8/10 Great episode, this is proper Top Gear
After the completely shit Indian special, I did not have high expectations, but the description of this episode sounded good. And it was. I'm glad that they have not forgotten the recipe for a great TG episode: Try to do something epic with cars without intentionally trying to be funny.
This episode had the perfect mix of automotive awesomeness to excite us gearheads and also just the right amount of "cocking about".?
This episode never felt "forced" or excessively scripted like the Indian special. I hope rest of this season will be this good, but I am a bit worried after seeing the preview. There seems to be a fair bit of awesomeness but also some bits that give the impression of overly scripted cocking about, the mobility scooters bit, and the exploding caravans, to be specific.
There just doesn't seem to be enough awesomeness to fill 7 episodes!
I wish they had not wasted time with the Indian special and just spent more time filming for a epic season 18.