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The Grand Tour season 3, episode 1: what the critics and fans thought

The best reactions


AFTER AN 11-month break, The Grand Tour is back on our screens with new series’ first show appearing on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service last night.

If you’ve read Driving’s episode guide on The Grand Tour season 3, you’ll know the debut show is as action-packed as ever, featuring a modern muscle car romp through the streets of Detroit and Abbie Eaton’s eagerly-anticipated Eboladrome lap in the McLaren Senna.

Here’s what the critics have made of The Grand Tour Season Three, Episode One so far.

 

Detroit Free Press

“Some of the episode’s banter pushes the envelope of comic banter -— a case in point being May’s “What about Hiroshima?” and Hammond’s “Pompei?” replies to Clarkson’s claim that no other city has collapsed financially as quickly as Detroit. But “The Grand Tour” is unapologetic both in its ironic attitude and its passion for cool Detroit rides.”

Julie Hinds (read in full)

 

Metro

“Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are practically impervious to criticism. You might find the trio’s competitive banter exhausting and the show’s blaring testosterone a cry for help, but it’s hard to deny their ability to power out compellingly brazen TV.”

Adam Starkey (read in full)

 

Screen Rant

“As a season opener, ‘Motown Funk’ is more or less business as usual for The Grand Tour. It offers plenty of laughs and some great looks at cars that cost more than what most people bring home in a year. That’s par for the course for the series at this point, and it suggests Clarkson, Hammond, and May are sticking with the old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.””

Kevin Yeoman (read in full)

 

The Guardian

“As always, it’s lushly filmed, with a fine eye for a startling location. The comic-book graphics complementing the superhero nicknames the men give the cars are a luxurious touch. Clarkson’s review of the McLaren Senna is crisp and vivid, conveying the thrill of driving it while pithily explaining its technical merits. There’s even a moment when May deviates from the scripted joshing and is properly funny off the cuff, earning a roaring laugh from his pals rather than the usual arch chortles.”

Jack Seale (read in full)

 

The Telegraph

“The jibes, jabs and affectionate putdowns are obviously scripted to death. But they nonetheless crackle with genuine zing. Such effortlessness continues to be in painful contrast to the coughing engine noises emanating from the BBC which, four years after his departure, still hasn’t worked out how to fill the Clarkson-shaped void in its schedules.”

Ed Power (read in full)

 

What did the fans think on Twitter?

 

? There’s so little time and so much to do ?

 

Jeremy Clarkson: quite literally The Grand Tour’s biggest star

 

Seems the “Amazon’s Hit Car Show” PR campaign is working as intended

 

We’re not the only ones getting an Alan Partridge vibe from this tweet, right?

 

Good things come to those who wait

 

Just a guess, but we reckon this one’s a fan of American muscle cars

 

Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet, folks

 

Also, Jeremy Clarkson can’t plug his own show properly

The Grand Tour Series 3 episode guide

The star cars of The Grand Tour season 3

18 things we learnt at the Grand Tour season three launch

The Grand Tour’s perfect tame racing driver: Abbie Eaton