[15x05] February 2nd, 2009

[Viper007Bond]

http://www.finalgear.com/shows/fifthgear/15/5/

[npx]

I haven't watched this yet but the car polish segment stated in the pre-episode discussion forum... Didn't they do the exact same thing a few series back? If I remember correctly they did the same thing or similar segment regarding car polishes at least twice already(this would be the third).

Anyway, other than this rant as usual I'll help seed

[ahpadt]

- Worst, worst, worst dogfight, ever. They couldn't make it shorter, could they? HOWEVER, CAN I WIN THE PRICE PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE?
- Wax thing was okey I guess?
- Jonny was great. In tune with the times and it wasn't amputated in terms of lenght.
- Quite like the Laguna when it comes to looks, not much else. Worthy conclusion.
- Skipped Vicky. WHY DO THEY BOTHER?
- Skipped alco tester thing.
- IQ review was, again, good. Personally I don't care much for it though.
- Just saw a few bits of the last film. Not that interesting to be honest.

5/10

[nouseferaname90]

I am an advocate against the torture of certain cars, and I suppose that Alfas fall into the category of cars I would protect. I may wax my car this weekend as I found out how easy it is.

Liked the auction segment, and the Laguna.

4/10

[Quake]

I find this season lacking the luster and brilliance of the previous ones. It's like if their budget has been severely cut and they're trying to do their best to fill their 44 minutes with the money they have.

The best fifth gear for me when was they were still in that small studio with Tiff Nedal the host...

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it starting to feel like a better American Show but not up the the UK quality I'm used to see.

[MadCow809]

Fifth Gear, seriously... WTF

[GerFix]

Dog Fight - good. Less stuffing around than they usually make us endure.
Wax Test - lot of preliminary crap, not much analysis .. how about a table and some graphs?
Alcohol Testers - punch line was predicatable but delivered with far too much insincerity
Auction thing was pretty dull really
Vicky - pointless segment
Laguna and iQ tests were good ... as far as I'm concerned Tom carries the program at the moment
Capri thing - also pointless ... ended up browsing for pR0n during it

I think this series is a real backwards step from the last one. They are cramming too many segments in and the worthy ones are being crowded out by the rubbish and pointless.

[awdrifter]

It wasn't too bad. The shoot out feels a bit rushed, they could've cutted out the alcohol test and auction to give more time for it.

Wax test, that's not too bad, but they should've did more comparison between the expensive professional wax and the most expensive diy stuff.

Vicki learning how to ride a bike, that's kinda pointless, and I don't think Vicki rides that badly, she's probably just pretending to suck.

Laguna review, very informative, I like it.

IQ review, that was very good. Like Tim said, slap on a turbo kit (assuming there's room) and the car will be perfect.

[SheZZaR]

sorry but i really can't stand VKBH....she's really irritating and her segments are really booooooring...
tim's wax was pointless (as usual)...
Johnny's segment was informative but pointless....
- Celebrity - BOOOOOOORIINNNGGG
- Laguna - booooring
- Breath tester - wat the... =___+

- Scirocco vs Mini Cooper S. Not bad, not great
- Toyota IQ - I Like

SheZZaR

[blue2fire]

Boring

[devil500]

IQ I like.

[Wizegui]

They could have done it without a LOT of the stuff IMHO. They should have just stuck with the IQ Review, Wax test, Johnny's segment, and the shootout. Viki's stupid biking segment and the Capri one was a complete utter waste of time.

[FordGT]

8, I liked this weeks episode too. The wax bit was fun(and useful in a way), the IQ review was great and seeing VBH on a trails bike was at least entertaining. I wish they would have done more stunts though!!!

[cobs]

Not an amazing ep, but entertaining, I liked it on balance. Even the bike - not a 2 wheel fan, but interested in the trials.

I still prefer the old style shootouts at Anglsea(?) and would like to see them back. The dogfights / x vs. y can be fun, but they're more hit and miss. The odd shootout this series hasn't been as good as the track is poor - too short, though part of that may be editing.

Heh, Tom Ford (Ssanyong) - 'sounds remarkably like a buffalo that's been hit by a spade'

[spot101]

lucky Brits...they got to have a brand new scirocco and all of those stuff.....

[junas125]

First the bad stuff.

Polish segment: a big thumbs down.
Wicky: Sorry but I don't find her a good presenter, without her the more interesting things can be made longer.

Liked:
Johnny's segment for the SUV market.
Review of the Laguna Coupe


Really Liked:
Review of the iQ and the reviews of the Scirocco vs Mini

This time it was better in terms of the time give to each segment so its a 7 for me.

[crashmaxx]

I kind of like the old shootouts better then the new dogfights. Either Tiff or Plato would be better for the segment then VBH, but only one of them is needed and the whole warm-up lap serious lap was a much better format. But I really wish I lived in the UK and could win that Scirocco!

The iQ was a really cool car, I'd much prefer it over a smart. Very good review.

And the new car segment has been soo much better this season. Good review of the Laguna, but when he said it was comparable to the 3 series, I just thought "Really? Who would buy the Laguna instead of a 3 series?"

Johnny's thing was a bit boring but still good. I was less amazed at the depreciation, but I guess I'm used to American SUVs that have always sold for $30k-$40k new and $10k-$20k used.

The car chase was fun.

The "polish" segment pissed me off. I just wanted to yell at him every time he said polish "That's WAX you tard! You're a presenter on a car show! You should know this!" Although, I suppose since the manufacturers (or at least their marketing departments) can't get it straight either, I can forgive him for that. But they didn't even compare the panels before and after the finish in case some panels were worse then others, and didn't check them before destroying them to see how good the shine is to start, and didn't particularly consistently damage the car. Not to mention they barely told us anything for results. In the end, just a total waste of time.

VBH's bike segment was sad. I thought she rode bikes? Has she never done any trail riding before? Everything she did was the most basic stuff anyone could do with a normal dirt bike. "Oh its so hard to stand on the pegs and ride. Oh no its a rock! This hill is so scary!" Seriously? Sad and lame. If she's gonna ride a trial bike, she needs to do something better then that!

The breathalyzer thing had a real silly conclusion after showing that 3 of 4 worked. It was funny at first when they said .35 and I thought "How drunk did they get him? He's gonna die from alcohol poisoning!" then I realized they weren't using percent. And for the one, they really couldn't convert percent to whatever they used? I understand that's a problem in the UK, but they could still actually test the accuracy of it.

[ahmed_wbt]

fifth gear became extremely bored

[Heathrow]

Dog Fight - good. Mini Cooper S vs. Scirocco, VW wins – not a bad segment.
Wax Test – lost me attention wise, probably useful but ….
Alcohol Testers – UK one for £60 worthwhile segment.*
Auction of 4x4 – Good stuff from Jonny, not that I’d want one
Vicky – strange segment, VBH is a rubbish rider with no “feel” at all
Laguna and iQ tests by Tom – very good but a bit short, like the iQ don’t the Laguna
Capri nostalgia with BBC Radio’s “Comedy Dave” –you need to be a fan of “Life on Mars” and him for this segment to fly. Two misses for me then – sucked.

*note for members outside England – Driving and alcohol laws are fairly strict compared to other European countries but very rigorously policed.
Over the limit penalties are:

• minimum one year ban
• a big fine
• a 30-50% loading on your renewal of insurance after your ban

(if you can get insurance anywhere.)

Bonus, if you fail a breathalyzer within two years of passing your test, then you get to take the test again.
Hence, £60 breath test box tested on Fifth Gear- a very useful segment

[cobs]

Side note, I noticed that during Tim's wax/polish segment, he applied the hand waxes with a wedding/whatever ring on. Isn't that a bad idea, even if it's a rounded gold/whatever band? I would have thought it'd leave swirly scratches..