This man is absolutely spot on!!! i know that were all going to be bias on this forum but taking an unbiased view of the program its obvious that the Lexus is the only other car that stood a chance against the coupe.
They shouldve just painted the cars and all 3 cars shouldve been driven around the track by The Stig!!!
Gutted i looked forward to this program all week
Matt

I'm with sa_20v - pretty dull show all in all. I am all for humour on Top Gear but a few more like the £1000 Coupe challenges would be much better. Why not have a "Performance car for under 2k" section and do proper lap times etc. Could still be humourous - just a bit less OTT. Was kinda hping for some performance challenges and was really expecting JC to spend his £500 on putting in a load of engine mods then painting the car by hand!

I know we are all going to be sensitive about this topic and I did laugh at bits but I have to be honest I felt a little sad.
The coop is so much more than the other two cars and has a 'history' the other two well they don't.

Like some of you have said the average turd will now think that a coop is a piece of second hand tat.

I know it shouldn't bother me but it does!!1

I found it funny as fccuk

People moaning about it being rubbish and dumbed down etc, it's the only *entertainment/car* show the misses will watch, it had her and her 16 year old sister in stitches tonight.

Not everyone wants to watch in depth car reviews, there are plenty of other shows which cater for that.

Ben

EDIT: It seems the Fiat has come off looking quite good in this, well in the pistonheads threads there are a few comments saying it looked "cool"

on iplayer now

Well some of you might be annoyed.... but the Vitara forum is livid!

have to say thought the idea was quite funny, just a shame that they used the coupe instead of another old sports coupe, hasnt done the values of our cars any good

I think thats got to be the worst episode of Top Gear I have ever seen.

I thought it was some of the funniest TV i've seen in quite a while. My girlfriend laughed so much, she had to dash off for her asthma inhaler.

Lets face it, if you were expecting the Coupe feature to be well reasoned and informative, then you were pretty much onto a hiding to nothing.

I'm downloading it now....

Just watched this on BBC Iplayer. Well. What the hell are you people whingeing about? The coop did brilliantly. Before I saw the episode, I'd assumed the wheel had "done a Lionel". That outcome was predictable, given the spikes.

Stop complaining. Top Gear is still the best car programme on TV. No exception. They gave the coop the correct amount of respect.

It is Top Gear. Live with it.

i quite enjoyed it and it didn't look too bad of an example. shame it didn't capture the engine note

but I can't understand people moaning about it lowering the price of the coupe. this isn't some 100k supercar that you are going to lose loads of money on! if you have bought a coupe recently you are only going to lose a grand or 2 tops. you lose that amount when you drive a new car away from the dealer.

Dont see anything? Deleted perhaps?

Ross

me neither. Oh dear

its a link to the vitara forum

but no TG Vitara thread.

Maybe there not as self-concious on there and know there car is an old relic generally kept going by enthusiasts.

Well, I've just finished watching it and thoroughly enjoyed it

The green colour of the Coupe reminded me of an old VW Jetta my parents had when I was younger, which was a very similar colour

Couldn't agree more. Well said.

It was exactly as I expected it to be, he should have put some different wheels on rather than drilling and weekening the original rims the twonk, but thats TG! I can't help but feel that show was just one big rush though.

Ahh some sense at last!

Its entertainment - yes we all love coops but why give a rats ass what chavs might think of it! You like your car for what it is, and the enjoyment you get out of it. Quit moaning peops.

Lets be honest, it was sold to TG for £900, if any owner is that worried about values why let it go for £900 in the first place??

I found the programme very amusing and even the wife was enjoying it. Roll on next week!

I think we ought to visit the Alfa forums in the week before the "3-alfas" article is aired

I have a feeling that despite the slightly loftier brand image, the three stooges will be no more respectful to the GTV, 75 and Spider than they were to the Lexus, Vitara and Coupe

However, I have a horrible feeling that the Alfa forums may be expecting a little more (mind you - I wonder how many other forums are chuckling at this forum right now)

Face it - we're driving cars that are starting to appear as banger material - its going to get worse before it gets better

Yep, it's all a bit pointless.

I thought it was funny. Pity Clarkson was his usual dick self on the speed test for the challenge, but then the Coop would've won that by a mile and he knows it.

So am I the only one who thinks that Coop looked rather cool in the Italian police colours?

nope, i thought it looked smart too!

I always thought Italian Police colours were pale blue Thought it did look very cool though.

I guess I was initially a little dissapointed that JC didn't rave on about how great it was but when watched by an unbiased audience I think the coop came across pretty well.

Really liked it when he was trying to take out the BMW and even with the massive spikes he was all over it with ease... however, I suppose the stig could've let him catch up and overtake as it was the highlight of the entire challange.

I thought the Coupe did bloody well, it seemed better than the pics of it on the Ebay link when sold. Looked excellent in the police colours and especially when shot from the BMWs rear quarter looming up on it. Those features are never going to focus on the merits of the vehicles.

As for the rest of the programme, I thought it was pretty disappointing really, the best bit was the 1 gallon supercar race (really surprised how well the Lambo did).

By the way, I watched it down at my parents and came home afterwards. On leaving I went to the local petrol station to fill up. Two young(ish) lads in a nice looking ITR pulled up at the pump behind, got out and said 'you see Top Gear, one of those was on it'. We had about a 15 minute conversation regarding the merits of the two cars.

The moment the wheel came off <Photo>

Not the greatest TG episode ever, but still the most enjoyable thing I've seen on TV in ages.

Thought the coop did great - as has been said, the challenge was a bit weak and the timed lap felt fiddled just enough that the coop didn't win hands down. (the time lap and car chase were great, didn't quite understand the accident clearing bit though?!).

I don't see it as being detrimental to the image/price of the coupe - if anything its put it in the spotlight a bit in a way it probably hasn't been for a decade - it looked great, drove well (despite the obvious hobbling) and was affordable - isn't that why we all have/had them?

Thought it was a great show. Starting with the supercar on a gallon was a masterstroke as it's what most petrolheads who've been counting down the days to the new series would have wanted.

Plenty of moments that got me and my wife laughing out loud.

As for the Coop challenge - none of us really wants to see one of these cars killed, so can see why there's a bit of sensitivity. The worst thing that could've happened though was if they'd decided it was going to finish bottom, so made sure that happened by playing to its weaknesses (oil consumption/taking it off road and killing it). They didn't though - and the fact the handbrake worked was a real surprise. Thought it came out of it pretty well.

Well I wanted to see more of the coop but from what I saw id say it looked very quick and sharp round those bends even with those horrid spikes on the back. It pi55ed all over the astra,bmw,lexus and vitara with no contest of speed. Plus if you lose a rear wheel you will most lightly be fine . Considering that alloy was drilled through the 4 spokes of the standard alloy which would significantly weaken it. Its a shame thou it was boring up until then.