Well, I think the show continues to display progressive improvement. The studio segments seem more cohesive and the reviews, more complete.
If I had to be critical, the reviews seemed to dwell on the salient point a little too much. With the X6, I would've liked to hear a bit more about it's road manners and a bit less reiteration of the "Frankenstein" factor. Steve's review of the CLK sounded like a
Test Drive review ... only with criticisms ... I would've liked to see some city driving demonstration of
why it is no good as an every day commute (as claimed). This road test also smelled a little like Clarkson's M5 test .... M button replaced by ESP button.
The "challenge" was OK but a little empty. I think they have to either make the challenges longer by adding a third element (best of 3) or shorter ... this one could've just been the bunky slapper race ... the drag was ho hum .... with the exception of Warren's time ... 13.50sec for a standing quarter!!!!! ... that would equate to a trap speed of over 100mph :?
The cinematography on the road tests and challenge was excellent ... not quite TGUK, but close. The music, though is a bit ... ambient.
I found Charlie much less annoying in the studio this time and his interview with Julia Zamero was the best (by far) out of the 3 episodes .... probably because she was so animated. For the first time we actually had some response from the SIABSC during the hot lap
.
All-in-all, I think it was a solid follow-up to episode 2. As the rough edges are being knocked off and my expectations rise, I think I need to revise my episode score yardstick ... I'll give this a 7.
Off Topic : What is the message in that Skoda commercial? Are they saying that the Octavia is so slow that your children will enter and complete puberty before you reach your destination??