Season 40

Jeremy Clarkson slips behind the wheel for the new 15-part run of the motoring magazine and road-tests the Ford Focus, while Tiff Needell sees how Aston Martin’s latest DB7 compares with a flying Jaguar. Plus a report from Quentin Willson on used cars imported from Japan.

The Peugeot 205 was a practical, fun hatchback that many drivers found irresistible. Will the 206 be as popular? Vicki Butler-Henderson takes it for a spin. Jeremy Clarkson is given the chance to try out three executive motors, starting with a sporty little Italian model: the Ferrari 456M. He moves on to the Aston Martin Vantage and, finally, selects the Bentley Arnage. Will the Italian model prove superior to the best of British? Road-tests reveal all.

As motor racing returned last weekend to Goodwood in Sussex for the first time since 1966, Tiff Needell tells the story of the circuit’s revival and races a Lister Jaguar; Jeremy Clarkson tests the heavyweight contenders in the four-wheel drive market; and Quentin Willson reports on crash-test research on large cars.

Since its launch in 1989, the original Land Rover Discovery has been Britain’s best-selling four-wheel drive. Tiff Needell tries out the new model to see what’s changed. Andy Wilman climbs aboard Britain’s biggest motor home, the American-made Windsor Monaco, while and Jeremy Clarkson and racing driver Damon Hill try out two versions of the new Honda Accord.

Alfa Romeo are hoping to put past design problems behind them with their new saloon models. Tiff Needell test-drives the latest offering — the Executive Express — which goes on sale in Britain early next year and replaces the much-loved, if slightly quirky, 164.

Owing to concerns over safety the Mercedes A-class was withdrawn shortly after its launch earlier this year. Jeremy Clarkson test-drives the new, modified version. On a weekend break, Vicky Butler-Henderson gets to drive a Formula One car.

Featuring reports from the British International Motor Show in Birmingham. Rover are hoping to steal the limelight with the 75, their first new car since BMW bought the company, while Jaguar are optimistic that their new, smaller S-type will be as well received as their XK8 sports car, which won many fans.

The Ford Puma was such a hit with the Top Gear team that they voted it their Car of the Year for 1997. Now Ford has followed it up with a bigger coupe, the radically designed Cougar, but will it see off the competition?

Volkswagen’s Golf GTi first came to Britain in 1976 and soon became the choice of the fashionable set. Over the years model changes blunted the sharp edges of this original hot hatch but now, with the emergence of an all-new Golf, there’s also a new GTi. Jeremy Clarkson asks whether this latest version can beat the competition.

As the latest manufacturer to enter the sports-car market, Audi hopes to take on rivals Porsche and BMW with the new TT, which goes on sale in the spring. Jeremy Clarkson asks if the TT’s good looks and high build quality are enough to help Audi see off the competition.

The appearance of the luxuriously equipped V8-engined Seville STS marks the return of the Cadillac name to the British market. But will it tempt buyers away from more established makes, such as BMW and Lexus, as well as next year’s Jaguar S-type? Jeremy Clarkson test-drives it to see whether it offers a viable star-spangled alternative.

Steve Berry travels to Seattle to look at Jeep’s new Grand Cherokee, which is huge and available for the first time in right-hand drive. In contrast Vicki Butler-Henderson considers the tiny tearaway Tommy Kaira ZZ sports car, an open-top two seater which is Japanese but made in Norfolk.

Tony Mason looks back at two of Britain’s failed attempts to infiltrate the US market during the post war years: the 1949 Austin Atlantic, which was considered overpriced in relation to its power, and the 1950 Triumph Mayflower, an unpopular miniature variation on the Rolls-Royce. Plus a review of the latest version of the Subaru Legacy, a four-wheel drive with an urban appearance.

Back in the seventies the BMW 3.0, Fiat 130 and Peugeot were the coupes to be seen in-glamorous, rare and expensive. Steve Berry learns what made these models the must-haves of days gone by, while Quentin Willson drives the new, high-tech Mercedes Benz S Class.

In the concluding episode of the current series, Jeremy Clarkson, Tiff Needell, Quentin Willson and Vicki Butler-Henderson select their favourite cars of the year. Last year it was the Ford Puma that won the plaudits for its overall performance. Can the team find common ground to agree on the best of 1998?