7-Seater, V-Class and Minibus Hire in Cape Town

Luggage decides more group bookings than seats do. A family of six with two large suitcases each needs far more boot than a 7-seat SUV offers with every seat in use. Here is how our people carriers compare:

Rates include VAT and drop for 7 days or more. Groups of nine or more are best split across two vehicles, which also gives you flexibility for separate day trips. Our fleet does not include 14-seat minibuses.

The Mercedes-Benz V-Class is the most comfortable way to move up to seven people around Cape Town. Captain's chairs, electric sliding doors on both sides and tri-zone climate control make long days in the Winelands easy, and it drives like a large car rather than a van. Its length (just over five metres) means you should plan parking at busy spots such as the V&A Waterfront and Camps Bay, where garages and street bays are tight.

Add a vetted Mylz chauffeur for R2,800 a day (up to 10 hours) and everyone can enjoy the wine tasting. See our private chauffeur service for airport transfers and full-day hire.

The 8-seat Toyota Quantum VX Premium is the practical choice for golf groups and teams: leather seats, rear climate control, USB charging at every row and luggage space behind the last row. Cape Town's courses, from the city to the Winelands and Somerset West, are all within an hour or so of each other, so one vehicle keeps the group together.

• Golf bags vary in size, so tell us how many you are bringing and we will advise whether one vehicle is enough or a second car makes sense.
• The Quantum is diesel and economical for its size, which helps on longer trips to Hermanus or the West Coast.
• A 7-seat SUV is the alternative if your plans include gravel roads.

Daily extras are capped per rental, and every seat is cleaned between rentals. South African law requires children under three to travel in an approved child restraint, so book seats with your car and your host will fit them at handover.

All our people carriers are driven on an ordinary car licence: a South African Code B (EB) licence or a valid foreign car licence, printed in English with a photo or accompanied by an International Driving Permit. Drivers must be 23 or older with at least two years' licence.

Larger 14- and 15-seat minibuses are a different matter. Depending on the vehicle's mass, a heavier licence code may be needed, and carrying passengers for payment requires a Professional Driving Permit (PrDP). If your group is bigger than eight, two of our vehicles or a chauffeured option is usually simpler.

A seven- or eight-seater is easy on the open road but needs a little planning in town. These tips come from our hosts, who deliver these vehicles every day:

• Parking: the V&A Waterfront and the big malls have parkades with generous bays. Older parkades in the City Bowl and some hotel garages have low height limits and tight ramps, so check the signage before you drive in.
• Camps Bay and Clifton have very little street parking on summer weekends. Drop passengers at the beach and park further up the hill, or go early.
• Chapman's Peak Drive is fine in a V-Class or Quantum, but take the bends slowly and use the lay-bys, not the road, for photos.
• Wind: tall vehicles feel the summer south-easter more, especially on the N2 near the airport and over Sir Lowry's Pass. Keep both hands on the wheel and slow down in strong gusts.
• Fuel: both people carriers are diesel. Check the label inside the fuel flap before you fill up.

For everything else about renting with us, from deposits to delivery zones, start at our Cape Town car hire overview.