I’m still reading Nicholas Nickleby and Mrs. Nickleby gets into a “chariot” to go somewhere. The only chariot I am aware of is the Ben-Hur kind. Surely this would not have been what Dickens was talking about in 19th century London.
Anybody have any info, and illustrations?
It means basically some kind of carriage, i.e., a wheeled non-motorized vehicle. See this bewildering array of names for different kinds of carriages and chariots.
Youse guys are incredible. Wow. silenus, I actually looked up that book in your link, Carriages at Eight: Horse-Drawn Society in Victorian and Edwardian Times on Amazon and bought a copy, just because I’m that kind of history nerd. “…has lots of information on the etiquette of carriages and how to ride in them.” I might need to know that one day. 
There was mention of a ‘charabanc’ in the book “Little Women”, which they planned to hire as sort of a taxi for a group. They facetiously called it a ‘cherry-bounce’.
Think of how the car you drive reflects your status. Think of the stereotypes associated with the Volvo vs. a full-sized pickup truck vs. a minivan.
The connotations of class and personality associated with the myriad varieties of horse-drawn conveyance are similar to those associated with automobiles today.
I remember in Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, there’s mention of a dog-cart, which I later learned is not actually pulled by a dog: http://sherlockholmesofstcharles.blogspot.com/2012/03/i-love-this-diagram-of-dog-cart.html
(And hey, it’s Conan Doyle’s 153rd birthday!)