Fifth Gear

Well, it isn't as funny as Top Gear, but it goes straight to the point. Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson were presenters at Top Gear before, but they decided to start their own show. Well, Tiff doesn't have verbal gifts of Clarkson, but his driving skills are amazing. And Vicki is so cute when she pushes car to the limit and giggles at same time. Style of Fifth Gear is like Old-school Top Gear style, and by my opinion, older TG:s were better than new. It's odd that Fifth Gear doesn't have any comments and its user rating is only 6.3? I bet that none of voters have even seen the show... Fifth Gear is really worth watching, I recommend it to all TG-fans.

Still an enjoyable show. Jason, Jonny and Vikki are great. Jimmy the bore, not so much. I fast forward his bits. He's no replacement for Tiff. Get someone who can either drive or entertain. Or preferably both.

It's a real car show not a reality show as Top Gear.

They show the cars no what the crew eat at the breakfast.

In short, 5th Gear is a "Five" re-hash of the old Top Gear format, and because it uses many of the same cast and crew, minus Jeremy Clarkson, it's a good one. It's like TG used to be a few years back, when the items were geared more towards information, although I will say that I have always found Tiff Needell entertaining when he track-tests a super-car.

Some have said that the show would benefit from Clarkson; personally I don't think so, partly because Five would probably have to be careful about not upsetting advertisers (unlike the BBC) and he has, shall we say, shown the potential for that!!

All in all, 5th Gear is a great show, and long may it continue.

Fifth Gear lives in the shadow of the top viewership car show ever. Top Gear UK has more worldwide viewers, but that's only because it is broad entertainment. It conveys only scraps of information, mostly through the Stig's segment. It's always funny when the bombastic Clarkson is shown to be wrong about a car by the Stig driving it in a way that would be impossible if Clarkson's review were true.

Fifth Gear's presenters all have the skills and athleticism to handle a fast car, unlike any of the speaking personalities on Top Gear UK. And they are better able to talk about the cars than the Top Gear US presenters. Fifth Gear does it all: watchable and interesting while managing to teach quite a bit about the cars. There is no bias that I can see, unlike Top Gear UK which favors British cars and mocks American cars, among others.

My criticism is that the show hasn't changed at all in the Internet era. There are a few complete episodes available only to UK viewers, and that's it. At minimum there should be episodes available to world viewers, not just UK; extended episodes and outtakes, which can be created at minimal additional cost; a forum with participation by the show's crew; and marketing tie-ins with auto makers and retailers to take advantage of the fact that many readers will be shopping for a car.