Can I Bring a Child Seat in a Chauffeur Car?

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How many child seats fit across the back of the Mercedes-Benz EQE?

Two child seats sit comfortably side by side on the rear bench, secured to the ISOFIX anchor points. A third is tight, since the car is rated for a maximum of three passengers in total.

Crest Chauffeurs London runs one black electric Mercedes-Benz EQE, seating up to three passengers, and doesn't carry spare child seats as standard kit. Bring the seat your child already uses — an infant carrier, a rear-facing toddler seat, a forward-facing seat, or a booster cushion — and the chauffeur fits it into the back before the journey starts. The rear bench has ISOFIX anchor points, covering most infant, toddler and combination seats sold in the UK, so fitting is straightforward rather than improvised with a seatbelt alone. Two child seats fit across the bench without crowding either child; a third alongside them is tight, since the car is rated for a maximum of three passengers in total. If you're travelling with three children needing seats, say so when booking so the journey is planned properly. None of this changes the price: whether it's a £45 point-to-point run or a £400 full-day hire, the fare quoted is what you pay, regardless of the few extra minutes spent fitting seats correctly.

What happens at Heathrow Terminal 5 if the driver needs time to fit a child seat?

Heathrow pickups include 60 minutes' free waiting, meet & greet and flight tracking, so there's no rush to fit a seat correctly outside Terminal 5 arrivals. The driver waits by the Pret a Manger just outside the exit, since drivers can't go inside the terminal.

Heathrow is priced at a fixed £80 if you're within roughly 12 miles of a non-central postcode, or £115 otherwise — both include the same 60 minutes of free waiting, flight tracking and meet & greet, whether or not a seat needs fitting on arrival. The driver can't come inside Terminal 5, so the practical meeting point is outside the arrivals exit; the Pret a Manger there is the landmark drivers use, which is a clearer instruction than a gate number when you're also managing a child and a car-seat bag. If the seat is already with you, fitting it takes a few minutes once you're at the car, and that's covered within the waiting allowance rather than added to the fixed fare. Weekday mornings into central London run heavier than weekday evenings out towards Heathrow, so building in a wider time window on a weekday collection is worth doing; weekends into central London are comparatively clear by contrast.

Does it cost extra to bring a child seat on a point-to-point fare or hourly booking?

No. Fitting a child seat is included in the fixed point-to-point fare from £45, the £55-an-hour rate (3-hour minimum), and the £250 half-day or £400 full-day hire — the number you're quoted doesn't change.

A point-to-point trip, from £45, suits one straightforward journey with a seat fitted once at the start and removed at the end. Hourly hire, at £55 an hour with a 3-hour minimum, suits a morning of stops — a school run followed by an appointment, say — where the seat stays fitted between stops rather than refitted each time. A half-day booking at £250 or a full day at £400 works the same way over a longer stretch, useful for a family day out where the seat needs to stay in place from the first pickup to the last drop-off. None of these rates change because a child seat is involved. Night journeys between 23:00 and 06:00 carry a 20% addition on top of whichever rate applies, the same with or without a child seat fitted. For several stops with a seat fitted throughout, hourly or half-day hire usually suits better than booking separate point-to-point fares, since the seat only goes in once.

What should I tell the driver before a journey with a child seat?

Send the child's age, the seat type — infant, toddler, or booster — and how many seats over WhatsApp when booking, so it's confirmed in writing along with the pickup time and price.

Every booking is confirmed in writing before the journey, so mentioning a child seat at that stage means no surprise at pickup. Say how many seats, what type, and the child's approximate age or height, since that affects whether a seat is rear-facing or forward-facing. If you're unsure whether your seat fits the EQE's rear ISOFIX points, a photo or the make and model sent over WhatsApp lets this be checked before the day. The booking is handled directly with the chauffeur who drives the car, not passed along through a call centre, so what you send on WhatsApp is what the driver plans around. The service is DBS-checked and runs under a TfL-licensed operator partner, which applies to every passenger, children included. There's no deposit taken and no card held on file; payment happens at the end of the journey on the card machine carried in the car, which takes contactless, chip and PIN, Apple Pay or Google Pay — useful if you're also managing a buggy and a child seat.

Can three children each have their own seat fitted at the same time?

Two child seats fit the rear bench comfortably; a third alongside them is tight, since the Mercedes-Benz EQE carries a maximum of three passengers in total. For three seats, mention it when booking so the trip is planned properly.

The EQE is a saloon built for up to three passengers, and that limit applies however those passengers are seated — two adults and a child in a booster, or three children each in their own seat. Two child seats fit the rear bench without a squeeze; add a third and it's tight, with less room for an adult to sit alongside if one is travelling too. This is one driver and one car, not a fleet, so a trip needing three full child seats plus an accompanying adult is five people, and a second car would need arranging separately rather than assumed to fit. Flagging this at booking, over WhatsApp, means the journey gets planned around the actual numbers rather than discovered at the kerb. For families who regularly need more than two child seats, booking for a smaller group at a time plans more comfortably than trying to fit three in one car.

More guides: Car and Driver Hire for a Week in London | Crest Chauffeurs · Chauffeur for Elderly Parents in London | Crest Chauffeurs · Chauffeur vs Black Cab from Heathrow: Costs Compared

What do you only find out by doing this journey?

Where to meet at Terminal 5 with a child in tow. The driver can't come inside Heathrow Terminal 5, so arrivals meet-ups happen just outside the exit, by the Pret a Manger that drivers use as the landmark — useful when you're juggling a child and a car-seat bag rather than hunting for a gate number.

When is this the wrong choice?

You need three or more child seats fitted at once. The Mercedes-Benz EQE seats a maximum of three passengers in total, so three child seats side by side across the rear bench is tight; a second car would need arranging separately, since this is one driver and one car, not a fleet.

• Your child is travelling without a parent or guardian in the car. Every booking is confirmed in writing with the person who books it, and the service is built around that direct relationship between the chauffeur and the booking passenger — it isn't set up as an unaccompanied-minor transport service.
• You need a seat fitted at short notice while the driver is already on another job. There's one chauffeur and one car; if that car is already committed to a current booking, a last-minute journey with a child seat will need to wait or be rebooked for another time.

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