The Chariot can sometimes be a vehicle in both its literal sense and its physical sense. In some decks the Charioteer is wearing armour in order to protect himself. I sometimes see the armour as a shell in a similar way to Cancer the Crab. Crabs have very soft flesh protected by a hard outer exterior. Once the crab outgrows its shell it discards it. Once someone has finished their fight or won their race they no longer need that particular vehicle.
In other images the Chariot has two horses or sphinxes which are viewed as opposing either in the black/white dichotomy kind of way, or as two horses veering off in two different directions. The Charioteer has to use the force of their will in order to keep the two opposing forces together.
If you imagine a charioteer in an actual race with other charioteers trying to force them off the track in a similar way to Le Mans for example you can see how much power is needed to keep this chariot not only on the road but together for long enough to beat all the other charioteers and to come out victorious. It would take brute strength and guts and skill. The charioteer would not be able to take their eye of the winning posts for a second because as soon as their concentration started to falter, they could lose control of the horses or their vehicle or someone else could take advantage of their momentary lapse of concentration.
There was an awful lot riding on these races. Firstly, the charioteer would start off as a slave. If they won enough money they could buy their freedom so imagine how much each one wanted to win. (And what great sport for the barbaric Romans! who laid huge bets.) Secondly, in ancient Rome there were four main factions each with their own colour and the stables went to great lengths to obtain the best charioteers who became incredibly famous and statues were commissioned of them. They all died young in their early twenties because they wrapped the reins around their waists in order to guide the horses with as much force as possible. This was dangerous in that it allowed them to be dragged out of their chariots and under the horses. They didn't wear armour (unlike some deck depictions) and only had small helmets.
Here is an epitaph by a charioteer called Scorpus:
I am Scorpus, the glory of the noisy Circus,
the much-applauded and short-lived darling of Rome.
Envious Fate, counting my victories instead of my years,
and so believing me old,
carried me off in my twenty-sixth year.
Martial, Epigrams 10.53
The Circus was the race track and as you can see he died at 26 which was not a bad age for a charioteer. Unlike most decks however the usual amount of horses in a race was four and the driver rode behind on the axle as they kept the chariot as small and as lightweight as possible.
So in a love question we have the ideas of victory, stakes, control, bravery, single mindedness, glory, danger, risks, vulnerabilities, skill, strength and all these used at the same time in order to keep something on track for a short period of time or for as long as it took in order to claim victory.
The Chariot is also the number seven which has meaning both in the Bible and the Tree of Life.