Most people only find this out once they are inside our Mercedes V-Class: the seats in the back are not fixed. As standard the car comes set up face to face, with the middle row facing the back row, so your group sits together like a small private lounge. If you would rather everyone faced forward, like a normal car, we turn the seats round before the car leaves for you.
The two layouts
Face to face. The middle row faces the back row. Everyone can see everyone, conversation is easy, and the car feels more like a lounge or a small meeting room than a van. This is what people mean by conference seating, and it is how the car arrives unless you ask otherwise.
All facing forward. Every seat faces the direction of travel, in rows, like a normal car. Everyone sees the road ahead and nobody rides backwards.
The seats themselves, the leather and the legroom stay the same. Only the direction changes.
When face to face works best
- Meetings on the move: a team going over the pitch on the way to a client, or a roadshow between offices
- Groups who want to talk: friends heading to dinner, the theatre or a birthday
- Weddings and family occasions, where the drive is part of the day
- Longer runs with adults who like to share the journey, such as a day at the races or a weekend in the Cotswolds
When I would turn everyone to face forward
- Anyone who feels unwell riding backwards. Some people do, especially on long runs or straight off a flight, and the M25 is no place to find out.
- Children in car seats. Child seats go on forward-facing seats, as their fitting instructions require, so when little ones are travelling we set the layout around them.
- Sightseeing, when everyone wants the view through the windscreen.
- Late arrivals after a long flight, when people would rather sit back and close their eyes than make conversation.
Riding backwards and safety
Every seat has its own seatbelt, whichever way it faces, and the seats lock onto their rails before we set off. Whenever the layout has been changed, your chauffeur checks every seat before the car leaves.
Seats, luggage and the boot
The seats sit on rails, so where they sit also decides how much room is left behind them for cases. If you are travelling heavy, tell me how many suitcases you have and we will set the seats and the boot up together, so nobody ends up with a bag on their lap.
Changing the layout
Turning the seats round takes time and is done properly with the car parked, not outside your hotel with you waiting on the pavement, so we do it before the car leaves for your pickup. There is a charge for changing the layout. It depends on your booking, and I will confirm it with you before you book, so there are no surprises on the day. If plans change on the day, message me and we will swap it if there is time, but the earlier I know, the better.
The same goes for every V-Class we run, and for the Jet Class.
Two journeys, two layouts
Say six friends are heading from Mayfair to a wedding in the Cotswolds. That is face to face, exactly as the car comes: an hour and a half of catching up, and the party starts in the car.
Now say a family of five is landing at Heathrow with two toddlers and a buggy. That is all facing forward, with the child seats fitted and the cases sorted in the boot before anyone reaches arrivals.
It is the same car on two very different days, set up for whoever is getting in.
How to ask for it
If face to face suits you, there is nothing to do: that is how the car arrives. If you would like everyone facing forward, add "all facing forward" in the notes when you book, or just tell me on WhatsApp. Not sure which suits? Tell me who is travelling and why, and I will suggest the layout. For more on the car itself, see our V-Class guide, or tell me about your trip.
