We've got new stars Matt LeBlanc and Chris Evans holding forth but after the first episode aired in Britain on Sunday, it seems British reviewers were somewhat underwhelmed by the first post-Clarkson/Hammond episode.
Here's what they said:
"It's not a disaster. It's polished, the stunts (so many of them!) are
fun, the tweaks are improvements. But it is a shame there wasn't more in the way of refreshing the show itself. It's just new people doing same old same old ... When something is so closely associated with someone, or even with three people, say, it's hard - when suddenly there are other people doing it - not to feel something is missing."
- Sam Wollaston, Guardian
"No doubt some diehards will conclude that the new Top Gear was like choosing between a classic car and a plastic reproduction - what was gained in ease of use was lost in character. Others, myself included, will moan that the format was already in need a major revamp and this relaunch was much too cautious and unimaginative. Even so it would be churlish not to admit this made for slickly entertaining television. And given time to bed-in, there's little doubt that we will warm to the new regime."
