Credit Hire Vehicle

The road-test guide to credit hire cars

Menu

Vehicle information site, funded by labelled commercial partner links. We are not your insurer.

Credit hire vehicle classes explained

Published · Last updated

UK credit hire matches your damaged car to a replacement using a class (or group) system: your car is assigned to a band of equivalent vehicles, and the replacement comes from that band. The most widely referenced convention is the group structure of the industry's General Terms of Agreement (GTA) rate tables, which band cars as Standard groups S1–S7, MPV groups M–M6, 4x4 groups F1–F9, Prestige groups P1–P13 and Sports groups SP1–SP13, with commercial vehicles on a separate schedule (source: GTA Technical rate tables, gtacredithire.com).

Key facts
  • Matching is by equivalence — engine size, body type, market position — not by exact model.
  • The GTA group tables are the industry's published reference: e.g. Corsa/Polo/Fiesta-size cars in group S2, Astra/Focus-size in S3, BMW 3 Series-band cars in the P4–P6 prestige groups (GTA Technical rate tables).
  • The legacy tables predate the crossover boom, so modern compact SUVs (Qashqai, Sportage class) are matched by equivalence to the nearest group in practice.
  • Consumer-facing class names — the ones this site uses — map onto those groups: small hatchback, medium hatchback, family saloon/estate, compact SUV, large SUV/4x4, MPV/7-seater, executive, prestige/luxury, sports/convertible, van/LCV, taxi/private hire, electric.

What are credit hire vehicle classes?

They are the bands used to define "like-for-like": every car on the road can be placed in a group of broadly equivalent vehicles, and a replacement from the same group is treated as a fair match. The GTA tables — agreed between subscribing insurers and credit hire companies — are the published articulation of that system, listing example vehicles per group from a group S1 city car up to group P13 (Rolls-Royce Phantom band) and SP13 (supercar band).

How is my car matched to a class?

By its size, body style, engine and market position: a 1.2 Corsa sits in the small-hatch band, a 2.0 BMW 320 in the executive prestige band, a Transit Custom in the light commercial schedule. The practical question — which real models arrive for each band — is the subject of our what you will get series.

What if my exact model is not available?

You are supplied the nearest equivalent within the class, which is normal practice rather than a shortfall: what is supplied is usually an equivalent vehicle, not a duplicate. Each class page lists the substitutions the class allows, and the honest limits — see, for example, sports and convertibles, the hardest class to match.

Which class is my car in?

Pick your car from the twelve consumer classes below; each page states what the class covers, the models that sit in it, and what you will not be given.

Blue Toyota Yaris, a small hatchback class exampleSmall hatchbackWhite Volkswagen Golf, a medium hatchback class exampleMedium hatchbackGrey Skoda Octavia, a family saloon and estate class exampleFamily saloon & estateBlue Volkswagen Tiguan driving through snow, a compact SUV class exampleCompact SUVRed Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, a large SUV and 4x4 class exampleLarge SUV & 4x4MPV & 7-seaterBlue BMW 3 Series Saloon, an executive class exampleExecutiveSilver Mercedes-Benz E-Class Saloon, a prestige and luxury class examplePrestige & luxurySports & convertibleVan & LCVGreen Toyota Corolla, a taxi and private hire class exampleTaxi & private hireElectric vehicles

Related reading: What is a credit hire vehicle? · How supply works. The rate implications of vehicle groups — what each group costs and who pays — are a claim question and sit outside this site's vehicle-only scope.