Mr Clarkson does not like the new E Class!!

Seeker_UK

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Even if he's wrong about the E500, it was a very funny piece of writing.
 

teddycatkin

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What he is saying is it is not "sporty " enough and boring to drive --there will be an AMG and Koenig version along soon to put that right ?
He does seem to like the new Jag a lot though which is good for GB.?
 

jberks

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Some cars you love, sone you don't. Its only an opinion, and I dare say there is some truth to what he says - there normally is - though he tends to go to extremes to get the laugh - but that's his job and he does it very well..
If you approach the E500 as something M5 ish then you would be disapointed. Maybe it isn't particularly exciting, but then neither is my E270. What it is, is an over capable long distance cruiser that can hussle if required and will out run 90% of the competition in the real world. I'm sure if I drove the E500, I'd love it for it's quietness and refinement but I do worry a bit that Merc are tending to pander less to the euopeans and more to the Americans as the years go on and his description does sound like a review of an american car - big engine, lazy transmission....
Anyway, for excitement, my E would bore the pants off of a Civic VTec (or whatever its called this week) owner, but then I think 9000rpm engines have no place in a modern road car and certaily wouldn't want to do 200 miles in one. Each to their own.
 

Splatt

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I always get that irksome feeling driving the new E class that if you made a misdemeanor like clipping the curb, a refined voice with Teutonic accent would cut into the sound system with Dummkopf
 

jberks

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Clarkson is a kn#b, always has been always will be.

now now.
Love him or hate him, he single handedly changed car reviews from suck-ups reading out the latest press releases and droning on about how the gearstick is in the middle, to proper genuine reviews about how the car makes you feel and whether it goes round corners better than the competition- in other words, things we really wanted to know and couldn't get out of a Brochure. A car is an emotional purchase, not a technical one like a TV set, and he was one of the first to recognise that. As he says, always ask what William Woolard would do, then do the opposite.
If something was crap, and most cars when he started were, he was the first to say so. In response, manufacturers had to up their game dramatically, so I credit him personally with a big chunk of the improvements we've seen.
Ok - today he's a bit of a buffoon but thats just the character he plays - its not really him. TG is a light entertainment comedy show about cars. (Do you honestly believe he doesn't know what torque is, how a supercharger works or really believes all that crap he spouts?) If he was so happless and incompetent I doubt he'd be remotely as succesful (and rich) as he is.
As an aside, I've always thought that the 3 of them on TG were carefully selected to play those roles, and have always had a nagging suspicion that they were modelled, at least in part, on the 3 guys in last of the summer wine. Happless buffoon leader, the sensible one and the loveable cheeky chappie.....
 

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Be interesting to see how well it does in the real world
 

benoliver

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I saw the new E Class coupe in red and the saloon in dark grey on the M25 yesterday. Have to say that the red really suited the coupe, and the darker colours suit the saloon.
 
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PanzerMcGrory

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now now.
Love him or hate him, he single handedly changed car reviews from suck-ups reading out the latest press releases and droning on about how the gearstick is in the middle, to proper genuine reviews about how the car makes you feel and whether it goes round corners better than the competition- in other words, things we really wanted to know and couldn't get out of a Brochure. A car is an emotional purchase, not a technical one like a TV set, and he was one of the first to recognise that. As he says, always ask what William Woolard would do, then do the opposite.
If something was crap, and most cars when he started were, he was the first to say so. In response, manufacturers had to up their game dramatically, so I credit him personally with a big chunk of the improvements we've seen.
Ok - today he's a bit of a buffoon but thats just the character he plays - its not really him. TG is a light entertainment comedy show about cars. (Do you honestly believe he doesn't know what torque is, how a supercharger works or really believes all that crap he spouts?) If he was so happless and incompetent I doubt he'd be remotely as succesful (and rich) as he is.
As an aside, I've always thought that the 3 of them on TG were carefully selected to play those roles, and have always had a nagging suspicion that they were modelled, at least in part, on the 3 guys in last of the summer wine. Happless buffoon leader, the sensible one and the loveable cheeky chappie.....

I have to disagree, you do not get an honest review if its not a supercar.

how many times do you watch him forced into reviewing something the peasants might drive and he hates it before he has even driven it, spouting crap about cheap plastics etc etc when it costs less than a set of wheels for what he really wants to be driving.

Yes his words have a bit of clout but i dont think he is as god like as you make out, its a natural progression that cars get better and nothing to do with clarkson or we would have been driving model Ts when he came on the scene.

And Top gear is not a car review show, its light entertainment with made up chases, jokes and scenarios and a chat show thrown in.
 

jberks

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I have to disagree, you do not get an honest review if its not a supercar.

how many times do you watch him forced into reviewing something the peasants might drive and he hates it before he has even driven it, spouting crap about cheap plastics etc etc when it costs less than a set of wheels for what he really wants to be driving.

Yes his words have a bit of clout but i dont think he is as god like as you make out, its a natural progression that cars get better and nothing to do with clarkson or we would have been driving model Ts when he came on the scene..

He loves the Ford Focus and Mondeo, Loves Alfas, was even nice about the last vectra. Sure he mainly reviews the latest fezza but as you say, its a light entertainment program and who really wants to see him reviewing the next Astra? We want to see him looning around doing things we'd love to- living vicareously through him as it were. given the 6 million viewers (half Female) in the UK and god knows how many worldwide, he seems to have the right formula.

And Top gear is not a car review show, its light entertainment with made up chases, jokes and scenarios and a chat show thrown in.
Absolutely - there you go - we agree on something :)
I've seen some real review programs recently - without humour, even for me as a petrol head, they're just nurdy yawn fests.
 

Seeker_UK

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Yes, he does review and give a thumbs up to a lot of supercars but he does give positive (balanced?) reviews to 'normal' cars.

Jeremy Clarkson's greatest hits (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/system/topicRoot/Jeremy_Clarkson_s_greatest_hits/) said:
BMW 135i M Sport coupe
The fact of the matter is this. The 135 coupé is the best car BMW makes. I have no hesitation at all, then, in giving this car the rare accolade of five stars

Alfa Romeo Brera V6 coupe
A true, guilt-free pleasure, even with 4x4. If you have bought this car you have bought it for one reason only: because it’s beautiful

Mazda MX-5 1.8i
Everything about the new MX-5 is perfectly judged. It is a slightly more practical, slightly better-looking version of something you loved anyway

Mazda RX-8
Great value; ideal for the follically challenged

Volkswagen Golf R32
I’ll cut straight to the chase: the R32 is a fabulous car, but it doesn’t shout about it. This car is a hole in one

Citroen C4 VTS coupe
The Citroen C4 may be the same size as a Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra but it can do far, far more. C’est magnifique!

Fiat Bravo 1.4 TJet 150 Sport
It is not quite as good as a Golf. Except for a couple of things. The way it feels and the way it looks

Mazda CX-7
Since I believe you should live life and not spend half of it in church, preparing for death, I’d take the Mazda, warts and all, every time

Mazda6 MPS
This really is a magnificent driver’s car. It handles well, with nicely weighted steering and some excellent brakes

The thing is, you have to remember 2 things. JC likes cars to be fast, brash and a bit sporty. A 'vanilla' E-class is never going to be all of those things unless it gets the AMG E63 Black treatment. At that point, if it can get the power down, JC will have a sex-wee and give it a good review.

Secondly, he is paid by the BBC and the Times to be entertaining and regardless of whether you like his style, that is what he delivers in bucketloads.


If you want to see how dull even handed reviews can be, just go to the 5th Gear website. Yawn. I mean, what would you rather see; a Porsce racing across the UK with a few laughs thrown in or some ghastly, po-faced item about how nasty an accident you get when an old MOT failure s**t-box Mundaneo hits a tractor at 50 mph?
 
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Dave Brooker

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I've always thought that the 3 of them on TG were carefully selected to play those roles, and have always had a nagging suspicion that they were modelled, at least in part, on the 3 guys in last of the summer wine. Happless buffoon leader, the sensible one and the loveable cheeky chappie.....

TG's just the JC show, the other 2 are there just to suck up to him, TG should go the same way as JC's chatshow did....
 

roofless

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TG's just the JC show, the other 2 are there just to suck up to him, TG should go the same way as JC's chatshow did....

look on the bright side it's better than 5th gear ?
 

Dave Brooker

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look on the bright side it's better than 5th gear ?

5th gear at least has had a few format changes over the years, VBH is still a babe.

TG = 3 floppy haired bufoons doing their best to earn their 6 (7?) figure wages by the same lame old stunts, and by smashing cars up for shock value and to upset people.
 

amwebby

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now now.
As an aside, I've always thought that the 3 of them on TG were carefully selected to play those roles, and have always had a nagging suspicion that they were modelled, at least in part, on the 3 guys in last of the summer wine. Happless buffoon leader, the sensible one and the loveable cheeky chappie.....

That comedy construct goes back a lot further than last of the Summer Wine, as fans of the Marx Brothers and The Three Stooges will know.

Actually I've always believed the characters in Last Of The Summer Wine were based on the protagonists from Wind In The Willows, Ratty, Mole and Badger.
 
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