Do you actually need a replacement vehicle, and what would suit you?
If someone else caused the accident, two questions settle almost everything about a replacement car: whether you need one at all, and what would genuinely do the job if you do. This site sticks to the vehicle side of both — the need test, what “equivalent” actually means in practice, the classes fleets work in, what availability changes, and how these models hold up under hard mileage. We start from what you need rather than what you drove, because supply really does vary and nobody can promise you a particular car.
Published · Last updated
Vauxhall CorsaSmall hatchback exampleVauxhall Corsa
Easy to drive, cheap to fuel and decently kitted out in fleet trim. A small hatchback, reviewed here on published sources. Reviewed .
Where are you starting from?
Four places to start. Pick whichever describes you at the moment. Each one goes to a page on this site, and none of them asks you for anything.
Model guides, class by class
Twelve models covered in this library, grouped by replacement class — small hatchbacks and family workhorses through to SUVs, executive saloons, vans and electric cars. Which model any particular hire produces depends on need and on what the supplying fleet holds.
- Vauxhall CorsaSmall hatchback
Vauxhall Corsa
Small hatchback 
Volkswagen PoloSmall hatchbackVolkswagen Polo
Small hatchback
Volkswagen GolfMedium hatchbackVolkswagen Golf
Medium hatchback- Ford FocusMedium hatchbackNo press photograph held for this model yet.
Ford Focus
Medium hatchback 
Skoda OctaviaFamily saloon & estateSkoda Octavia
Family saloon & estate
Toyota CorollaTaxi & private hireToyota Corolla
Taxi & private hire
Nissan QashqaiCompact SUVNissan Qashqai
Compact SUV
Kia SportageCompact SUVKia Sportage
Compact SUV
BMW 3 SeriesExecutiveBMW 3 Series
Executive
Mercedes-Benz E-ClassPrestige & luxuryMercedes-Benz E-Class
Prestige & luxury- Ford Transit CustomVan & LCVNo press photograph held for this model yet.
Ford Transit Custom
Van & LCV - Tesla Model 3ElectricNo press photograph held for this model yet.
Tesla Model 3
Electric
Vehicle shown is an exact model example, not a promise of supply. Credit hire normally provides an equivalent vehicle within the approved class; make, model, trim, fuel and colour depend on availability.
Read the library by class, with sources and durability detail: all reviews.
How the replacement classes work
Start from the car you drive now. Each class page sets out the band it usually sits in, what that band does not stretch to, and where matching runs out of road. Which class would suit you depends on your own need, and it is decided case by case rather than by the badge on your car.
How the class system itself works: vehicle classes explained
Need comes before the car
The Financial Ombudsman Service has said a referral into credit hire may not have been appropriate where it was clear a hire car was not needed — where a suitable spare car was available, where courtesy car cover was already sufficient, where the damaged vehicle was still roadworthy and drivable, or where a policy already provided benefits at least as good. That test is worth settling before anyone puts a vehicle in front of you: do I need a replacement vehicle?. If you do need one, what counts as a suitable replacement sets out what suitability actually turns on, and availability explains what real supply changes. Working your own requirement out and writing it down, before the first conversation about a vehicle, is on choosing a suitable credit hire vehicle.
This site explains the vehicle-level factors only. It does not assess individual circumstances, arrange vehicles or take enquiries — speak directly to your insurer or an appropriately regulated adviser for advice about your own position.
Credit Hire Car of the Year
The annual award for the car that best survives credit hire fleet duty. It is judged on Fleet Duty Rating data, so no award has been made yet.