Awards 2010 - Executive: BMW 5-series

This is an astonishing 10th time the BMW 5-series has taken the Executive class crown, although the 10 victories haven’t been consecutive, which shows how hard-fought the category win is.

The BMW’s win is impressive this time round as it’s due to be replaced by an all-new model later this year.

In its final full-year of sales, BMW kept fleet interest by introducing the attractive Business Edition specification, which adds Bluetooth phone connection, six-CD changer, leather seats and BMW’s market-leading Connected Drive system.

The cost of the additional Business Edition spec amounts to just £1000 over the standard car, which makes the 5-series a bargain.

And fleets clearly think the same because this year’s win was a landslide victory, with the BMW 5-series collecting nearly twice as many votes as the number two car.

Judging by the technology, economy and performance figures on offer from the next-generation 5-series, it looks like this executive car will continue to be fiercely competitive for many more years to come.