Sedan car rental in London

If you need a sedan car rental in London, our fleet on this page has 8 sedans from £36 a day, all delivered to your address in the city or to any of the six London airports.

What a sedan is and how it differs from an estate for London rental

Sedan car rental in London starts with the body style: British drivers call it a saloon, and the page carries 7 saloons plus a single estate; the difference sits in the boot and the roofline, not in the number of seats.

Sedan or saloon — the same body style under two names

In United Kingdom a sedan is usually called a saloon — a three-box car with a separate boot, and every saloon on this page seats 5. The three boxes are engine bay, passenger cabin and luggage compartment, each closed off from the others, so luggage stays out of the cabin and rear-seat passengers get a fixed bulkhead behind them.

British paperwork, insurance forms and dealer listings all use «saloon», while «sedan» survives mainly in American catalogues and in the model names themselves. Rent-Trip lists all 8 cars on this page as sedans, and 7 of them are true three-box saloons; the eighth, a Volkswagen Passat Variant, is the estate variant of the same car. Match the word «saloon» when you compare quotes or describe the car to your hotel — an agent in London will understand «sedan» but may ask you to confirm the body style.

Sedan versus estate — boot space and the one estate on the page

An estate carries a taller, longer load bay behind the rear seats, and this page holds one — the Volkswagen Passat Variant at £36 a day, the cheapest car on this page. Both bodies seat 5 and both run on petrol, so the choice is about luggage, not passengers.

The estate body extends the roof to the tailgate, so the load bay rises to window height instead of dropping under a parcel shelf, and the rear seats fold to open a longer floor. In the saloons on this page — the Audi A4, Volkswagen Passat, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Mercedes-Benz CLA, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 3 Series and BMW 5 Series — the boot is a closed box under a fixed shelf, which keeps valuables out of sight but caps the height of what fits.

• Boot lid versus tailgate: a saloon opens only the lid above the rear panel, an estate lifts the whole rear window.
• Load height: the estate accepts tall, upright cases that a saloon boot will not close over.
• Rear visibility: the estate glass runs to the tail, so the view back is longer and flatter.
• Parking footprint: the Volkswagen Passat Variant and the saloon of the same name need much the same bay, so the choice between them is about the boot, not parking.
• Price: the estate is the cheapest car on this page at £36 a day — body style is not what drives the price up here.

If you travel with two large suitcases plus hand luggage, the estate body swallows the awkward case that a saloon boot lid will not close over. On a first trip with left-hand-drive habits, the saloons are the easier cars to place in a bay: their rear window ends where the boot begins, so judging the back corner takes less guesswork.

Sedan car rental in London with models, engines and gearbox choice

For sedan car rental in London, eight sedans from four brands make up the fleet on this page, all petrol, all with five seats. Seven have an automatic gearbox and one is manual, and the table below lays out engine size, power, drive and gearbox for each.

Every sedan on the page side by side

Rear-wheel drive on the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the E-Class and the two BMWs changes how the car feels in the wet, and front-wheel models are the more forgiving choice for a first trip on the left.

Automatic or manual — which sedans offer which

Seven of the eight sedans on this page have an automatic gearbox; the only manual is the Volkswagen Passat at £46 a day. That is the single car on this page where you work a clutch, and it is the same 1.5 L 150 hp engine as the Passat Variant, so the difference between them is body style and gearbox rather than power. The automatic line-up runs from the Volkswagen Passat Variant and Audi A4 up through the Mercedes-Benz CLA, C-Class and E-Class to the two BMWs. On stop-start traffic an automatic removes the clutch work at every junction, which matters most in the first hour after a long flight — in our experience, drivers who book the manual Passat usually do so because they want to stay sharp on a changeover to driving on the left, not to save anything on the rate.

Mercedes or BMW for a business trip

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class at £62 and the BMW 3 Series at £77 are the two mid-size business sedans, both automatic and rear-wheel drive with 204 hp and 184 hp. The C-Class gets its 204 hp from a 1.5 L engine, the 3 Series its 184 hp from a 2.0 L, so the Mercedes pulls more power from less capacity. The E-Class at £74 and the 5 Series at £110 add a size up for rear-seat passengers. If you are taking a colleague or a client to a meeting in the back, that extra length is what the higher rate buys. Our advice for a two-day trip with a colleague in the back: book the E-Class and check the boot dimensions against your cases before you confirm, because a saloon boot lid will not close over a case that is too tall.

The BMW 5 Series is the most expensive sedan on this page at £110 a day, and the Volkswagen Passat Variant the cheapest at £36 — both seat five and run on petrol, so the gap buys engine size, drive layout and cabin space rather than capacity. If you are unsure which of the eight fits your route, tell the manager what you need the car for and the address, date and time are agreed when booking.

Daily, weekly and monthly sedan car rental in London

The daily rate is the unit every longer booking is built from: here sedans run from £36 to £110 a day, a week starts at £216 and a month at £756. The multiplier never changes — a week is the daily rate times 6, a month is the daily rate times 21. The arithmetic is fixed, so the per-day figure falls the longer you book — but the fall is a result of the multiplier, not a separate discount. In our practice the mistake travellers make is comparing headline day rates across a ten-day trip booked as one period and as two shorter ones; the total is what you should be looking at.

How the daily rate turns into a weekly or monthly booking

A week starts at £216 and a month at £756, calculated as the daily rate times 6 and times 21. Take the Volkswagen Passat Variant at £36 a day: the same car for a week is £216 and for a month £756. Move up to the Mercedes-Benz C-Class at £62 and the week becomes £372, the month £1,302. The BMW 5 Series at £110 works out at £660 for a week and £2,310 for a month.

The cheapest and the most expensive sedan on the page

The Volkswagen Passat Variant is the cheapest at £36 a day and the BMW 5 Series the most expensive at £110 a day. Between them sit six other cars: the Audi A4 at £65, the manual Volkswagen Passat at £46, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class at £62, the Mercedes-Benz CLA at £65, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class at £74 and the BMW 3 Series at £77. The gap buys engine size, power and rear-wheel drive — not seats or fuel, because every car on the page is a 5-seat petrol sedan. For a four-day city stay the spread between the bottom and the top of the range is the difference between the daily rates; for a month it is the difference between the monthly rates. That is the number worth knowing before you decide whether the badge matters for the trip you have planned.

What changes when you book longer

• Daily: each day of a shorter booking is charged at the daily rate — £36 to £110 depending on the model you pick.
• Weekly: the daily rate times 6, from £216 for the Passat Variant up to £660 for the 5 Series.
• Monthly: the daily rate times 21, from £756 to £2,310 across the same eight cars.
• Deposit, excess and delivery fees: set out in the rental agreement, not fixed here.
• Fuel: the car comes with a full tank and goes back full — the full-to-full rule applies to every booking length.

A month on the road is where the multiplier does the most work: the Passat Variant at £756 for a month is a different proposition from separate daily bookings. If your plans run past a month, ask about the period when you book rather than assuming the monthly figure stretches indefinitely — the multiplier is 21, and anything beyond that is a fresh conversation with the manager. We deliver the car to any address in the city and to all six airports serving it, and the delivery address, date and time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed.

Delivery and pickup for sedan car rental in London

Delivery is the default on this page: Rent-Trip brings the sedan to the address you give, whether that is a hotel in Mayfair, a flat in Canary Wharf or a terminal at Heathrow Airport (LHR). The delivery address, the date and the time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed. Nothing is promised on this page that has not been confirmed in that conversation.

Where we deliver a sedan

• Any address in the city: give the full postcode and the manager confirms whether the car can be brought to the door or to the nearest accessible point.
• Heathrow Airport (LHR): the largest of the six airports we cover, 30.3 km by road from the centre with a 45-minute run without traffic.
• Gatwick Airport (LGW): 48.6 km by road, roughly 70 minutes without traffic — the longest of the southern runs.
• Stansted Airport (STN), Luton Airport (LTN), City Airport (LCY) and Southend Airport (SEN): all four are inside our delivery area and are agreed the same way as any street address.

Airports, stations and districts we already know

Heathrow and Gatwick below, the other four airports and St Pancras & King’s Cross, Euston, Paddington, Victoria, Waterloo, Canary Wharf, Wembley, ExCeL London and Mayfair all sit inside the delivery area, and each has its own page on the site, so the manager is not starting from scratch when you name one.

In our experience it is worth booking the delivery slot an hour after the scheduled landing rather than the arrival time on the ticket.

Delivery outside the city and what to have ready

Delivery beyond these places is arranged case by case and is not promised on the site — ask the manager before you book if your address falls outside the list. The car arrives clean with a full tank and must go back full; anything missing is charged as set out in the rental agreement, along with a refuelling service fee. The deposit, the insurance excess and any delivery fee are also set out in that agreement, not quoted here. If you land at Gatwick and drive straight into the Congestion Charge zone, remember the charge runs 07:00–18:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00–18:00 at weekends and on bank holidays — who pays road charges is agreed when booking. Rent-Trip supplies every sedan with 5 seats and a petrol engine, so a family of five with luggage fits one car.

Fuel policy and cleanliness for sedan car rental in London

With sedan car rental in London, fuel is the one running cost a driver controls directly, so it is worth knowing the rule before the keys change hands. Every car on this page runs on petrol, and 7 of the 8 come with an automatic gearbox. Our cars are supplied with a full tank and must be returned with a full tank — full-to-full, with no other fuel option offered. The missing fuel and a refuelling service fee are charged as set out in the rental agreement.

The full-to-full fuel rule in practice

• Collect full: the car comes clean with a full tank, so the first thing to check is the gauge as you take it.
• Return full: refuel before hand-back — the tank level at return is what the agreement is settled against.
• Missing fuel: whatever is short, plus a refuelling service fee, is charged as set out in the rental agreement.
• No alternatives: a pre-paid tank or full-to-empty arrangement is not offered on this page.

What petrol costs around London

Petrol and diesel prices move week to week — £1.75 and £1.99 a litre at the last check on 19.10.2026 — and the gap between the two is what matters here. Every sedan here takes petrol, so the diesel figure is there only to show the gap between the two. At that price a fill-up is a predictable line in your trip budget rather than a surprise at the pump. Fuel is the only cost a driver can genuinely trim by choosing a smaller engine: the 1.3 L Mercedes-Benz CLA and the three 1.5 L cars — the Volkswagen Passat Variant, the Volkswagen Passat and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class — drink less than the 2.0 L BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. In our experience, a week of mixed city and motorway driving in a 1.5 L saloon lands noticeably below the same week in a 2.0 L rear-wheel-drive model, so match the engine to the mileage you actually plan.

Cleanliness, the tank and what you receive

The car comes clean with a full tank — those two things are the standard, not an upgrade. Interior condition matters more on a long booking than on a weekend: a saloon used for airport runs and day trips accumulates crumbs, receipts and road grime fast, and returning it in the state you collected it keeps the hand-back simple. If you are heading out of the city towards Oxford or Cambridge, the same full-to-full rule applies at the other end — refuel close to the drop-off so the car comes back with a full tank.

Charges and conditions agreed at booking

The deposit, the insurance excess, delivery fees and any discounts are set out in the rental agreement, and the delivery address, date and time are agreed with a manager before the booking is fixed. Congestion Charge and ULEZ are separate London schemes: the Congestion Charge runs 07:00–18:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00–18:00 at weekends and on bank holidays, and is not charged from 25 December to the New Year bank holiday inclusive. ULEZ applies 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except 25 December. Who pays road charges, tolls and penalty notices on a rental car is agreed when booking — it is not fixed on this page.

Petrol stations before you return

Fill up close to your drop-off rather than at the start of the journey home. Plan the last refuel within a few miles of the delivery address so the tank is full when the car is checked back in, and keep the receipt: it settles any question about the level at return faster than a discussion at the kerb. On a full-to-full arrangement that habit is what keeps the hand-back clean.

What to check in the agreement for sedan car rental in London

The rental agreement with Rent-Trip is where the deposit, the insurance excess, delivery fees and any discounts are actually fixed, so read it before the booking is confirmed rather than at the kerb. Everything on this page that is not a rate — those four items — is set out in the rental agreement and nowhere else.

Deposit, excess and fees — where the numbers live

• Deposit: the amount is set out in the rental agreement, not quoted on this page.
• Insurance excess: the figure you carry if the car is damaged is in the agreement too.
• Delivery fees: any charge for bringing the sedan to your address sits in the same document.
• Discounts: whatever reduction applies is written there, so ask for it to be shown before you confirm.
• Documents and driver age: the minimum rental age, the young-driver surcharge and the cards accepted are agreed when booking.

The road-charge question to settle before you drive

Who pays Congestion Charge, ULEZ, the Dartford Crossing toll and any penalty notice on a rental car is agreed when booking — it is not fixed on this page, so ask the manager directly and get the answer into the booking conversation. Dartford charges per crossing for cars, with a lower prepaid rate. In our practice the drivers who get caught out are the ones who assume the charge is included — settle it in the booking and the drive itself stays simple.

Sedan car rental in London for a weekend, a business trip or a long stay

Trip length changes which of the eight sedans makes sense far more than badge loyalty does. A two-day city break, a week of meetings and a month-long stay each point at a different car, and the multipliers — daily rate times 6 for a week, times 21 for a month — are what make the longer bookings work.

A weekend in the city

• Best fit: the Volkswagen Passat Variant at £36 a day — the cheapest car on this page, and the estate body takes the awkward case a saloon boot will not close over.
• Two people, hand luggage: the Audi A4 at £65 covers it with a 2.0 L 150 hp engine and an automatic gearbox.
• Parking: a saloon's rear window ends where the boot begins, which makes the back corner easier to judge in tight bays.
• Charges: if the route crosses the centre between 07:00 and 18:00 on a weekday or 12:00 and 18:00 at weekends and on bank holidays, the Congestion Charge applies — agree who pays it when booking.

A business trip with a passenger in the back

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class at £74 and the BMW 5 Series at £110 are the two cars here with the length for rear-seat passengers, both automatic and rear-wheel drive. The E-Class delivers 204 hp from 2.0 L, the 5 Series 184 hp from the same capacity. If you are taking a colleague or a client to a meeting in the back, that extra length is what the higher rate buys. For a two-day trip with a colleague in the back, book the E-Class and check your largest case against the boot before you confirm — a saloon lid will not close over a case that is too tall.

A month or more on the road

A month starts at £756 for the Passat Variant and runs to £2,310 for the 5 Series, calculated as the daily rate times 21. Beyond that period the figure is a fresh conversation with the manager rather than an extension of the multiplier, so raise it when you book. Full-to-full fuel applies at every length: the car arrives clean with a full tank and goes back full, and anything short plus a refuelling service fee is charged as set out in the rental agreement. On a month-long stay, plan the last refuel within a few miles of the delivery address and keep the receipt — it settles any question about the level at return faster than a discussion at the kerb.