It's Sunday evening so that means one thing: Top Gear. This week marks the third episode in the new series but has it got any better? Has Chris Evans become less shouty? Have they finally brought Chris Harris and Rory Reid into the fold? Well these questions will be answered very shortly.
A noticeable improvement
After the first episode I was dreading what what would follow, much like those that had taken to social media to tell the internet just what they thought of it. However, as much as it may pain me to say this, this week was definitely better. It still of course has its flaws, for example, the guest section still does not work and I personally think it should be scrapped but I'll get on to that in a bit.
The show started well as Chris Evans took the Audi R8 V10 Plus around the Top Gear track before it was placed in the very capable hands of Sabine Schmitz. I preferred this film to the one Evans did on the McLaren as it felt more informative and less gimmicky. It just felt like he wasn't trying as hard and that makes a difference. I also found him less shouty although that may be because I'm just used to it now. He sped around the Top Gear track before we jumped location to American racetrack Laguna Seca.
It was here that Sabine Schmitz was challenged to see whether she could go faster than the machine and by machine I mean the driver aids installed to make the R8 easier to drive. She blitzed the German supercar around the American tarmac to post a time before doing it all over again, this time with the driver aids firmly off. The results were staggering as the Schmitz was able to get around seven seconds faster with the driver aids off. This all proved a bit too much for Chris Evans who looked a bit pale and ordered the Sabine to stop. Well know what happened next...
Next we saw Chris Harris make his TG debut as he tore around the Circuit Paul Ricard in the savage Ferrari F12tdf after giving us a brief but informative history about its inspiration, the £5,000,000 Ferrari 250tdf. Harris has been a breath of fresh air alongside Rory Reid so it was great to finally see him cut his teeth in the 'proper' Top Gear so to speak. He really drew me in to the film and I was hanging on his every word. Why he is not one of the main hosts is beyond me. I hope to see more of him in the regular Top Gear in weeks to come.
It's not all perfect
The show is clearly getting better but there is one area that is still stalling, Stars in a Rallycross Car. This week's segment felt even more dragged out than usual and once again the two celebs were a mismatch, quite literally. The guests included broad-framed heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua and pint-sized comedian Kevin Hart. Hart was in good form and provided good banter but even so, the segment really killed the pace of the show.
This section worked well on old Top Gear but it doesn't work for me on the new one and I even think it should be scrapped to bring in something else. Maybe to bring back the news section which now seems to live only on Extra Gear. Yes, the rallycross track does make it a bit more interesting but t's just not interesting enough and it just feels clunky, especially when the stars introduce each other which is just a bit too cringeworthy for me.
Plus on another note, I wish they would stop doing the Stig introductions like they did on old Top Gear, it feels so phoney. That was a charm of the old Top Gear so please stop doing it, it's just a bit embarrassing to be frank.
Back to the good stuff
Ok, let's get back to the good stuff shall we? Rory Reid then also made his Top Gear debut as he tested the Ford Focus RS, Honda Civic Type R and the Mercedes AMG A45. Reid has been another highlight of the new series and I really hope he goes far. The test was very enjoyable to watch and just like Harris, Reid was able to be interesting and informative. I've said it before and I will say it again, make them both a permanent fixture in the main show. PLEASE.
The film concludes with Matt LeBlanc taking a different kind of sightseeing tour around London. Who was his guide? Well it was none other than the Hoonigan himself, Mr Ken Block. He picked LeBlanc up in London and soon set about to fill the capital with big dollops of thunderous engine notes and lashings of tyre smoke. The film did of course cut out the controversial Cenotaph section in order to show some respect after the outrage it had caused.
The Final Word
So all in all this this is easily the best episode of the new series so far, probably because Chris Evans featured in it less - oh and he was sick. Joking aside though, it was great to see Chris Harris and Rory Reid get their time in the limelight and long may it continue. Will the remaining shows top this one? Hmm, difficult to say. I do have a feeling tonight's viewing is about as good as it will get in my opinion but will I be proven wrong? We will see.