Top Gear/Season 1 Episode 9

Season 1 Episode 9
Season 1, Episode 9
Airdate	December 22, 2002
Written by
Directed by
← 1x08 Season 1 Episode 8	1x10 → Season 1 Episode 10
Top Gear — Season One

Episode Nine of the first season of Top Gear, and is episode nine overall.

Guest Stars: Gordon Ramsay

Information

Renault Espace

Jeremy Clarkson takes a quick look at the Renault Espace. It has an odd, angular futuristic styling that conceals an odd, angular futuristic interior. But its sole function is to be as practical as possible in the smallest amount of space possible. It's a bit pricey, but the perfect family car. Except there's one problem. The Renault Espace is a people carrier and all people carriers are uncool.

Cool Wall

Turning to the Cool Wall, Clarkson adds the Renault Espace to the Uncool section. Also added with the Espace is the Citroën C8, SEAT Alhambra, Peugeot 807, Toyota Previa and Chrysler Voyager. Clarkson has trouble identifying a Hyundai people carrier and turns to the audience for help, getting a "Hyundai Seriously Uncool" as an answer and thus placing the unidentified Hyundai people carrier into the Seriously Uncool section of the wall. A Kia people carrier joins the Hyundai in the Seriously Uncool section.

Clarkson remarks that people carriers aren't like normal cars. You buy a normal car because you want one, but you buy a people carrier because you need one.

Toyota Land Cruiser

Turning to SUVs, you get the space of a people carrier but with cool looks. Clarkson takes a look at the Toyota Land Cruiser. In the more rural parts of England, the Land Cruiser has become the standard school run transport. It has everything you'd possibly want: legendary Toyota reliability, eight seats and enough trunk space to fit a camera man. The new Toyota Land Cruiser is more of the same, but bigger, better looking and better equipped. It also has a better ride for a big, off-roader. If you go with the optional diesel engine it's even economical. The inside is a blend of wood and metal with lots of knobs to fiddle with and satellite navigation. For £36,000 (about $74,200) it's not bad value. The perfect people carrier? No. Stepping inside, Clarkson points out the low-range gearbox which would be perfect for the Kalahari but not so much for taking your children to school. The same goes for the height adjustable suspension and locking differentials. You're paying for a whole load of stuff you'll never need.

BMW X5, Audi Allroad Quattro

As you might not need all the gadgets of the Toyota Land Cruiser, how about the grass and gravel SUVs? Richard Hammond points out the BMW X5 and Audi Allroad Quattro. With these two you're not lugging around tons of extra off-road equipment. However, they only have five seats and may as well have a normal family hatchback.

To recap: people carriers are uncool, big off-roaders are wasteful and grass & gravel off-roaders are impractical. So are we stuck? Not any longer.

Volvo XC90

Coming to the rescue is the Volvo XC90. In many ways it's like a BMW X5. You get four-wheel drive and the high driving position, but you're not burdened by low-range gears and locking differentials. It'd be no good on the African Savannah or the wastelands of Antarctica, nor would it even get you out of Death Valley. But why would you care about any of that on the rural roads of Britain? The XC90 isn't very sporty and the ride if rather fidgety. In the corners it handles like a giraffe due to its height. Another thing is that it was designed in America, so it's huge. Clarkson believes the size of the XC90 might work in downtown Houston, but you could have some problems threading its enormous size down the streets of a village. This particular review model has a 2.9 L twin turbo petrol engine that chews fuel. You'd be lucky to get 15 mpg, so you'd really have to get the diesel version. It's doesn't work off-road, it's big, it's thirsty and it's not very nice to drive. So what's the big deal?

Turning to the back of the Volvo XC90, Clarkson points out the split-folding rear gate. As it's a Volvo estate, the back is huge with plenty of interior space. The rear seats are easy to put up and down, and the middle seat can even convert into a booster seat. The middle seat can be slid forward also to be closer to the driver and front passenger. All the rear seats can be moved backwards and forwards. Hidden under the trunk floor are an additional two seats. They have proper three-point seat belts and cup holders. These trunk seats even have controls to the air conditioning and the ability to listen to a CD or watch a DVD through headphones while those in the front can listen to the radio. There's even a remote to operate the stereo. Even with these trunk seats up, you get a decent amount of trunk space. The best bit, however, is the price. The diesel version of the Volvo XC90 is £30,000 (about $61,800) and the petrol version is £33,000 (about $68,000), about £12,000 (roughly $24,700) less than the BMW X5. The XC90 comes standard with satellite navigation and minidisc/CD player. They haven't skimped on safety either, as even those in back row of seats have their own airbags. As it's tall and more likely to roll, the roof is made with specially strengthened steel.

On the plus side, the Volvo XC90 is very, very safe and more practical than just about any car on the road today. It's well-equipped and good value. On the down side, it's not that nice to drive.

Strip-down Challenge

The boys at Top Gear noticed that cars are getting heavier, slower and more expensive in terms of mileage. So if you took out all the stuff you don't need in a car to make it lighter, how much faster would it go? With a budget of £500, a 1985 Jaguar XJS was purchased with a 5.5 L V12 engine producing 300 bhp. The Stig took it out for a test and got a 0-60 time of 8.6 seconds. After nearly 223 kg (about 491 pounds) of weight is removed from the Jaguar, the car is returned to the Stig. The Stig produces a 0-60 time of 7.4 seconds. When comparing 0-100 times, the stripped-down Jaguar was five seconds faster.

MG SV

Inside the studio, Clarkson takes a quick look at the new MG SV. It'll be going on sale sometime next year at around £60,000 (roughly $123,700), but more if you want the 1,000 hp nitrous kit.

Subaru Forester

Hammond reviews the Subaru Forester 2.0 XT. At first glance it's family car heaven with a big trunk and rides sensibly high off the ground. But it can also go off-road. It has an Impreza chassis and Impreza turbocharged engine and Impreza drive train. The Forester has 177 bhp available at 5,600 rpm, pushing the car from 0-60 in 7.9 seconds. It has permanent four-wheel drive with a limited-slip differential. You'd have to try very hard to break the Forester. Its flat 4 engine is low and mounted low in the car, which in turn keeps the center of gravity low and helps the handling. The ride on roads is smoother and more comfortable than some cars built only for the road. On the down side, the Forester is thirsty and the interior isn't very inspired.

Cool Wall

Clarkson places the Subaru Forester into the Cool section of the wall. The TVR Tuscan is placed in the Uncool section due to the kind of person who would buy one. Clarkson and Hammond place the Volkswagen Polo in the Cool section as it's "Euro sheik", much to the audience's chagrin. Clarkson tries to explain that it doesn't matter how the car drives or how it looks, but how cool it is. Hammond wants to move the BMW M3 up and out of the Uncool section, but Clarkson disagrees. It's a great car, but it's uncool. Clarkson notices the Porsche Boxster S has been moved into the Sub-zero section and chastises the cameraman for moving it up because he owns one. It's placed back in the Uncool section.

Star in a Reasonably Priced Car

This week's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car is Gordon Ramsay, a Scottish celebrity chef. Having an idea, Clarkson used the Subaru Forester, Lada and Suzuki Liana to cook food on their engines for two hours around the track. The Stig is brought into the studio for the first time to deliver the car-cooked meals and Ramsay has a taste. Gordon Ramsay races the Suzuki Liana around the test track in 1.50.0.

Insider Trading

Jason Dawe offers up this week's insider deals.

Volkswagen Golf R32

Clarkson delves into the world of hot hatchbacks. He's always been a fan of them as they're cheap, simple and you got two cars for the price of one. On one hand they're as practical as a normal hatchback, but then their big engines can allow you to drive as if your pants are on fire. Recently, however, things have gotten muddy and complicated.

The Volkswagen Golf R32 costs £22,000 (roughly $45,400), so it's not cheap. It's not simple, either. You've got traction control, CD player control, climate control and heated seats. It's all very nice, but it adds weight. The Golf R32 weighs twice as much as the original Golf GTI from 25 years ago. The original Golf GTI had a 1.6 L engine, whereas the Golf R32 has a 3.2 L engine. The original developed 110 bhp, whereas the new one develops 240 bhp. Because the Golf R32 has twice as much power and weight, it needed twice as much grip. The Golf R32 has four-wheel drive while the original is front-wheel drive. Is it twice the car? It's twice as luxurious, twice as well-made, twice as quiet and twice as easy to drive. But it doesn't have the same spirit as the original Golf. It feels less fun. But how does it stack up to today's competition?

The Volkswagen Golf R32 is very fast, going from 0-60 in six seconds and a top speed of 153 mph. But Clarkson suspects it's more of a long-distance cruiser. The engine doesn't really like to be revved and the gearbox doesn't like to be rushed and the steering doesn't like to be rushed, either. If you're quick enough with the wheel you can actually beat the power assist and feel the steering get very heavy. The car isn't brutal like the Ford Focus RS, but rather subtle and forgiving.

The Stig takes the Volkswagen Golf R32 around the test track in 1.33.3. The Stig takes the Ford Focus RS around in 1.30.2.

Radical SR3

With the season coming to a close, the Westfield XTR2 is still at the top of the Power Laps board. But it's coming under attack from the Radical SR3. It has a 1.3 L bike engine like the Westfield, but it's more powerful. The challenge? The Stig in the Radical SR3 against an aerobatic plane. The Radical produces about 200 bhp to the aerobatic plane's 300 bhp. The Radical only weighs 500 kg while the plane weighs only 600 kg. The Radical has a top speed of about 150 mph to the plane's 200 mph. While the plane will be faster in the straights of the test track, it'll have to climb violently and throttle back to stay within the lines of the curves, giving the Stig an advantage. The Radical can hit 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and 100 mph in 8.8 seconds, so it has the edge from the start. However, the aerobatic plane beats the Radical SR3.

The Stig takes the Radical SR3 around the test track in 1.19.1.

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