[19x04] February 17th, 2013

[19x04] February 17th, 2013


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Can you really plug a guitar into the Kia? Usually that requires a high impedance input, which would be silly on a car. I tried to look at the options, but their homepage is terrible. Show probably had an amplifier hidden somewhere.
 
8/10 would have given it a 9 for beeing a good episode actually about cars but in the end the rugby was too long -1.
 
Ho' hatch test ? watchable
News ? handbrake sex overplayed
KIA test ? contained humour
F1 driver ? always funny to see how bored they are at 100mph
Mexican car ? watchable
Car rugby ? rehash of Aygo football, no added value

7/10
 
I liked the Mastreta test the most of this show, surprisingly. Also laughed out loud for the first time in a while during a Hammond review (the "It's all rubbish" line with the Jeremy-face, yeah I know I'm childish). To me, this is what Top Gear is about: showing us new and interesting cars in a beautiful environment. I was bracing myself before the segment started, but it was a lot less forced than I expected it to be and we got quite a bit of info on the car itself. As far as I could make out, build quality was terrible. Huge panel gaps (check the gaps behind the steering wheel) and cheapish materials for that price. Was it me or did the car in the studio have less of a bonnet gap than the one they tested?

The Kia part: the first part was fine. I only realized they showed Clapton when they mentioned his name. He is getting old. In the end the segment was nothing really special, not bad either. The second part, the car rugby, was a bit daft. As Clarkson mentioned when the match was over, conditions weren't brilliant and as a result, the match felt like a slow-motion replay. Also, good Kia advertisement (I'm sorry Kia, I still don't want one of your cars, but quite sympathetic), am surprised this is allowed on the BBC. Probably has something to do with the unique way the BBC is funded. Anyway, in my opinion the rugby part was the weakest part of the show and it could've been a lot shorter (probably Kia placed some demand on film length?).

The extra time could've been used to lengthen the hot hatch segment. It wasn't short, but I felt it could've been longer. I was surprised Jeremy didn't mention understeer issues on the Vauxhall at all. From the few cornering shots we got it looked pretty understeery and in the segment on the GT86 they showed a similar Astra going fast through a corner with a lot of understeer. I would have the Megane choosing between those three (what did Ford do to the Focus, it looks so uninspiring and bland), but I would also go with Jeremy's point about the Toybaru.

The news was okish. I still don't understand how the news segments of this season are so much worse than those of last season, they all feel so forced for some reason. Still, this was the best of the lot. Hamilton in the Liana was good, incredible lap and incredible time.

Overal, 6.5/10 on Top Gear scale, rounded to 6.
 
Can you really plug a guitar into the Kia? Usually that requires a high impedance input, which would be silly on a car. I tried to look at the options, but their homepage is terrible. Show probably had an amplifier hidden somewhere.

You can, just like with any stereo with an "aux" plug. The tricky part is knowing how much time you have untill the system blows up, low impedance and all :D
 
I was surprised Jeremy didn't mention understeer issues on the Vauxhall at all. From the few cornering shots we got it looked pretty understeery and in the segment on the GT86 they showed a similar Astra going fast through a corner with a lot of understeer.
I was expecting JC to mention a previous visit to the track, some years back, of an arguably over-powered production Vauxhall Astra. He explained back then that the front wheels were too busy dealing with the 'horse powers' to be any good at the steering task.

I was a little apprehensive as it began, but I ended up enjoying the whole show. OK, some bits were a little laboured, but I'm not expecting to be totally enthralled for every minute of a show. I never hand out 10/10 for anything, just in case there's a real gem on the way, but I did feel obliged to give this 9/10.

I liked the subtly of the eel explosion. No flames or exploding car, but just a dull 'BOOMPH!' from inside the boot and a sudden change of expression on JC's face :|
 
Hot hatch test ? quite nice. Nice intermission effects, but apart from the Stig's laps there were almost no pictures showing the cars turning. Drag races are meaningless. Also, I absolutely HATE black wheels, which completely destroys the Renault.

News ? the handbrake anecdotes were fun, but it went on way too long.

KIA test ? nice cameos. I absolutely loved the "eel and sodium salesman" part. Proper silliness!

F1 driver ? Lewis is a nice chap, but I have zero confidence in the lap times. I said 1.42.9 before Jeremy did. It was the expected result.

Mexican car ? The test was nice, and the "Mexican joke" was used just the right amount. The car.....well I like the Elise strategy, but it seems horribly built and the front reminds me too much of a Smart Coup?.

Car rugby ? Mildly entertaining, although very nicely choreographed and shot. Dick joke was the only cringe worthy moment of the entire episode. And hearing the Jerusalem hymn is always nice. I assume Kia payed for everything, but even then I'm not a big fan of demolishing perfectly good cars in the name of mild amusement.

With that I'd give it a 7/10, but there was one thing that changed that.... While explaining what makes the Vauxhall great, Jeremy did NOT say..

"..and the rewards are ...[long pause]... STAGGERING!"

Instead he said...

"..and the rewards are ...[short pause]... huge!"

THAT was a breath of fresh air, which earns the episode yet another point.

8/10
 
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Watching the SIARPC again, and I know it was being driven by an F-1 driver, but... Is it just me or the old Liana has a LOT more grip than the C'eed?
 
Watching the SIARPC again, and I know it was being driven by an F-1 driver, but... Is it just me or the old Liana has a LOT more grip than the C'eed?

Maybe that's the F1 driver effect? Normally you can spot a Star/F1 driver being quick or slow, but Hamilton was really on another level in the corners. I also noticed the Suzuki getting squirrely under braking before the Hammerhead, something I had never noticed before with a star car to that extent. They might've fitted the Liana with new brakes before his lap, I can imagine the car becoming a bit worn out by now.
 
Also, good Kia advertisement (I'm sorry Kia, I still don't want one of your cars, but quite sympathetic), am surprised this is allowed on the BBC. Probably has something to do with the unique way the BBC is funded. Anyway, in my opinion the rugby part was the weakest part of the show and it could've been a lot shorter (probably Kia placed some demand on film length?).

Two misconceptions here. Firstly, Top Gear started life as a review show. Any positive review could be construed as an "advert" for the brand and the BBC has always allowed TG to do this. In fact, there are and always have been other shows which feature branded products on the BBC. The second misconception is that Kia would have had any input into the production of the segment. There, the BBC and Top Gear draw the line. Just look at the number of complaints they get from manufacturers who feel that they've been shown in a bad light
 
9 out of 10.
The producers *do* need reminding: to do things right, the *cars* have to be the stars.
The hot hatches: excellent. It's not often we get a triple Stig lap. Not to mention Jeremy surprised when a car he *doesn't* like performs better than one he does.
News: meh. I'm surprised they haven't touched on the Tesla controversy.
The New Kia Cee'd -- Clarkson tends to be ironic whenever he reviews "reasonably-priced" everyday cars (hello, Skoda Yeti) but he does mix in good info with the humor. I'd love to see that auto-parking as an option on all cars.
SIARPC -- to be honest, I think it's well past time for the Liana to be retired. Maybe throw a Formula 1 driver party for using the Cee'd in Series 20?
Car rugby -- actually I like this one better than car football, if only because wet grass and mud are a better test of the car's capabilities (traction, y'know). The previous televised car football games were on tarmac, as I recall.
 
Decent episode. Probably won't watch again.
The Hot Hatch test was too short. I would of preferred a longer review of the Foucs ST than it is too wayward (something I have not heard in other reviews of the car) and it's interior is crap.
The Kia thing was entertaining enough.
The Mexican car, meh.
 
Two misconceptions here. Firstly, Top Gear started life as a review show. Any positive review could be construed as an "advert" for the brand and the BBC has always allowed TG to do this. In fact, there are and always have been other shows which feature branded products on the BBC. The second misconception is that Kia would have had any input into the production of the segment. There, the BBC and Top Gear draw the line. Just look at the number of complaints they get from manufacturers who feel that they've been shown in a bad light

Fair enough. So when Kia rings and say: "we have some Cee'd's and Sportages, would you mind trashing them on telly," they say no, but its no problem for them to ring Kia and ask for some cars for free?
 
Fair enough. So when Kia rings and say: "we have some Cee'd's and Sportages, would you mind trashing them on telly," they say no, but its no problem for them to ring Kia and ask for some cars for free?

I'm pretty sure TG would be allowed to accept the free cars in your first situation, but Kia wouldn't have any input into the finished product. So they can't prevent TG from (figuratively) trashing the cars, calling them rubbish etc. Regardless, it's the editorial independence that's the key point.

I think people should keep in mind that independent reviewers say the new Cee'd is a big step up from the last one, and that Kia is a fast improving brand. Reminds me a bit from when Skoda improved from being crap ("How do you double the value of a ?koda? Fill up the petrol tank!") to producing pretty respectable machines.

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I rewatched and feel pretty comfortable about giving this a 9/10:

Hatchbacks: Good review, nice to see Jeremy give the Vauxhall some respect.
News: Decent fun out of the handbrake humour.
Kia Cee'd: Also very watch-able. Balanced well between silly and serious.
SIARPC: Loved his enthusiasm. For people doubting his time, look at the last lap he did in the wet/oil.
Mexican Car: Weakest bit of the episode, but still a good piece. Much much better than I feared.
Kia Rugby: Like others, I thought it was a bit long. It got good when it got dirty, both literally and figuratively.
 
Laughed at this episode more than any other one this season, good as last weeks.
 
With reference to the Twickenham pitch, which many people have mentioned, I can only assume the Kia rugby match was played last summer (the weather looked crap enough) immediately prior to the turf being relaid or the hybrid natural/artificial pitch with which they replaced it is REALLY hard wearing

Thanks. That puts their comments at the very end into more perspective too. :)
 
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