First and foremost: This episode was absolutely breathtaking. It is definitely my favourite episode of top gear... ever. I have finally come to the realisation that this is a show that I would watch this show, regardless of whether it were about cars or not. The production quality, and the presentation quality, is absolutely the finest I have witnessed in my history with the old television set. Absolutely fantastic. To the TG crew, the WHOLE CREW who went out and did this for us, and those who worked back home, to present it to us, I thank you very VERY much.
About the race: I greatly wanted Richard to win this one, and I was rooting for him throughout, however, I am also of the opinion that James and Jeremy did NOT have it easy on them at all. To put into perspective the kind of people they are, and the amount of work they had to do relative to what they are generally used to, I think they all put in a stonking effort to achieve their goal. Congratulations to J & J, but echoing the thoughts of others on the board, the biggest winner here was Richard. I'm not one to get emotional and retrospective over things, but to do what he did, without even know much about what he was doing (that is, if Jezza really did teach him how to ski...) is simply remarkable.
On the modes of Transport: I actually kind of grew attached to those dogs, I love Siberian huskies, and watching the footage of those dogs really makes me want to get a husky (and I'm not a dog person either, I have a cat). Those dogs, though not the same as domesticated huskies, are quite amazing at what they can do. I really felt kind of bad for them when they got the beating (though they needed it) specially when I think back to the fact that the first bout of fighting between the dogs was because they were scared.
As far as the Toyota goes, I will be the first and foremost person to say that I absolutely hate absolutely ANYTHING Toyota (and Ferrari), however, I have always held in high regard, two of their vehicles: The Hilux, and the Land Cruiser. Albeit this was a highly modified Hilux (And why wouldn't it be? The stock vehicle is neither made nor tested for such harsh environments), it is simply staggering as to what this thing can be put through. I would say the Hilux is probably the most capable, and versatile workhorse of a truck that you could buy in the market, absolutely anywhere in the world. Looking at their UK site, they have a right to brag about their product. Absolutely stunning job.
I don't think there is any more I could say here, except that I applaud BBC's decision to air this episode in High Definition. Fantastic!