While Avis Prestige is the name above the door, the company actually providing and operating the cars is called Miles & Miles. Founded in London in 1953, it claims to be the capital’s oldest independent car rental company.
The head office and main garages, which are stuffed with a spectacular array of performance cars and luxury SUVs, are located in a mews in west London. The company’s association with Avis goes back to 1997, when the major rental firm asked the owners to provide upmarket rentals under a new Avis Prestige banner.
Forward to today and I’ve come to sample the Avis Prestige experience for myself, having booked a Land Rover Defender 110 D300 HSE for a long weekend. I have a couple of jobs for it, including carting the extended family to a do in Swindon via the picturesque Marlborough Downs and a trip to Windsor’s Christmas lights.
Fortunately, the company has waived the rental charge, which for the weekend (Friday to Monday) would have been £843. Given the sheer pleasure of enjoying this £80,000 car for a few days with no mileage limit, I don’t think that’s bad – certainly better value than an ‘experience’ gift involving a few laps of a race track, and if split between people enjoying a break together, better value still. A second person is insured to drive at no extra charge.