
McLaren relies on carbon fibre to keep the 720S’ weight in check and it gives buyers the possibility of showing it off. Selecting the Performance model adds door mirror casings and air intakes made out of the composite material and left bare. Enthusiasts can also order parts of both bumpers and the roof panel in bare carbon fibre to obtain a tuner magazine-friendly look. These parts likely save a little bit of weight but the effect they have on performance is negligible.
Pictured: McLaren 720S
- Slide of
McLaren 720S (good)
Low, wide and loud, the McLaren 720S turns enough heads in its standard form so we wouldn’t tick boxes that make it more conspicuous than it already is. The Luxury model represents a good starting point because it adds comfort features like heated and power-adjustable sport seats without sacrificing performance. Beyond that, we’d keep it simple with silver paint that goes well with the black roof, no visible carbon fibre and darker wheels.
Pictured: McLaren 720S
- Slide of
Mercedes-Benz A-Class (bad)
Mercedes-Benz gives customers configuring an A-Class some truly dubious options to choose from. The AMG-developed A35 model is offered with an aerodynamics package at no extra cost, though adding it requires spending £2595 on the AMG Style package. It adds winglets on the front bumper and a sizable spoiler right above the hatch. Trust us, you won’t need the downforce it adds while driving down the A10.
Pictured: Mercedes-AMG A35 4Matic (£36,945)
- Slide of
Mercedes-Benz A-Class (good)
Mercedes-AMG wisely recognises the rally car look doesn’t suit everyone’s taste. The A35 cuts a more striking figure when ordered without the wing. We’d configure ours in white for a more low-key look and put some of the money we saved by not tacking on a spoiler towards the adaptive AMG Ride Control suspension priced at £695.
Pictured: Mercedes-AMG A35 4Matic (£35,045)
- Slide of
Porsche Cayenne (bad)
Adding a body kit is one of the quickest and most successful ways to ruin a Porsche Cayenne. Aftermarket tuners are normally the worst offenders but Porsche is taking baby steps into that niche. Buyers can order the Cayenne with a kit called SportDesign that bundles miscellaneous body-coloured extensions. Select the painted, 22-inch Sport Classic wheels – which, to our eyes, look wrong on the Cayenne – to unlock the full football player-approved look straight off of the assembly line.
Pictured: Porsche Cayenne Turbo
- Slide of
Porsche Cayenne (good)
The Porsche Cayenne looks best when left the way its designers intended. In this configuration, it keeps an element of sportiness – and justifiably so; the Turbo boasts 550hp – thanks to the 21-inch RS Spyder alloys without sacrificing the ruggedness that’s important in the composition of an SUV’s DNA. It’s cheaper this way than in the previous configuration, too.
Pictured: Porsche Cayenne Turbo
- Slide of
Volkswagen Amarok (bad)
The Volkswagen Amarok line-up includes a relatively basic, work-oriented truck, a daily-drivable upmarket variant and a mid-range model in between. The full-fat, 258hp Aventura trim costs more than a Mercedes-Benz E-Class before buyers add options; alternatively, you could get two brand-new Volkswagen Golf GTs for the price of an Amarok Aventura. Volkswagen’s matte paint option costs as much as a used, fourth-generation Golf. All in, that’s a princely sum for a commercial vehicle.
Pictured: Volkswagen Amarok Aventura (£50,753)
- Slide of
Volkswagen Amarok (good)
We’d start configuring the Amarok by selecting the entry-level Trendline trim. We’d pay extra for the 204hp TDI V6 engine and the brown paint, which is easy to keep clean and doesn’t make the truck look like it’s part of a fleet. Even with a few option boxes ticked (like navigation and a differential lock) we’d spend far less than the base price of an Amarok Aventura.
Pictured: 2019 Volkswagen Amarok Trendline (£33,191)
Close
