Mercedes-Benz V-Class

Compare it against the obvious alternative, which is two E-Class saloons, and the MPV usually wins on every measure except one. Two cars cost more, need two chauffeurs, and reliably arrive several minutes apart because traffic separates them. The single exception is presentation. If your group is arriving at a formal event where the photograph matters, a pair of saloons or a single flagship reads differently, and we would rather point that out beforehand than after.

The six-cases-and-six-bags figure is real, but read it as a package rather than a promise for any load. It assumes conventional suitcases in the space behind the rear row and the seats in their standard positions. Golf bags, ski equipment, flight cases and rigid instrument cases change the geometry, and the honest fix is often to reduce the seat count by one and gain a great deal of floor. Send us the actual list and we will confirm the configuration.

Two practical points that catch people out. Height comes first: this is a taller vehicle than the barriers on some older multi-storey and hotel underground car parks permit, so we check the access before the day rather than discovering it at the entrance. Second, the sliding doors need a clear stretch of kerb to deploy safely, which occasionally means collecting from the end of a narrow terraced street rather than directly outside the front door.