Well, the motormouths are back, but it seems as if the show has become much more than Clarkson and Co. Familiarity breeds character (rather than contempt), and if anything we’ve seen the evolution (for want of a better word) of James May and particularly Richard Hammond, from the rather unkind portrayal of shaggy-me and mini-me to Clarkson’s Doctor Evil – offered up by a ghostwritten Al Murray.

What sets Top Gear apart from other car shows (Fifth Gear, Pulling Power) is it is as much an entertainment show as a car show. It’s for boys and their toys. Fifth Gear can be serious reportage at times, Top Gear has a car racing against a boat, outrunning an elite team of snipers, a tank, a stretch limo attempting to leap over a wedding party of caravans, a car against a marathon runner, and other surreal challenges amidst the stats and specs of the top road/race cars, and best family/off-road/mini/luxury cars etc.

The underlying importance of these tests is nil when it comes to buying the car, but it is so much bloody fun to watch. I would happily watch more programmes about cars if they involved driving more Rolls-Royces into swimming pools.

Craig Aston.