With your England car hire you will have to get used to driving on the left-hand side of the road if you aren’t already. The rules of the road are strict and should always be adhered to. Wearing a seat belt in your vehicle is non-negotiable and there are many cameras even on some rural roads, so make sure you observe speed limits and road signs and whatever you do, do not drive over the limit or on your mobile phone. Roundabouts are standard on UK roads. If these are new to you make sure you yield to traffic inside the circle, coming from the right – and be careful as roundabouts can still be confusing to people who are used to them.
When hiring a car in England it’s important to remember that the majority of cars will be manual transmission. In the UK there are even two classes of driver’s licence – one for manual and one for automatic. If you would like to book an automatic vehicle, check first with the car hire company to ensure they have one in that mode and make sure your own personal licence is appropriate to the hire’s transmission.
All children under 12 years of age in England will need to use a child seat when driving as a passenger. If they are over 135cm tall however, they can use the car seat belt. You are welcome to use your own car seat with England car hire, but it will have to be approved by EU standards. Alternatively, all car hire in England will come with infant car seats as an optional add-on, along with other great features to make your journey easier such as Sat Nav for navigation or second driver options to ease the driving load, among others.
England does not have very many toll roads, making long-distance road trips easier. There are one or two main ones such as the M6 near Birmingham or the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, and you will find for the most part they will accept credit cards for payment. In more remote towns where there are private bridges you may have to pay a nominal cash fare, but they are usually clearly marked before you approach them.
25% of our users found rental cars in England for $66 or less
Book your rental car in England at least 1 day before your trip in order to get a below-average price
Off-airport rental car locations in England are around 548% more expensive than airport locations on average
Standard rental cars in England are around 27% cheaper than other car types, on average
FAQs about hiring a car in England
Car hire in England is the perfect way to see this vast country whether you are off to explore a busy city or the remote countryside. Being an extremely diverse terrain that varies from county to county, your car hire choice will depend on your holiday plans. Compact economy vehicles work perfectly for both city travel and long-distance road trips. 4x4s will be a great asset if planning on exploring the hillsides and highlands. You can get a large variety of vehicles from global car hire companies around all the cities in the UK. Whether booking with Avis, Budget, Hertz, SIXT, Europcar or any other, you will be spoilt for choice when deciding what vehicle to drive off the lot in.
You will need mandatory third-party insurance when hiring a car in England. Most car hire companies will offer this as part of their standard insurance package, and it is referred to as collision waiver. They usually provide vehicle theft cover too. If you want additional insurance for personal defects, you will have to take it out on your credit card.
To hire a car in England you will need to be 21 years old. You may get charged an extra fee called the ‘Young Driver Fee’ if you are under 25 although not all companies charge this. Check with your car hire company to see if this will apply. You will need to present your international driver’s licence, your home country licence proving you have had your driving licence for longer than a year, your photographic ID such as a passport and of course, your credit card to make the payment and leave the deposit.
On average a car hire in England costs $98 per day.
Compact (Toyota C-HR or similar) is the most frequently booked car hire type in England.
In the past 72 hours, the cheapest car hires were found at Easirent ($39/day), GREEN MOTION ($77/day) and Firefly ($80/day).
Take a look at our extensive car hire location map to find the best car hire deals near you.
Based on car searches on KAYAK, the most popular cities to hire a car in England are Manchester (63% of total searches of users looking to hire a car in England), Oxford (18%) and Bath (3%).
On average a car hire in England costs $490 per week ($70 per day).
On average a car hire in England costs $2,099 per month ($70 per day).