Wither the affordable performance car?

I'd like to see them try out some older cars, sort of revisit the glory days and see how they compare to the new stuff. And I don't just mean the super cars, but the more obtainable stuff (c4 corvettes, RX-7's, 300zx's, etc...)
 
A balance of supercars and affordable cars is ideal. I seriously wouldn't want TG to ditch the supercar reviews just because most of the population can't afford it. There's other places well placed for good consumer advice. TG is foremost, about entertainment.
 
Normal cars are fine as long as they don't just 'review them' because that would be painfully dull - in fact it's painfully dull when they review supercars.

They need to do something interesting with them - just going round a track or driving along a road talking about speed, comfort etc is boring - that's not what Top Gear is for that's the job of Fifth Gear or the magazine.

If you read Jeremy or James columns (in TG Mag and the newspapers) you'll see they rarely talk much about the cars themselves - there's always a set up around it and that's what Top Gear is to me.

It's an entertainment show that has cars in it - not the other way around.
 
While supercars are all cool and fun, my eyes DO glaze over if I seen ANOTHER one of Jeremy's (poweeeer!) tests.

They do need to do some proper tests aswell, on or off the track, of various (affordable) cars.
1 supercar/episode is plenty :p
 
I wouldn't be taking Jeremy's opinions on cars as my deciding factor on what to buy. If i was buying a car i would be looking at better sources of information. As they say with the top gear survey, "we can test cars on a track but only you can tell us what its like to live with".

I would like to see them review a few more cars which arnt sold in the UK. There are a lot of good cars/performance cars which they havnt reviewed purely as their not sold in the UK.

Take the R34 skyline for example, a brilliant cheap car (compared to Ferrari's etc) but never really got a proper review (got a quick review in season 1 or 2) as its not sold in the UK.

Well hopefully TG:AU will review more jap cars etc, and the US version can do the American cars.
 
I think we can already who are the older vs younger viewers of the show in this thread discussion. I liked the balance of practical car reviews and dream car films in the earlier seasons. The show has been skewed too much in the direction of lowest common denominator entertainment, unfortunately. But increased viewership supports this trend and nothing i can do about it.

Hence why i watch Fifth Gear as well.
 
There ARE affordable performance cars available, but they aren't brand new. While I would hate to see TG degenerate into a Fifth Gear/Used Car Roadshow hybrid, there is plenty of scope for them to strike a balance between brand new and the Cheap Car Challenges. They've done pieces in the past on affordable classics, and from there it's only a short step to more serious pieces on good used kit that mere mortals like us could consider buying and running, and they don't need to bring back Jason Dawe for that!
 
Well they could make a ?8000 pound car challange, and the challanges would be boring stuff like school runs, fuel economy etc. but with a TG twist. like school runs on the test track =) and fuel economy on a like a dirt track as an endurance race.
 
Some of you have mentioned that Top Gear has featured normal cars in past series and I don't the OP nor I are arguing that. The way I see it is that they are starting to depart from the normal cars and are going for lots of flash and supercars, which can get dull. Like others have said, I'm more for balance. I don't necessarily want real buying advice from these guys but it is quite entertaining to watch their reviews/tests of the cars that are on the low end of the market. I find their most funny moments come from these tests, Korean cars? that one where Richard and James spend 24 hrs in a car? (can't remember what it was) Plus the first cheap car challenges.

I also like the idea of bringing in some older cars every now and then for one reason or another...maybe comparing them to the newest version of them. A little more on classic cars would be awesome!

I just hope the show doesn't evolve into some monotanous, flashy, explosion filled spectactle. And, I gurantee you that if the show became too saturated with normal cars I would be the first to complain and deman MORE supercars. I just want balance, balance, balance.
 
I'm ok with supercars and hyper exotics that I'll never own, but I want James May to review more classic cars. His review of the Triumph TR6 made me want one badly, and his Aston Martin Lagonda review reinforced my sentiment that it's the coolest car ever and made lots of people aware of its batshit insanity. Looking at more old cars means that they can actually use May more, too, and it's more informative than any silly reverse-stunt-jumping crap.
 
I'm ok with supercars and hyper exotics that I'll never own, but I want James May to review more classic cars. His review of the Triumph TR6 made me want one badly, and his Aston Martin Lagonda review reinforced my sentiment that it's the coolest car ever and made lots of people aware of its batshit insanity. Looking at more old cars means that they can actually use May more, too, and it's more informative than any silly reverse-stunt-jumping crap.

Hear, Hear! Captain Slow is woefully underused, and his enthusiasm for proper classics, while it may border on the nerdy at times, is borne of a genuine love and enthusiasm for the passion and engineering that went into making them and things were done with paper, pencils and slide rules rather than a sophisticated CAD program.

While I love the DB9 and the Vantage, they will never be as classically beautiful as a DB4 Volante for instance. Gallardo? I'd take the Miura. F430 per-lease! 250 GT, yes please. Mercedes SLK? Pass me a bucket! Pagoda SL? Pass me the keys! I rest my case, preferably in the boot of a black Citroen DS23 Pallas!
 
Top Gear testing supercars is almost like an entertainment show talking about celebrities. You'll never meet them or be as famous as that, but it still appeals to some people to find out about their lives. So you know you'll probably never own one of these extravagant cars, but it's still nice to see what all the fuss is about and get some insight into what owning one might actually be like.

I'd much rather that than the boring humdrum of cars I could actually afford.
 
since I'm the op I'll clarify what I mean.

Whoever said balance balance balance is right.

I love supercars and enjoy the reviews. But at the end of the day I'm going to track days with a 23 year old Porsche. And if I were to buy a car today I'd be looking at a mini cooper S or hyundai genesis coupe on the low end or something like a cayman S or base corvette at the top.

Most people won't even have that choice.

So, what does the young weekend racer and enthusiast do?

I'm not looking for 5th gear. Im not looking for Prius reviews or Jason Dawe Just some balance on the spectrum of enthusiast cars not to mention the pocketbook.
 
I'll also second the sentiment of older cars, more of that please. Porsche Challenge really hit home for me, but sometimes its fun to see bygone cars get some love and younger guys may not know anything about them. Jeremy's words on the 928 were very loving, I'd like to see one in good knick reviewed. Tiff also gave a loving review of the 951 which helped sway me. Agreed on 300zx Rx7 etc.
 
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