Car rental at Heathrow Airport (LHR) runs through off-airport rental centres reached by free shuttle rather than cars parked at the kerb: Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt all serve Heathrow, with Avis and Budget keeping desks in the terminals and most brands running branded shuttle buses from signed stops outside arrivals. Factor 20-40 minutes from baggage claim to actually driving away. Renting at Heathrow makes most sense for journeys out of London - the M4, M25 and M40 fan out from the airport - while central London itself punishes cars with congestion and emissions charges. Remember that the UK drives on the left and manual gearboxes are still the default; reserve an automatic explicitly if you need one.
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