[Wills2]

Matt LeBlanc...like him but I always have, he can stay...Evans no, don't like him too shouty.

I'll give it a 5/10.

[mikeoz]

Bring back the Midwifes...

[....,,,,..,,..]

First the positives.

Viper & Corvette Z06 & F18

The the negatives...

A Ginger, a Spam & a Boxhead.

[Tengocity]

I tried to have an open mind, and I hoped it would be good, but it was pretty mediocre. Evans is shouty and annoying, and Matt Le Blanc was good, but where were the rest?

The idea for the top gun dogfight get in cars was ok, but the whole Britain v USA thing was boring. Ariel Nomad was best segment by far I thought. The new layout for the star in a car might be a little more interesting, but as with all things with Evans there is no real interest in the guest as a person, just what amusement you can leverage out of them.

It's never going to be the same and having the format so similar as before means it's always going to draw direct comparisons, which will always go badly I suspect.

The initial comments on Twitter aren't looking good either, so it seems the majority agree.

[JNW1]

Decided I'd watch to give it a go and even managed to persuade my other half to give it the benefit of the doubt. To be fair she wasn't really a fan with the old presenters but she only lasted 15 minutes before deciding going to do the ironing was a better option; I endured 45 minutes before I bailed-out to give my mum a ring. Other than the variation on the star in the reasonably priced car (which was just about ok) it seemed like the same old formula Top Gear formula only with much poorer presenters.

Monkey Harris doing a in-depth report on the M2 would have no doubt held my attention but sadly it sounds like he's only going to be making cameo appearances now and then. If tonight is typical of the new show I'll be finding something else to do at 8pm on a Sunday....

[Karlj]

Poor way to kick off the new show.

- Evans too shouty
- No actual car reviews, just challenges
- A "which is best?" challenge of two American cars, but didn't answer the original question
- SIARPC segment purely about plugging, awkward audience participation in 'voting' on the star's best/worst cars
- Music selection over the top, trying to force you into some deep emotional reaction to a car at the side of the M40
- Chris Harris and the other actual drivers not present at all in this episode

In a nutshell, they took the old format and went one step beyond 'Top Gear Dog'.

[davyk31]

Watched it through but not too excited. The only funny thing about Reliants is when they fall over which they didn't!

[xPETEZx]

I really hoped they would try something new.

Instead, they did exactly the same. With Evans trying so hard to be Clarkson and failing horribly.

Watching the Xtra Gear on Three online currently.
Its bit better.

Already have my Prime Subscription ready for the Grand Tour.

[InquisitiveA]

What a shame, was really hoping for more.

The thing about Top Gear challenges is that there was always a point. Sure there was some slapstick entertainment along the way and increasingly contrived setups as the series went along but there was always an essential 'why'. "Can you buy a Porsche for less than £5k or whatever", "What's the best old convertible", "Can you turn a car into a boat", "How far can you get on one tank of diesel" etc etc. Tonight's challenge was just "Here are some shit cars, let's drive them until one breaks and wrap some false patriotism around it all". Dire.

And the only reason Gordon Ramsey was on the show was to make Chris Evans seem slightly less obnoxious in comparison. "Hi, I'm Gordon, I swear too much and I used to be bankrupt but now I'm buying a £1m+ car". Tosser.

I give the new Top Gear 4/10, and that's only because I like cars and Matt LeBlanc tried hard.

[gr4z]

I thought it was ok for a first attempt. More Sabine please. Give it time and let them react to the criticism before hating.

[whateva411]

Well......when does the grand tour start?

[gr4z]

Originally Posted by whateva411

Well......when does the grand tour start?

Autumn. I'm glad I have a Prime subscription

[NorthEastX5]

I have to admit I've also started turning to YouTube for car stuff. Repeats of "wheeler dealers" for some reason I cannot stop watching that even through I've seen most of them more than once.

I've also started subscribing to a couple of the free channels by the likes of shmee150 , HarrysGarage and MrJWW and others I'm not embarrassed to say. As others have said the content on these channels isn't in same price bracket production wise as TG etc but some of the videos they post particularly their experiences on press days, at detailers and generally just driving a lot of high end cars I find quite watchable on the iPad as an alternative to the endless crime dramas the Mrs seems to enjoy these days. Let's no forget MrChrisHarris was and still is a YouTube'r.

Couple on their recently with content from a McLaren press event in Tenerife for the 570GT which I found very interesting. Awesome car that.

I think what this points too is that the mainstream production companies really need to up their game. These days for relatively little outlay you can lay your hands on pretty decent HD go pro gear, lots of car mounts and within hours be uploading videos to your own channel sharing your own thoughts on cars, ownership experiences etc. and the rest of us can subscribe for free, watch on any device and generally just focus on the content that interests us. I'm sure the tv companies are keeping tabs on this alternative source of competitive material. If they aren't they should be.

[whateva411]

Originally Posted by gr4z

Autumn. I'm glad I have a Prime subscription

Thanks. Il look forwards to that!

[wezzie]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

I actually don't mind Matt Le Blanc as a presenter.

Yeah he is ok, but i dont think yanks make good presenters on uk tv anyway.
Evans is shouting because he is shite and was very nervey, you would have thought he didnt have a pot to piss in the way he dressed and looked i think the show was all to thrown together. you cant fault clarkson and his team pity he had a good right hook !!

[HiBee]

Originally Posted by philiper1

No more fifth gear (Tiff mentioned on twitter!)

Tiff Needell
May 27
Tiff Needell ‏@tiff_tv
Quick reminder that there's no new @FifthGearTV on @ITV4 tonight ... and perhaps never again!!

Boo

[Roberto71]

Originally Posted by NorthEastX5

I have to admit I've also started turning to YouTube for car stuff. Repeats of "wheeler dealers" for some reason I cannot stop watching that even through I've seen most of them more than once.

I've also started subscribing to a couple of the free channels by the likes of shmee150 , HarrysGarage and MrJWW and others I'm not embarrassed to say. As others have said the content on these channels isn't in same price bracket production wise as TG etc but some of the videos they post particularly their experiences on press days, at detailers and generally just driving a lot of high end cars I find quite watchable on the iPad as an alternative to the endless crime dramas the Mrs seems to enjoy these days. Let's no forget MrChrisHarris was and still is a YouTube'r.

Couple on their recently with content from a McLaren press event in Tenerife for the 570GT which I found very interesting. Awesome car that.

I think what this points too is that the mainstream production companies really need to up their game. These days for relatively little outlay you can lay your hands on pretty decent HD go pro gear, lots of car mounts and within hours be uploading videos to your own channel sharing your own thoughts on cars, ownership experiences etc. and the rest of us can subscribe for free, watch on any device and generally just focus on the content that interests us. I'm sure the tv companies are keeping tabs on this alternative source of competitive material. If they aren't they should be.

Exactly the point i was trying to make earlier.

Those YouTubers like Shmee, JWW, SOL, Seb, Seen through Glass or Nick Murray are very good value. With a handheld camera and some Go Pros they get great footage of their cars. Yes, they can be a bit cringing at times, they're all clearly rich kids who can afford some outstanding cars, but they all seem like good guys and they're car fanatics.

These kinds of guys are brining viewers on great journeys like Gumball, Top Marques in Monaco, Cars and Coffee and their profile is clearly big enough now that McLaren invite them out to Tenerife and hand them new cars to review.

They're not constrained by time so can spend it going over the cars in a lot more detail. All you need now is a camera and a laptop and with video editing you can make great content. Nick Murray is a Kiwi living in the states and had a 911 and now has an M4, he also uses a drone on this clips which gives really pro footage.

The game really has changed imho. You tubers can put out constant content and build the relationship with the viewer in a way TV can't. Even Jay Leno has an outstanding channel on YT, Jay Leno's Garage. Shows the incredible cars he owns and really goes into minute detail about them.

[Drisser]

Anyone else notice the tidy blondes stood behind clarkson have been replaced with random munters ?!

[Kal101]

Not overly impressed tbh

Hopefully it will get better with time

But not sure if I'll bother watching again

Wish They'd stop the shouting.

[geordiepaul]

I take one positive, Matt Leblanc was decent.

[mikeoz]

Originally Posted by Drisser

Anyone else notice the tidy blondes stood behind clarkson have been replaced with random munters ?!

Lol

[SkyJawa]

Dreadful.

Top Gear without the people that make it top gear.

Clone of what went before when it would never work as so with the new presenters.

And omg, we still have star in a crappy car which is completely new because it now goes off road, fuck off bbc, totally missed the trick.

Matt le blanc is shite with no charisma too, every interview I've ever seen he sucks and as a presenter is no exception.