I gave it an 8. Liked the Lambo review well enough and understand Richard's comments about how its worse by being better. Similarly, I'm a fan of the Dodge Viper, and I fear what emasculation it will go through by having to adhere to new federal mandates on traction control and fuel economy.
The electric car review was also nice. They didn't just lambast the electrics, they demonstrated their concerns. Sure, electrics are really not meant to be used for anything beyond short trips, but their concerns are genuine for most Americans. I live in rural Kansas, so my short daily commute alternates with long drives down the highways and dirt roads we have here, so an electric would never work for me. To own an electric, you have to have a place you can safely store the car while it charges, so that lets out people who live in urban areas as well. Basically, electric car owners need to live in the suburbs and if you can afford to live in the suburbs an electric car probably isn't high on your list.
I've never liked the star car segment, mostly because I'm American and I just don't know who most of these people are. But even when they are American, I just don't care. I'm glad Tom Cruise has a P-51 Mustang and a Virus, but its not at all why I watch Top Gear. Cut that long-ass segment out and give me more reviews. Tons of new cars are produced every year and the manufacturers rarely keep them from being reviewed, so give me more of that!
The last segment was very heartfelt, and it was nice to see Top Gear showcasing these survivors and their recovery efforts. Also nice to see Ben Collins. After reading some of the comments and articles here about that conflict, I wonder how much of it was 'real' and how much was faked in the interests of promotion? Surely Collins book sold better because of the court case than without it (who here has read Perry McCarthy's 'Flat Out, Flat Broke' after all?), and I imagine Top Gear might have gained a few more viewers who were curious about what the producers would do to fill the gap. Honestly, the East Coast special and some of the last series was a bit ruined by the vitriol loosed on Collins. We get it, he told all and left you in a bind and smarting from the court case, now move past it and get back to making the show!
All in all, it was a very good end to a pretty darn good series, better than the last series by far. I would have liked to have seen a cheap car challenge (and not one where they all buy the same car and we find out the last owner left snot everywhere. Ugh!); according to history this odd-numbered series should have had one.
And of course, it was too short. It would be nice to have a series go for more than six episodes and not rely on specials to fill the gaps. Oh well, TGUS is on now and doing rather well, so I have that for the next few weeks. Maybe when its done, TGAustralia will be on and I can get 6 weeks out of it. By then, it'll be time for TGUK again. This is my ultimate plan once I achieve world domination: an ever-revolving lineup of Top Gear around the world to keep me entertained 52 weeks a year.