BMW 730Ld Wins Double Professional Driver Car of the Year for 2011 Awards

During the Professional Driver Car of the Year for 2011 award ceremonies, the BMW 730Ld was revealed as the top choice for chauffeurs, thus reclaiming the crown it lost last year. The BMW luxury saloon also won the Chauffeur Car of the year category, fighting off off tough competition from the new Audi A8L, as well as from last year’s Professional Driver Car of the Year, the Jaguar XJ.

In addition, the 530d Gran Turismo also won the Executive Car of the Year category for the second year running, ahead of the Jaguar XF and the new Audi A6. In other, non BMW news, the Skoda Superb won the Private Hire Vehicle of the Year category, while the VW Sharan beat Ford’s Galaxy in the MPV category


“The BMW 730Ld offers an exceptional mix of comfort, rear-seat luxury and driveability. Since 2009, the 7-series has been improved, with better fuel economy now above 40mpg combined. And crucially, it’s part of a beefed-up manufacturer-backed chauffeur program that makes it much more affordable for chauffeurs on a lease basis than either the Jaguar XJL or the Mercedes S-class,” said Professional Driver editor Mark Bursa.

“It was a very close contest, with the new Audi A8L winning praise for its comfort and good looks, and Audi’s chauffeur program probably edges BMW’s. Audi is the only manufacturer to offer a like-for-like licensed replacement car anywhere in the UK, not just in London. But this wasn’t enough to take the top prize from the 7-series, which was simply the best car on the day,” he added.