A total of seven vehicles were judged in the £50,000-£100,000 category which made it the toughest section of all.

Even though the winner of this section, the BMW 730Ld was awarded the highest points, the top four vehicles were only three points apart, making it the closest year ever.

For the first time in the awards history, two vehicles took second place by scoring exactly the same amount of points. The all-new Jaguar XJL and the Audi A8L both impressed the judges and scored 80 points, just two points away from the overall winner of this category.

The all-new Audi A8 long wheelbase will not be available in the UK until the end of 2010, so the older model was judged, but still scored impressively high. Hopes are high for the latest model which will now be entered into the 2011 awards. Judges were also excited to test the all-new Jaguar XJ, which met all expectations with its dramatic looks and stunning 3.0 diesel engine.

The XJ’s revised chauffeur programme now makes the Jaguar a serious option with a massive list of benefits which were marked high by the judges. Boot space is still a little tight but greatly improved from the previous model, and passengers over 6 feet tall might suffer with a slight lack of headroom in the rear seats.

Third place was taken by the 2010 Mercedes-Benz S-Class 350 Long wheelbase. Scoring just one point less than the joint second place vehicles, the S-Class simply offers everything a chauffeur would expect from it. Judges continued to praise the brand and marque desirability, but marked the S-Class down for the lack of chauffeur programme details and massive list of options on our test vehicle which took the price to almost £90,000.

The winning vehicle, the BMW 730d took the award for its excellent chauffeur programme prices, acres of boot space and pure luxury interior and technology which makes it the perfect vehicle for any serious chauffeur company.

Full judges test report coming soon on www.thechauffeur.com