Arrivals that are being met
Long-haul landings where the principal has been in the air overnight and the first hour on the ground is the one that matters. The reclining rear seat is the whole argument for this car over the E-Class.
SALOON · W223 · LONG WHEELBASE
Mercedes S-Class, with a chauffeur, in London
The long-wheelbase W223, held for the movements where the car is part of the arrangement rather than a way of getting there.
PASSENGERS3
LUGGAGE3
WHEELBASE3,216 mm (long)
REAR SEATReclines to 43.5°, heated, with footrest
BOOT550 litres
GLAZINGAcoustic laminated, all round
PARTITIONAvailable on request at booking
The S-Class is the car most of this trade is judged against, and the long-wheelbase W223 is the version worth having: the extra 110mm all goes behind the B-pillar, which is the only place it is any use to somebody being driven. The nearside rear seat reclines to 43.5 degrees against a deployed footrest, and it is the one seat in this fleet where a principal can genuinely sleep between Heathrow and a first meeting.
What makes it usable in London is the rear-axle steering. A car of 5,289mm ought to be an embarrassment in a Mayfair mews, and without it the S-Class is; with it the back wheels turn against the fronts at low speed and the turning circle comes in under eleven metres, which is tighter than the E-Class parked next to it. It is the reason we send this car to addresses that look, on the map, as though they want something smaller.
The cabin is acoustically double-glazed on every pane and the car is quiet enough at motorway speed to hold a conference call without anyone at the other end knowing the call is being taken from a car. Partition glass is available on request and needs to be asked for when the booking is made, not on the morning, it is a specification on particular cars in the fleet, not a switch on all of them.
Board days and results mornings
A car held at the door between meetings, with a cabin quiet enough to take the call that could not wait. Papers can be read in the back without the kind of ride that makes reading a bad idea.
Late finishes
Dinners and events running past midnight, where the journey home is the part of the evening nobody should have to think about.
BY THE HOUR, FROM, EX VAT£55Three-hour minimum, 20 miles included per hour
HEATHROW → MAYFAIR, EX VAT£129The reference journey, 17.4 miles, meet and greet included
ANY MOVEMENT, FROM, EX VAT£95However short the journey
Fares are quoted on the route, not off a table. Price your own journey and the figure you are shown is the figure you pay.
Fares shown are the Heathrow → Mayfair reference journey of 17.4 miles, and the hourly rate is a from-rate with a three-hour minimum. Both are quoted before VAT. Your own route is priced on its measured distance before you confirm.
What every booking includes
- A fixed fare quoted on your actual route before you confirm, with the congestion charge already inside it
- An SIA-vetted chauffeur, named to you the evening before with his photograph and registration
- Flights tracked from take-off, with 60 minutes of complimentary waiting at the airport
- Meet and greet inside the terminal, at the arrivals name board
- Free cancellation up to four hours before the pick-up
How it works
I
Price the route
Put the two addresses into the booking form. The fare comes back on the measured distance, not off a table, and it is the fare you pay.
II
Confirm the car
Choose the vehicle and the booking type, give us the flight number if there is one, and pay or put it on the account.
III
Meet your chauffeur
His name, photograph and registration reach you the evening before. His live position reaches you on the morning.
IV
The name board in arrivals
On an airport pick-up he is inside the terminal at the barrier, not in a car park. Delays are absorbed by us, not billed to you.
On the nearside, yes, to 43.5 degrees, with the front passenger seat forward and a footrest deployed. The offside rear reclines a little less because it has to leave room for the front passenger seat in its normal position. If the journey is one somebody intends to sleep on, say so and the car is set up on the nearside before it leaves.
Ask for it when you book. Partition glass is fitted to particular cars rather than to the whole S-Class fleet, so it is a matter of allocating one of those cars to your movement, which the control room can do with a few hours' notice, and usually cannot do at thirty minutes'.
Yes. The 550-litre boot takes three full-size cases with the rear seats in normal use. What it will not take is three cases plus three carry-ons; at that point the party is really a V-Class booking, and the control room will say so rather than let you find out at the kerb.
Usually. Rear-axle steering gives the long-wheelbase car a turning circle under eleven metres, tighter than the E-Class. Give the control room the actual address rather than the nearest main road and they will tell you before the day if it is one of the handful of entrances where we would send something shorter.
SALOON · W214 · BUSINESS
Mercedes E-Class
A shorter, faster car for city movements and single-passenger runs where the S-Class would be more than the journey needs.
3 PASSENGERS · 2 BAGS · FROM, EX VAT £45/HR
PEOPLE CARRIER · W447 · EXTRA LONG
Mercedes V-Class
Conference seating, a folding table and full standing luggage capacity. The car we send when a party travels together and wants to keep talking.
7 PASSENGERS · 7 BAGS · FROM, EX VAT £55/HR
SUV · L460 · LONG WHEELBASE
Range Rover
A raised, long-wheelbase SUV for country work and poor weather, with the rear cabin of a saloon. The car to send when the road at the far end is not a London street.
4 PASSENGERS · 4 BAGS · FROM, EX VAT £85/HR