A delegation off one flight
Seven passengers with seven cases, in one vehicle, on one fare. The alternative is two saloons, two chauffeurs, two fares and a party that arrives split up.
PEOPLE CARRIER · W447 · EXTRA LONG
Mercedes V-Class, with a chauffeur, in London
Extra-long, seven seats, and the only car in the fleet where the party can sit facing each other and work on the way.
PASSENGERS7
LUGGAGE7
SEATING7, middle row reversible to face rearward
TABLEFolding, between the facing rows
LUGGAGE7 upright cases behind the rear row
HEIGHT1,880 mm (check basement car parks)
ACCESSPowered sliding doors, both sides
The V-Class is the only vehicle here that is not a saloon, and the reason to book it is almost never the seat count on its own. It is the seating layout: the middle row can be turned to face backwards, which with the folding table between the rows makes the cabin a meeting room that happens to be moving. Four people can spread papers out between Canary Wharf and Heathrow and arrive having done an hour's work.
Luggage is the other reason, and it is a genuinely different order of capacity rather than a slightly larger boot. The extra-long body leaves a full-height space behind the rear row, so cases stand upright instead of being stacked. seven of them, with seven people still in their seats. Nothing else in the fleet does that, and it is why this is the car for a delegation arriving on the same flight.
Two things to know before booking it. It is 1,880mm tall, which puts it over the barrier at a good number of central London underground car parks, so an event with a basement entrance needs checking first. And it rides like what it is, a well-appointed van, so it is a comfortable car to work in and a less comfortable one to sleep in than an S-Class.
Roadshows and site visits
A day of five or six addresses with the same group in the car all day. Conference seating and the table mean the time between stops is usable rather than lost.
Anything with equipment
Camera kit, exhibition material, instruments, samples. Cases stand upright behind the rear row instead of going on somebody's lap.
BY THE HOUR, FROM, EX VAT£55Three-hour minimum, 20 miles included per hour
HEATHROW → MAYFAIR, EX VAT£127The reference journey, 17.4 miles, meet and greet included
ANY MOVEMENT, FROM, EX VAT£100However 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.
Yes, and it is fitted that way on request rather than switched over at the kerb; it is a ten-minute job on the rails, not a lever. Ask for conference seating when you book. Left unasked, the car arrives in forward-facing seven-seat configuration, which is what most airport work wants.
Yes, on the extra-long body, with the cases standing upright in the space behind the rear row. That is the configuration the figure is quoted for. With the middle row reversed for conference seating you lose some of that space to legroom, so a working party of four with full luggage is comfortable and seven with full luggage is not.
Often not. At 1,880mm it clears a 2.0m barrier and does not clear the 1.8m one that a lot of central London basements use. If the pick-up or set-down is below ground, give the control room the address when you book and they will check the height restriction rather than have the chauffeur discover it on the ramp.
For working, better: nothing else here lets four people face each other over a table. For resting, no. It sits higher, rides firmer and is noticeably more affected by a poor road surface than an S-Class. Book it for what the cabin can do, not for the ride.
SALOON · W223 · LONG WHEELBASE
Mercedes S-Class
The standing choice for airport and executive work. Rear seats recline, the cabin is quiet at speed, and the partition glass is available on request.
3 PASSENGERS · 3 BAGS · FROM, EX VAT £55/HR
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
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