Rolls-Royce Phantom

There are journeys this car is wrong for, and we will tell you which. A weekday airport transfer for two people with suitcases is an expensive way to move luggage, and a flagship saloon does it better in traffic. What justifies the Phantom is a day with photographs in it, or an arrival that has an audience. Where the schedule is purely functional, we will point you at another vehicle, even though the alternative is the smaller booking.

The capacity of two large cases and two cabin bags surprises people given the exterior dimensions, and the explanation is simple: the rear compartment took priority over the boot, exactly as it should have. For a wedding it comfortably carries what the day requires. For anything resembling a holiday departure, plan a second vehicle for luggage and let this one carry only the people who matter to the photograph.

Length and width are the real planning considerations. Narrow lanes with passing places, village churches with tight lych-gates, multi-storey car parks with height and turning limits, and hotel courtyards designed in the eighteenth century all need checking rather than assuming. Extended-wheelbase examples are longer again. On the credit side, the sill is low, the coach doors give an unusually generous aperture, and no passenger has ever had to climb out of one awkwardly.