In this week’s episode of Top Gear, we get to see Freddie and Chris attempt the Baha 1000 off-road event in Mexico, the new hot hatch from Renault is put through its paces, Emilia and Lawrence Fox are the studio guests plus we get a rare bit of actual consumer advice from Chris.
The Baha 1000 is a race across around 800 miles of rough terrain, the majority taking place in the desert. To put it bluntly, it’s not for the faint-hearted, the team captain informs Chris and Freddie that there is usually at least one death in each annual event, serious stuff indeed.
After a bit of practice, the race is set to begin. Chris is driving the first leg and before they even get off the line things go wrong in the form of a battery issue. After a jump start, they’re off only to realise a few miles in that there is a problem with the GPS system. Things go from bad to worse as the terrain takes its toll on the vehicle causing mechanical issues with the gearbox. Next, it’s the turn of the power steering to pack in putting Chris way behind the pack.
He’s so far behind that the spectators are all packing up and heading home which means the racecourse is now also flooded with people trying to get homemaking things even more dangerous. Chris finally makes it to the first checkpoint where he finds out that it will take over 4 hours to get the car fixed. Sadly the boys decide to retire from the race but vow to take on the challenge of the Baha 1000 again next year.
Next up we see Emila and Lawrence Fox taking their turn in the reasonably priced car. Emilia is very cautious and ends up with the slowest speed on the leader board. Lawrence, however, absolutely floors it for the whole lap and puts in an impressive time given the wet conditions.
Consumer advice isn’t something Top Gear gets praised for very often so Chris sets out to do just that. This film is a rapid-fire barrage of information about 12 or so cars that he has picked out with all the cars costing less than £30,000. Not very informative and I’m none the wiser as to what car to buy but the film is entertaining nonetheless.
In the final film, Chris is putting the new Renault Megane RS Trophy R through its paces on the Top Gear track. This car is 130kg lighter than its standard counterpart and the performance is incredible as a consequence, especially when it comes to cornering. This does come at a cost though and the car will cost you around £70,000.
Paddy and Freddie are shocked by this and decide to show Chris that you can do better for £70,000. Freddie pulls up in a Porche and Paddy a second hand Lamborghini. The boys devise a few challenges to prove which car is the best and surprisingly the Renault still manages to come out on top.
View more images from the episode in our gallery below:
