HiAce, Sprinter, Coaster or 50-seater?

Which one for your group: the short answer

Count heads first, then bags. Up to 13 people with modest luggage: the HiAce. Up to 16, or a smaller group that wants an executive finish: the Sprinter. Between 17 and 30: the Coaster, which is what we call the mini coach. Over 30, or any group with a lot of luggage: the 50-seater. If you are on the edge of a size, go up one. Six empty seats cost less than two people standing in the aisle.

The rest of this page explains why, one vehicle at a time. Seats are passenger seats and the driver is not counted. Bags are medium suitcases.

The four vehicles side by side

Day rates are for up to 10 hours within Dubai with driver and fuel. The Sprinter is the most expensive of the four because it is an executive vehicle with a premium finish. Your written quote confirms the figure for your date, route and hours.

Toyota HiAce: the workhorse

The HiAce is a high-roof van. It has rows of forward-facing seats with belts, strong air conditioning and a luggage area behind the last row. It is the sensible choice for a project crew, a sports team, a family of ten or a group moving between a hotel and a venue. It also has the lowest starting day rate of the four, from AED 900 per day.

It has limits. There is no standing headroom to speak of, the seats are simpler than the Sprinter’s, and the luggage area takes around ten medium cases before the back row starts to fill up. On a long day, say Dubai to Hatta and back, thirteen adults in a van will notice the difference from a coach. For a transfer of 30 or 40 minutes it is hard to beat.

You will see other operators advertise HiAce vans as 12, 14 or 15 seaters. The seat count depends on the layout, and every extra seat takes legroom or luggage space. Ours is a 13-seater. Our van with driver page has more on how groups use it.

Mercedes Sprinter: the executive minibus

The Sprinter seats up to 16 in the standard layout, with leather seats that recline, individual air vents and reading lights, and enough headroom to stand and walk to your seat. A VIP layout trades seats for width and a lounge feel, usually with tables and fewer places. If your passengers are clients, speakers or a delegation, the Sprinter is the one that looks right pulling up at a hotel.

It is not the roomiest in the luggage department. Around twelve bags is the honest figure, so a full 16 people with airport luggage will be tight, and the Coaster is the better call. We say so when we quote. Compare layouts, not just the word “Sprinter”, because the term covers everything from a basic van to a VIP conversion.

Toyota Coaster: the mini coach

Search for “coaster bus rental in Dubai” and you will find a lot of results, because it is the vehicle most groups of 17 to 30 end up in. A Coaster is a small bus, not a big van. It has a high floor, a proper aisle, reclining seats, overhead and rear luggage space and a PA microphone on request. We list it as a 22 to 30 seater, and the seat count on your quote depends on the vehicle assigned.

Its great advantage is size. A full 50-seater coach does not fit into every hotel porte-cochère, villa street or beach-club gate, and the Coaster does. It carries around twenty bags. That makes it a better choice than the Sprinter for a big family reunion with luggage, and a better choice than a coach for a 25-person wedding shuttle. Starting at AED 1,100 per day, it is also cheaper than the Sprinter, which surprises people. The bus rental price guide explains why, with examples.

50-seater coach: when everyone goes together

The full-size coach is the only vehicle here that suits a group of 35 to 50. It has reclining seats with seat belts, strong air conditioning, a PA system and under-floor luggage holds that take around fifty bags without a single suitcase in the passenger area. A day to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, or to Al Ain, is more comfortable here than in any van.

It is also the hardest to place. A coach needs room to turn and a bay to stop in, so for a hotel or venue with a tight forecourt, confirm the drop-off point with the venue before the day. We do that as part of the plan. For events with several hundred guests we run several coaches, usually with a mini coach alongside, on one quote. See coach rental in Dubai for how that works.

Luggage decides more than seats

People pick a vehicle by head count and are caught out by bags. A typical holiday group has more luggage than seats, and a typical corporate group has less. As a rough guide, count one medium suitcase per person, then add golf bags, prams, equipment cases and anything that won’t stand upright.

The table above shows why the HiAce and the Sprinter fill up fast. A group of 13 with a case each is at the limit of the HiAce’s ten bags. If it is a family arrival with hand luggage and ten cases, the van is fine. If it is thirteen adults on a two-week holiday, ask for the Coaster even though you will only fill half the seats. The other solution is a separate luggage van that travels with the group. Our group airport transfer page explains how those are used.

Comfort on a long day

For the first 30 minutes there is little between the four. After two hours, differences show. The HiAce is a van, and the back row feels the road more than the front. The Sprinter has reclining leather seats and a calmer ride. The Coaster and the coach sit higher and are built for reclining seats and open aisles, and a coach on the motorway to Abu Dhabi is simply a more restful place to be.

Plan a comfort stop on any trip of more than two hours, whichever vehicle you take. Drivers know the service areas along the E11 and E66 and the usual stops on the way to Hatta, so tell us if you want one built into the timetable.

Four groups, four choices

These are examples to show the thinking, not quotes.

Example: a site crew of 11, daily, for a week. Hard hats, bags and short runs between a hotel and a project. The HiAce, from AED 900 per day, does it, and a week of it is the lowest cost of the four.

Example: a speaker team and delegates, 15 people. Three days of hotel, venue and dinner runs. The Sprinter, because it looks right at the door, and the passengers spend several hours a day in it.

Example: a family reunion of 22 with 25 bags. The Coaster can carry the people but not quite the luggage, so we would send it with a HiAce for the bags, or move up to the 50-seater and its under-floor holds.

Example: a company day out for 46. One 50-seater, from AED 1,450 per day, covers the group and the picnic coolers, and nobody is split between vehicles.

Booking the right size

Tell us the number of passengers, the bags counted, the date and the route, and we quote the vehicle that fits. If your group sits between sizes we say so and give you both prices. We would sooner recommend the Coaster than the Sprinter when it is the better fit. Send the details through the booking page, or ask for the full range on minibus rental. To read the quote line by line, see what’s in a bus rental quote.

Related: Minibus rental Dubai · Van with driver · Coach rental Dubai · Bus rental prices · Get a quote

Keep reading

• Van with driver: A V-Class, HiAce or Sprinter with a professional driver, by the hour, for the day or one way.
• Minibus rental Dubai: Toyota HiAce, Mercedes Sprinter and 30-seat mini coaches with a driver, for airport groups, events and day trips.
• Coach rental Dubai: Mini coaches and 50-seat coaches with a driver for tours, conferences, schools and teams, sized to the group and quoted in writing.
• Dubai airport transfer for groups: Vans, Sprinters, mini coaches and 50-seat coaches for groups landing at DXB or DWC, with the luggage and the split flights planned.
• Big group arrival at DXB: How to land 30 or more people at Dubai International and get them onto the right coach: flight lists, luggage, split arrivals and a group leader who is easy to find.
• Bus rental prices: Starting day rates for every bus, van and car, what changes the price, and six worked examples.