Is There A Baggage Allowance When Hiring A Car?

Recently on several occasions we have been asked, is there a baggage allowance when hiring a car? We thought the best way to cover this would be to explain everything you need to know in one blog.

The confusion arises when using our booking engine. When you look at a car, there is a symbol for a bag with a number next to it. This is common across most car hire companies, and the point of confusion can easily be identified. People assume that the baggage symbol works in the same way as person symbol, which tells you the limit for the number of people allowed in the car at once. However, the baggage symbol is only to be used as a guideline for considering what car size you should hire, it is not a maximum allowance. The baggage guidance can be useful however, you might have different size baggage and it should only be used as a guideline.

luggage space

The attached image shows a Nissan Qashqai with the number of bags being 4, if you hover over this symbol during the booking process it will tell you “This car can fit 4 small suitcases” now I am not sure on what scale a small suitcase is measured but again, it is there to be a guide. If you turn up with 4 Kardashian sized suitcases then your may be in some trouble. Now I have driven one of these and know for a fact that more than 4 small suitcases will fit, but when you consider everything else in this class, this is probably the right amount. There are a number of smaller cars is the same class like, Nissan Juke, VW T-Roc and Audi Q3, all of which have 5 doors, 5 seats and pretty small boots.

so What Is The Right Size Car For Me?

Well there are several factors that need to be considered when choosing what size car you need to hire. The first and most obvious is the amount of people who will be travelling in the car, make sure you choose a car that has enough seats. Secondly, you need to consider how much baggage you are taking with you. For example, if you are taking just 5 people with a bag of hand luggage each, you will not need a car that has the recommended amount of luggage as 5.

The majority of deciding what size car you need is down to your own research and judgement. Make sure you know how big your cases are and how many you are going to be taking. Once you have this information try and compare it to different cars you are familiar with and decide if you think it would be suitable for you. Better still, if you have a friend who owns a different size car to you, ask them if your luggage and number of passengers would fit in. If you are planning on taking a lot of luggage and only 5 people, it might be better to hire a people carrier, as instead of using all 7 seats you can use that area as luggage space.

If you have any questions and would like further clarification of vehicle sizes, do not hesitate to get in contact with our knowledgeable team. Once you have decided the right size car for you, get in touch with us and we can get you booked in, you can contact us via call, email or by using the live chat function.

Having worked in the car rental industry for over 15 years, he really knows his stuff. Rob heads up our marketing department and as a keen traveller, always has a new location to talk about. Particularly if there is a golf course nearby.