I thought similar after a first viewing, too. Maybe because my expectations were so low that I was kinda forced to at least acknowledge their effort. Hence my 5/10.
But after a second viewing today my guts won over my brain in the end. It just doesn't fit my expectations of a show with the name "Top Gear". If they want to keep the brand name, fine. But then they also have to deliver and keep up the quality of the established brand. And that's just not the case, it's as simple as that. If they had made a totally new show, new design, new concept, new logo and called it "6th Gear", I definitely would have looked at it in a different way and would have given them more benefit of the doubt.
But it's still called "Top Gear" and I'm sorry but I connect that brand name with lots and lots of fun and laughter in the past 12 years or so. And I shared that fun with friends and relatives, who one by one also became Top Gear fans, despite the language barrier. The former Top Gear had the effect of even capture people who weren't interested in cars at all, for crying out loud. The reason for that had a name: Clarkson, Hammond and May. With them gone that special quality is lost. What's left is an empty shell.
Don't get me wrong: I respect your opinion and if you're honestly happy with the show, so be it. But the abyssmal evaluations all over the internet are not simply the result of "haters gonna hate"... that's rubbish. The reason why most people put their thumbs down is because something was taken from them and the BBC tries to satisfy them with an inadequate substitute.
I think I will watch all episodes of the first series, though (I refuse to call it "series 23", because it is something completely different now) and who knows? Maybe they somehow find a magic touch but frankly I doubt it. Truth to be told, I currently feel only motivated to watch it in order to be able to have a say in the upcoming discussions. And if it keeps annoying me as much, I might stop watching it at all.
Also I might point out that my view is the view of a guy from a country where Top Gear wasn't aired until a couple years ago. I am one of those 350 million worldwide, who were captivated by its unique qualities. Maybe a Briton looks at it in a different way, because Top Gear existed since the 1970's there. For me, though, Top Gear exists since 2002 and is forever and only linked with Jeremy, Richard and James. Without them, Top Gear will very likely return to what it was before 2002: A car show nobody outside of Britain will take any notice of.