[22x04] February 15th, 2015

[Lynxfx]

I gave it a 1 out of 10 because this was clearly an advertisement for BMW. The whole time they were trying to describe it as ?futuristic? and ?revolutionary? when in reality it's indistinguishable from a Prius (which they hate). There's no reason to do that unless you were trying to sell it to someone. The BBC shouldn't exist for the purpose of producing advertisements for consumer products.

Really? That's what you are going with?

Let's see,
0-60 Times
Prius - 10.9sec
i8 - 3.8sec

Top Speed
Prius - 107mph
i8 - 155mph (limited)

Looks
Prius - pretty much universally described as ugly, boxy, pedestrian
i8 - Was the halo car in a Mission Impossible movie. Has design features not seen on any production car before, might not be your taste but it is futuristic looking.

Sound
Prius - a low whine
i8 - Turbo charged flat-six (granted it is mostly artificial but people still say it sounds great)

Yeah I can barely tell the two apart they are just so darn similar.

Edit: Just hovered over your forum rep and it says "you are the worst person on this forum." Guess that answers everything, you're just a troll.

 

[Rex Luther]

Although one thing the i8 has going against it...

 

[That American Girl]

This is why I love Top Gear! The guys were back in form but what is up with James shoes? Did he hurt his feet, or has his back finally done him in?

Will Smith was easily one of my top 5 guests of all time.

And when Richard was going up that dam...I was biting my nails, even though I knew he wasn't killed to death.


A solid 9/10 from me.

 

[Cellos88GT]

Proper TG. On so many levels. 9/10.

This. A million times.

 

[LadiesAndGentlemen]

Yeah I can barely tell the two apart they are just so darn similar.

So the BMW is more powerful, but the principle is exactly the same. The plug-in Prius will not only do 139 mpg given the ludicrous conditions in which BMW achieve that number, but it might as well do a million mpg since you don't need the ICE as long as there is battery charge.

His i8 review was textbook advertisement: gawking at features that have been around for decades, such as the remote starting feature, showing-off features by demonstrating how they work in an ideal situation, cherry-picking statistics that make the product look better than its competitors (he states that the i8 has an all-electric range that is 19 miles longer than the Prius', which is false, by the way: the plug-in Prius has an all-electric range that is only about 5 miles shorter than that of the i8. But that's considering that the Prius is much bigger and much cheaper).

They do these things also whenever they review Range Rovers. They always just so happen to miraculously stumble upon a river which is just about shallow enough for the car to cross and then try to act surprised when is succeeds.

No one outside the BMW marketing department would describe a technology that's been around for 20 years with the Prius as ?futuristic?. This is not entertainment anymore, it's just shameless advertisement.

 

[47]

Yes, a great episode, finally! 9/10 without doubt.
I know they said they're going back to 'normal' programing, but I hope not too much!

As funny as it's supposed to be, it really is a bit sad I guess, at least for us who have been watching since S01E01.
Which reminds me of the first words spoken on TG, 'This is a car programme...'. Looks like it watered down a bit over the years, heh.

 

[MacGuffin]

[22x04] February 15th, 2015

So the BMW is more powerful, but the principle is exactly the same. The plug-in Prius will not only do 139 mpg given the ludicrous conditions in which BMW achieve that number, but it might as well do a million mpg since you don't need the ICE as long as there is battery charge.

His i8 review was textbook advertisement: gawking at features that have been around for decades, such as the remote starting feature, showing-off features by demonstrating how they work in an ideal situation, cherry-picking statistics that make the product look better than its competitors (he states that the i8 has an all-electric range that is 19 miles longer than the Prius', which is false, by the way: the plug-in Prius has an all-electric range that is only about 5 miles shorter than that of the i8. But that's considering that the Prius is much bigger and much cheaper).

They do these things also whenever they review Range Rovers. They always just so happen to miraculously stumble upon a river which is just about shallow enough for the car to cross and then try to act surprised when is succeeds.

No one outside the BMW marketing department would describe a technology that's been around for 20 years with the Prius as ?futuristic?. This is not entertainment anymore, it's just shameless advertisement.

Reading all your rubbish i can only assume you're either an Audi driver with a mental disorder, or a teenager who's knowledge about cars comes from posters on your bedroom wall and from playing car top trumps.

On the episode: brilliant old school Top Gear.

 

[Mitchi]

Sound
Prius - a low whine
i8 - Turbo charged flat-six (granted it is mostly artificial but people still say it sounds great)

One correction, the i8 is a three cylinder. Other than that, you're correct. What a car.
And what an episode! Fantastic, proper Top Gear.

 

[LOLno]

Well colour me surprised! Here I was expecting a dull dreary episode like the abomination that was 18x05 a few years back and lo and behold we get a good one. Goes to show that Top Gear can do a serious car show (which I know most of you on here enjoy more than their usual cocking about episodes). I'm very much looking forward to next week though; the LaFerrari should be wicked.

- - - Updated - - -

Well done. I tend to favour the shows with the challenges & witty banter & such, but I quite enjoyed this episode.

My thoughts exactly

 

[Lynxfx]

One correction, the i8 is a three cylinder. Other than that, you're correct. What a car.

Thanks, but I was referring to the sound it makes, not what is actually under the hood...err boot. Sorry that wasn't exactly clear.

 

[Mitchi]

Ah alright.

 

[Litterbox]

I'm surprised so many approved of this episode. I thought it was maybe the worst in recent memory. I liked Will Smith and the rest was "pretty good" but the deal breaker for me was Hammonds stunt. I just don't get it. A winch can pull anything up a dam, right? I appreciate his genuine fear but the stunt itself was just lost on me.

 

[BrunoAMG]

8/10

Good episode with good car reviews and guests but Hammond's segment about the Defender was a bit boring.

 

[gurei17]

I gave it a 1 out of 10 because this was clearly an advertisement for BMW. The whole time they were trying to describe it as ?futuristic? and ?revolutionary? when in reality it's indistinguishable from a Prius (which they hate). There's no reason to do that unless you were trying to sell it to someone. The BBC shouldn't exist for the purpose of producing advertisements for consumer products.

I didn't like this episode as the last one, but dude, take it easy. TGUK is not running on your pockets. Enjoy the show, it's not going to last forever.

 

[jhamp244]

Not my favorite show, but still enjoyed it.

Liked James and Jeremy s bits. I can't believe they let Richard do that. In fact, I can't believe HE agreed to do it. Didn't really like it, but couldn't stop watching.

Liked the siarpc. It looked like Jeremy was having a lot of fun with it.

Loved the fact they dug up some of Wills old song lyrics.

Was James's shoes orange this week? I am not sure if he is having a go at something with his choice of footwear this series, but it reminds me of his belt of many things in Bolivia. It wasn't clear until the commentary on the dvd why he was wearing all that stuff on his belt.

Anyway, 7/10.

Ps. This is not the type of show that made top gear so poplar all over the world to whoever it was that said it was.

 

[Disinterested Observer]

So the BMW is more powerful, but the principle is exactly the same. The plug-in Prius will not only do 139 mpg given the ludicrous conditions in which BMW achieve that number, but it might as well do a million mpg since you don't need the ICE as long as there is battery charge.

His i8 review was textbook advertisement: gawking at features that have been around for decades, such as the remote starting feature, showing-off features by demonstrating how they work in an ideal situation, cherry-picking statistics that make the product look better than its competitors (he states that the i8 has an all-electric range that is 19 miles longer than the Prius', which is false, by the way: the plug-in Prius has an all-electric range that is only about 5 miles shorter than that of the i8. But that's considering that the Prius is much bigger and much cheaper).

They do these things also whenever they review Range Rovers. They always just so happen to miraculously stumble upon a river which is just about shallow enough for the car to cross and then try to act surprised when is succeeds.

No one outside the BMW marketing department would describe a technology that's been around for 20 years with the Prius as ?futuristic?. This is not entertainment anymore, it's just shameless advertisement.

If it was meant to be an advert for the I8, why would Clarkson mention a list of things he didn't like about the car after the fact? He flat out said he was wrong to choose it over the M3.

 

[Tzarrim]

Just hovered over your forum rep and it says "you are the worst person on this forum." Guess that answers everything, you're just a troll.

Oh come on, everyone knows I'm easily the worst.

 

[InflamedWinter]

Cracking episode, really solid. Nothing that was a legendary standout but it was all good, satisfying TG. And some might find Will Smith obnoxious but I found him enlivening, one of the most animated guests they've had in a while. Margot Robbie offset that nicely.
The fear on Hammond's face, though. I don't think that could've been staged, and it's honestly irking that people automatically suggest that.

In any case, 8/10.

 

[Thunderchild]

Great episode in its own right, but maybe not the first choice to watch again.
Considering I avoid anything that features Will Smith, SIARPC was OK. You could see him fighting to keep his composure when they got the lap times though.
I rated it a 9, with the caveat it will not be the most memorable episode of this series.

 

[Hiro11]

Pretty good "mid-season" episode overall.

So let me get this straight, the i8 is significantly slower than any competing car (and many far cheaper cars), doesn't get nearly the gas mileage promised and is overall a horribly impractical, complicated, needlessly flashy and extremely pricey car? Why are people fawning all over this thing? I liked the film but clearly the M3 is better in every way.

I liked Will Smith a lot, the glassy-eyed starlet next to him less so.

The AMG is sweet. Love that car. Excellent review by James. The car is surprisingly quick as well, faster than a GT-R? Really? Somehow I find that hard to believe. Maybe the time was set by an early-gen GT-R?

The "climbing the dam" bit had a few too many scripted moments. I was particularly put off by Hammond pretending this was untested, dangerous or that he was somehow unprepared ("I didn't account for the rockiness of the surface!!!!", "the winch needs to wind flat or I'll die!!!") for what was clearly a well-scripted, thouroughly thought-out stunt. Also, the "creaking winch" and "whiplash cable" sound effects were clearly dubbed. A bit of not very convincing TV theater I personally could have done without.