Annuities put to the test drive

I have recently replaced my car. My previous car was a fairly uninteresting estate model from a leading manufacturer, which I bought on the basis of reviews by people who know rather more about cars than I do. As I have been very pleased with it, I replaced it with a new model of the same, fairly ordinary car, which suits me just fine. The updated model has a sportier look and a few more toys and gadgets (all of which my wife tells me are unnecessary), but it is basically the same car. There are plenty of similar models from other manufacturers, many of which seem to be every bit as good...