diff --git a/src/python/alias.cpp b/src/python/alias.cpp
index 0164a0225..448115284 100644
--- a/src/python/alias.cpp
+++ b/src/python/alias.cpp
@@ -95,16 +95,16 @@ static nb::object variant_module(nb::handle variant) {
 
 /// Sets the variant
 static void set_variant(nb::args args) {
-    nb::object new_variant{};
-    for (auto arg : args) {
-        // Find the first valid & compiled variant in the arguments
+    nb::list valid_variants{};
+    for (const auto &arg : args) {
         if (PyDict_Contains(variant_modules, arg.ptr()) == 1) {
-            new_variant = nb::borrow(arg);
-            break;
+            // Variant is at least compiled, we can attempt to use it.
+            valid_variants.append(arg);
         }
     }
 
-    if (!new_variant) {
+    if (valid_variants.size() == 0) {
+        // None of the requested variants are compiled.
         nb::object all_args(nb::str(", ").attr("join")(args));
         nb::object all_variants(
             nb::str(", ").attr("join")(nb::steal(PyDict_Keys(variant_modules))));
@@ -116,8 +116,36 @@ static void set_variant(nb::args args) {
         );
     }
 
-    if (!curr_variant.equal(new_variant)) {
-        nb::object new_variant_module = variant_module(new_variant);
+    nb::object old_variant = curr_variant;
+    // For each requested _and_ available variant, in order of preference.
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < valid_variants.size(); ++i) {
+        const auto &requested_variant = valid_variants[i];
+        bool is_last = (i == valid_variants.size() - 1);
+
+        if (requested_variant.equal(old_variant)) {
+            // We're already using this variant, no need to do anything.
+            break;
+        }
+
+        nb::object new_variant_module;
+        try {
+            new_variant_module = variant_module(requested_variant);
+        } catch (const nb::python_error &e) {
+            // The variant failed to import, this could happen e.g. if the
+            // CUDA driver is installed, but there is no GPU available.
+            // We only allow such failures as long as we have more variants to try.
+            if (!is_last && e.matches(PyExc_ImportError)) {
+                const auto mi = nb::module_::import_("mitsuba");
+                mi.attr("Log")(
+                    mi.attr("LogLevel").attr("Debug"),
+                    nb::str("The requested variant \"{}\" could not be loaded, "
+                            "attempting the next one. The exception was:\n{}\n")
+                        .format(requested_variant, e.what()));
+                continue;
+            } else {
+                throw e;
+            }
+        }
 
         nb::dict variant_dict = new_variant_module.attr("__dict__");
         for (const auto &k : variant_dict.keys())
@@ -126,21 +154,23 @@ static void set_variant(nb::args args) {
                 Safe_PyDict_SetItem(mi_dict, k.ptr(),
                     PyDict_GetItem(variant_dict.ptr(), k.ptr()));
 
-        nb::object old_variant = curr_variant;
+        curr_variant = requested_variant;
+        break;
+    }
+
 
-        // Need to update curr_variant = mi.variant() before reloading internal plugins
-        curr_variant = new_variant;
-        if (new_variant.attr("startswith")(nb::make_tuple("llvm_", "cuda_"))) {
+    if (!curr_variant.equal(old_variant)) {
+        // Reload internal plugins
+        if (curr_variant.attr("startswith")(nb::make_tuple("llvm_", "cuda_"))) {
             nb::module_ mi_python = nb::module_::import_("mitsuba.python.ad.integrators");
             nb::steal(PyImport_ReloadModule(mi_python.ptr()));
         }
 
-        // Only invoke callbacks after Mitsuba plugins have reloaded as there
-        // may be a dependency
+        // Only invoke user-provided callbacks after Mitsuba plugins have reloaded,
+        // as there may be a dependency
         const auto &callbacks = nb::borrow<nb::set>(variant_change_callbacks);
         for (const auto &cb : callbacks)
-            cb(old_variant, new_variant);
-
+            cb(old_variant, curr_variant);
     }
 }
 
@@ -232,20 +262,22 @@ NB_MODULE(mitsuba_alias, m) {
     mi_dict = m.attr("__dict__").ptr();
     nb::object mi_ext = import_with_deepbind_if_necessary("mitsuba.mitsuba_ext");
     nb::dict mitsuba_ext_dict = mi_ext.attr("__dict__");
-    for (const auto &k : mitsuba_ext_dict.keys())
+    for (const auto &k : mitsuba_ext_dict.keys()) {
         if (!nb::bool_(k.attr("startswith")("__")) &&
             !nb::bool_(k.attr("endswith")("__"))) {
             Safe_PyDict_SetItem(mi_dict, k.ptr(), mitsuba_ext_dict[k].ptr());
         }
+    }
 
     // Import contents of `mitsuba.python` into top-level `mitsuba` module
     nb::object mi_python = nb::module_::import_("mitsuba.python");
     nb::dict mitsuba_python_dict = mi_python.attr("__dict__");
-    for (const auto &k : mitsuba_python_dict.keys())
+    for (const auto &k : mitsuba_python_dict.keys()) {
         if (!nb::bool_(k.attr("startswith")("__")) &&
             !nb::bool_(k.attr("endswith")("__"))) {
             Safe_PyDict_SetItem(mi_dict, k.ptr(), mitsuba_python_dict[k].ptr());
         }
+    }
 
     /// Cleanup static variables, this is called when the interpreter is exiting
     auto atexit = nb::module_::import_("atexit");
diff --git a/src/python/main_v.cpp b/src/python/main_v.cpp
index 200ad09ee..dd1c2e617 100644
--- a/src/python/main_v.cpp
+++ b/src/python/main_v.cpp
@@ -120,6 +120,16 @@ using Caster = nb::object(*)(mitsuba::Object *);
 Caster cast_object = nullptr;
 
 NB_MODULE(MI_VARIANT_NAME, m) {
+    /* scoped */ {
+        // Before loading everything in and creating a lot of references to
+        // various objects, we ensure that this backend can be initialized
+        // without issues by creating a simple variable.
+        // If initialization fails, an exception will be raised, which the user
+        // can catch and handle if desired.
+        // Leaving initialization to fail later would lead to reference leaks.
+        MI_VARIANT_FLOAT(0);
+    }
+
     m.attr("__name__") = "mitsuba";
 
     // Create sub-modules