Name: Fifth Gear
Uploaded: 2022-10-14T23:22:08.000Z
Description: An exciting and informative motoring magazine programme. Topics include the best of new car reviews, second-hand bargains and industry news with a different feature piece in every episode.

An exciting and informative motoring magazine programme. Topics include the best of new car reviews, second-hand bargains and industry news with a different feature piece in every episode.

All3Media - Fifth Gear

Tiff Needell tests the new Lamborghini Murcielago and finds it slightly less inspiring than Lamborghinis of old - slightly less of a raw supercar.

Episode 1

Vicki Butler-Henderson road tests the new performance version of Alfa Romeo's 156. She likes it and reckons it ranks alongside performance saloons from BMW, Subaru and Mitsubishi.

Episode 2

Adrian Simpson road tests the new Hyundai Coupé. It was massively praised by motoring journalists on its launch it Italy. They even likened the £14,000 South Korean car to a mini Ferrari 456.

Episode 3

Vicki Butler-Henderson tests Ford's Focus ST170 and concludes that it's a good car in a refined sort of way but no rival for the current hot hatch favourite, Honda's Civic Type-R.

Episode 4

Tiff Needell drives the Pagani Zonda, an astonishing Italian supercar that boasts a 7-litre, 550 horsepower engine and 200 mph plus performance.

Episode 5

Tiff Needell tests the new MGTF. He finds it a better road car than the old MGL but it's still not a track day car. Quentin Willson reveals some ways people try to get off their speeding tickets.

Episode 6

Adrian Simpson road tests Vauxhall's new Vectra. He finds it very dull to look at inside and out. The 2.2 litre petrol engine feels slow. On the plus side it's better than the model it replaces.

Episode 7

Adrian Simpson road tests the Renault VelSatis. Renault's attempt to tackle the executive car sector dominated by Mercedes, Audi and BMW has unusual styling but he likes it.

Episode 8

Vicki Butler-Henderson, Adrian Simpson and Tom Ford visit the Paris motor show. They look at many of the new models revealed there including the Porsche Cayenne and Bentley Continental GT.

Tiff Needell travels to California to test Nissan's new 350Z sports car. Is it a worthy successor to the company's 1970s 240Z? And is it as good to drive as it looks? Tiff thinks so.

Adrian Simpson test drives Volvo's new off-roader. He concludes because of their attention to safety, the environment and the family-size accommodation Volvo have created a different kind of 4x4.

Quentin Willson, Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson and Adrian Simpson visit the British International Motorshow. They look at some of the cars they didn't see at the recent Paris show.

Tiff Needell tests a comprehensive selection of the latest hot hatches including the new and long-awaited Ford Focus RS. He rules out the MGZR, the Mini Cooper S and the Renault Clio Cup.

Tiff Needell poses the question, "What's the best GT car you can buy for £90,000?" He tests the top contenders which both come from Stuttgart - the Mercedes SL55 AMG and the Porsche 911 Turbo.

Multi-millionaire John Caudwell, the boss of a mobile phone company, has a budget of £500,000 to spend on new cars and he's come to Fifth Gear for some advice on what motors to choose.

Tom Ford tests Nissan's new Micra. He finds it well-made and easy-to-drive. Adrian Simpson goes in search haunted cars. He starts by being very sceptical that haunted cars can exist at all.

Fifth Gear Quentin Willson and Tiff Needell stage a massive head-on collision by piloting two remote controlled cars into each other at 60 mph.

What do you think is more dangerous - driving whilst being drunk, or driving whilst being tired? Tiff Needell spends a day in the pub and Quentin Willson deprives himself of sleep for 2 days.

We all assume that driving around in a big SUV means we're protected and safe - but do you know what it would take to get one to topple over?

Do cars explode like they do in the movies? Tiff Needell and Adrian Simpson stage their own car chase and then watch the experts who've worked on James Bond movies take over for the special effects.

Tiff Needell and Adrian Simpson get under the skin of bullet-proof cars and go to the secret lab that the world's leading car armourer uses for weapons testing, and race an armoured Range Rover.

Quentin Willson enlists the help of a car psychologist to cure one sufferer who finds it impossible to drive without swearing profusely at other drivers.

Fifth Gear decides on its favourite sportscar. Which open-topped two seater offers the most fun - will it be a TVR, Lotus, or Porsche?

Fifth Gear sees if there is any truth in the old cliches - who are the better drivers, men or women? Can women park? Are men better at map reading? Which is the stronger sex on the race-track?

Vicki Butler-Henderson and Tiff Needell look at the car accident that's ten times as likely to cause you an injury as any other; a rear impact.

Season 4 Episode 1

Like it or not - we're a nation of speeders, and we need all the help we can get. So in this episode of Fifth Gear Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson are going to help you save your licence.

Season 4 Episode 2

Vicki Butler-Henderson makes some noise in TVR's new T350, a £40,000 coupe which promises 175mph, and 4 seconds to 60. Plus we find the ultimate bargain car.

Season 4 Episode 3

Tiff Needell has a tough assignment. Our selfless road tester has to fly to Nice to drive the ultimate Mercedes-Benz, the flagship of the range, the £120,000 plus CL65.

Season 4 Episode 4

Fifth Gear reconstructs one of the fastest-growing types of car crash in Britain; a terror that could turn a pleasant motorway journey into one of the most frightening rides of your life.

Season 4 Episode 5

The most frequently asked motoring question is "What's quickest?" Fifth Gear go to a special test track on the Isle of Anglesey with six of the most desirable performance cars of the moment.

Season 4 Episode 6

The pestilential nuisance of cowboy clamping is now more common than ever. There are no rules or regulations governing the renegade companies that organise these rackets.

Season 4 Episode 7

In an astonishing series of experiments Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson find out just how dangerous ordinary items can be, and how you can best keep them under control in our cars.

Season 4 Episode 8

Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson will be investigating what improvements mean in practice when they crash a brand new car head-on into a nine-year-old one.

Season 5 Episode 1

In this edition of we're literally taking Fifth Gear to new heights and celebrating the most spectacular challenge petrol-heads have ever invented.

Season 5 Episode 2

Tiff Needell meets some of the people whose lives have been blighted by a terror of driving. He then considers the latest solutions to the problem.

Season 5 Episode 3

When was the last time you checked your tyres? When was the last time you even noticed them? Fifth Gear reveal how you're ignoring them at your peril.

Season 5 Episode 4

Adrian Simpson will be in Surrey for the The Mini World Show, a 45th Birthday Party for the Mini - attracting masterpieces from all over the world.

Season 5 Episode 5

Fifth Gear guest presenter and Touring Car champion Jason Plato tests Chrysler's new 300C. Is this would-be competitor for the likes of the Mercedes E-class really a car to be taken seriously?

Season 5 Episode 6

Vicki is the first journalist in the world to drive the astonishing £150,000 Gibbs Aquada, an amphibious car that breaks the mould. Vicki tests it out on the open road and the ocean wave.

Season 5 Episode 7

In this edition of Fifth Gear Adrian Simpson will be asking what makes a celebrity car valuable and what doesn't, and he'll be meeting the people who buy them and collect them.

Season 5 Episode 8

It's the ultimate showdown, a quarter mile drag between a Formula One car, a superbike and a racing powerboat to find out which is quickest.

Season 6 Episode 1

Tiff Needell tests the latest car to join the elite ranks of road cars capable of over 200mph includes such mouthwatering prospects as the Enzo Ferrari, the Pagani Zonda, and the Porsche Carerra GT .

Season 6 Episode 2

Fifth Gear will be testing three of the most economical cars on the market. There's the petrol-powered Daihatsu Charade and the diesel-powered Citroen C2 and the "hybrid" Toyota Prius.

Season 6 Episode 3

Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson report on Fifth Gear's fastest ever crash test when we crash a Smart into a concrete block...flat out. Jason Plato drives through five countries in 24 hours.

Season 6 Episode 4

Vicki Butler-Henderson and Tiff Needell drive some of the best cars made in Britain today. They also celebrate Britain's amazingly diverse and fertile sports car industry.

Season 6 Episode 5

Vicki Butler-Henderson attempts to drive flat out in Aston Martin's new Vanquish S. The 520bhp, £175,000-plus super-coupe accelerates from 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and is capable of over 200mph.

Season 6 Episode 6

Tiff Needell is joined by Le Mans winner Guy Smith and former rally co-driver Tony Mason to do something that's not as ridiculous as it might sound - caravan racing.

Season 6 Episode 7

Vicki Butler-Henderson, Tiff Needell, Tom Ford and Jason Plato take their pick from the best new cars launched in 2004. They pick an overall winner, Fifth Gear's car of the year.

Season 6 Episode 8

Tiff heads to Anglesey to see what's quickest; a Smart Brabus or Mini Cooper S when they get pitched head to head in the Fifth Gear shoot out.

Season 7 Episode 1

Jason Plato is given his toughest mission yet - to do one month's motoring in 24 hours. It's in a bid to give the new BMW 3 Series the ultimate road test.

Season 7 Episode 2

Tiff heads to Anglesey for not one but two Shoot-Outs, the Porsche Cayenne goes head to head with the BMW X5 and the Renault Clio takes on the Honda Civic.

Season 7 Episode 3

Jon Bentley is on a mission to discover Britain's Most Prestigious Car. Fifth Gear have commissioned a poll by experts You Gov, and can tonight reveal the results of their 2,000 person survey.

Season 7 Episode 4

Tiff races the top of the range £60,000 supercharged Sport cross country against...a horse. Vicki Butler-Henderson finds out exactly how easy it is to control the £160,000 Lamborghini Murcielago.

Season 7 Episode 5

Fifth Gear gets unprecedented access behind the scenes of the multi-million pound Renault Formula 1 team, and the unique competition they recently held to find an engineer of the future.

Season 7 Episode 6

Tiff Needell teams up with supermodel Jodie Kidd to race a Maserati at the Monza grand prix circuit in Italy. Jason Plato visits the Top Marques Monaco Motorshow.

Season 7 Episode 7

Tiff Needell tests he BMW M5, by driving from the UK to the famous Pau circuit in the South of France. Tom Ford tests the world's maddest car - the Ariel Atom.

Season 7 Episode 8

Tiff Needell test drives the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage, billed as the most desirable sportscar in the world. Jon Bentley reveals definitively whether expensive petrol is worth the extra cash.

Season 8 Episode 1

Jason Plato gets a world's first test drive in the £380,000 Pagani Zonda F. Vicki Butler-Henderson heads to our Anglesey test track to race a Porsche 911 against the latest Lotus Exige.

Season 8 Episode 2

Vicki Butler-Henderson is finding out if progress has been made by Mitsubishi, as she races a classic Evo 6 against the very latest Evo 9.

Season 8 Episode 3

Vicki Butler-Henderson welcomes Michael Schumacher to the show, for his only British television appearance this year. They go head to head on the track, in a very unusual challenge.

Season 8 Episode 4

Tiff tests this grand tourer's handling through the dramatic scenery of Snowdonia in Wales. Jason Plato tests the brand new £115,000 Aston Martin DB9 Volante, one of the fastest cabriolets on sale today.

Season 8 Episode 5

Vicki Butler-Henderson tries to crack 150mph as she makes an attempt on the Blindfolded Land Speed World Record. Can Vicki hold her nerve and set a new record for driving in a straight line?

Season 8 Episode 6

Tom Ford takes a look at the new Lexus IS 250, and Vicki heads to the track for a special estate shoot out. But who will rise victorious, the Volvo or Subaru?

Season 8 Episode 7

In a superb world first, Tiff Needell gets to drive a Williams Formula 1 Grand Prix car. With exclusive access to the team we're allowed to follow Tiff every step of the way.

Season 8 Episode 8

Tiff Needell sets out to see whether it's possible to drive along the A537 from Macclesfield to Buxton, the most dangerous road in Britain, safely in the first Porsche Cayman in the country.

Season 8 Episode 9

Vicki Butler-Henderson jets off to Portugal to drive the new Mazda MX5. It's the best selling sportscar in the world, but have Mazda fixed something that wasn't broken.

Season 8 Episode 10

Tom Ford puts the Bentley Continental Flying Spur to the test. We take the fastest four door saloon in the world on a tour of Britain and see just how many swanky events Tom can visit in 24 hours?

Season 8 Episode 11

Chris Vermeulen one of the hottest young racers of the moment challenges Vicki to a drag race, and Tiff's shoot out is between the Ford Fiesta ST 150 and the Mitsubishi Colt CZT.

Season 8 Episode 12

Tiff Needell reports on fifth Gear's project to build a 200mph car. Last time we saw our Lotus it blew up in a cloud of smoke, but it's back, repaired, and even more modified.

Season 8 Episode 13

Jason Plato helps a lottery winner choose a new supercar, Tiff Needell road tests the new Jaguar XK on the best road in the world, and Tom Ford meets Jenson Button at the Geneva Motorshow.

Season 9 Episode 1

Where are your children safest - in a 4x4 or an MPV? Fifth Gear finds out with a spectacular 'worlds first' crash test between a Landrover Discovery and Renault Espace.

Season 9 Episode 2

Vicki Butler-Henderson was the only British journalist invited to test drive Ferrari's new race car, the F430 Challenge. Tom Ford takes an exclusive one-off look into the secret world of the Maybach.

Season 9 Episode 3

An exclusive insight into America's most glamorous supercar club, based in an underground bunker at a private jet airport, Tiff Needell and Jason Plato race the BMW M3 against the Audi RS4.

Season 9 Episode 4

We reveal the Best Cheap Car in Britain, meet the man who's giving away a free Ferrari to try and help sell his house, and a look round the country's ultimate supercar collection.

Season 9 Episode 5

Jason Plato teaches Girls Aloud how to become racing drivers. Tiff Needell drives the new Maserati Quattroporte, and Tom Ford tries to break the world record for doing "donuts" in a car.

Season 9 Episode 6

Vicki Butler-Henderson learns how to become a spy photographer as she goes undercover trying to snap car manufacturer's secret prototypes. Tom Ford is in Japan driving the car of the future.

Season 9 Episode 7

Vicki Butler-Henderson finds out exactly how well built a Mercedes is when she crashes it, drowns it in a flood and then drives over it in a monster truck.

Season 9 Episode 8

We find out what happens if you accidentally put diesel into a petrol engine, and follow Tiff Needell as he races an Aston Martin DBR9S.

Season 9 Episode 9

Tiff Needell and Tom Ford test the new Citroen C6 by recreating the President de Gaulle assassination attempt with professional gunmen.

Season 9 Episode 10

Tom Ford flies out on Alan Sugar's private jet to test the brand new Audi TT, Vicki Butler-Henderson attempts a new land speed record, and Tiff Needell enters the inaugural D1GB drifting competition.

Season 9 Episode 11

Jason Plato tests the new 911 Turbo, Vicki Butler-Henderson presents a high speed crash test, and Tom Ford drives a new Lamborghini.

Season 9 Episode 12

In the series finale we bring you the ultimate supercar battle when we pitch the awesome McLaren F1 against the almighty Enzo Ferrari. Jason Plato tries his hand at flying a stunt plane.

Season 9 Episode 13

Fifth Gear Jason Plato drives the awesome 500bhp Ford Shelby GT500; Vicki Butler-Henderson races the ultra-exclusive MINI GP against a 90mph radio controlled car; Tom Ford tests the Skoda Roomster.

Season 10 Episode 1

Fifth Gear Tom Ford is testing the opulent £225,000 Bentley Azure with some help from film director Michael Winner; Jonny Smith tries to drive coast to coast using chip fat as fuel.

Season 10 Episode 2

Vicki Butler-Henderson finds out if the Lotus Elise S is the best track car for novices - by giving the keys to her sister; Le Mans winner Guy Smith races the fastest van on sale today.

Season 10 Episode 3

Jon Bentley investigates how hitting a motorway crash barrier can make your car fly through the air. Jason Plato gives cricketer Kevin Petersen the chance to drive the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.

Season 10 Episode 4

Tiff Needell drives Suzuki's hot hatch, the Swift Sport; Tom Ford drives the awesome Aussie supercar, the Vauxhall Monaro; Vicki Butler-Henderson fulfils a lifetime ambition and drives a racing truck.

Season 10 Episode 5

Fifth Gear Vicki Butler-Henderson drives the one-off supercharged Nissan Murano GTC; Jonny Smith challenges the world's biggest lawnmower to a head to head in a grass cutting contest.

Season 10 Episode 6

Jason Plato drives the very special Subaru Litchfield Type 25. Tiff Needell drives the Ferrari 599 1,000 miles on the most treacherous roads in the world.

Season 10 Episode 7

Tom Ford drives Volvo's stylish new coupe, the C30; and Tiff Needell tests whether a green supercar really can be fun in Lotus' bio-fuel powered Exige 265E.

Season 10 Episode 8

Vicki Butler-Henderson has a mini-moto race against some of the biggest names in bike racing; Tom Ford tests the new Land Rover Freelander on Britain's most remote school run.

Season 10 Episode 9

Tom Ford's been testing the Mazda's new MX5 Roadster Coupe; and Vicki Butler-Henderson has been thrashing Porsche's 911 GT3.

Season 10 Episode 10

Vicki Butler-Henderson is taught how to drive a car on two wheels; Jonny Smith gets to be a real live human crash test dummy when he visits Germany for some extreme airbag testing.

Season 10 Episode 11

Vicki Butler-Henderson finds out if an old Daihatsu Charade is the toughest car you can buy; Tom Ford drives the Honda CRV, the SUV that claims to be greener than a MINI Cooper.

Season 10 Episode 12

In this special episode of the programme we reveal the winners of the Fifth Gear Awards 2006. There will be prizes for Best Small Car, Best Family Car, Best Fast Car and the overall Car of the Year.

Season 10 Episode 13

Vicki Butler-Henderson finds out if the new Fiat Panda 100HP is as quick as a Ferrari round a track, Jason Plato tries to crack 200mph on the public road in the £230,000 Brabus Rocket.

Season 11 Episode 1

Vicki Butler-Henderson risks life and limb in the most dangerous car stunt of all - driving a car under a moving lorry. Jonny Smith tests the new Mercedes C Class and its revolutionary seat design.

Season 11 Episode 2

Tiff Needell employs the help of two models to test the theory that the quicker you drive a convertible, the less your hair blows. He blasts the brand new Bentley Continental GTC up to 150mph.

Season 11 Episode 3

Vicki Butler-Henderson makes an unprecedented attempt to hit 200mph in an A1 Grand Prix car. Tom Ford and Jonny Smith take the seven newest hot hatches on sale and decide which is best.

Season 11 Episode 4

Jonny Smith goes on a rather expensive road trip - in a £250,000 Rolls Royce Phantom. Tom Ford is testing the new Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

Season 11 Episode 5

Jason Plato test drives the sexiest car of the moment, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster, whilst Jonny Smith tests the hire car that James Bond drove in Casino Royale, the new Ford Mondeo.

Season 11 Episode 6

Tom Ford tests the latest version of the car that is perennially voted one of Britain's favourite cars - the Land Rover Defender. Jonny Smith celebrates Ferrari's 60th Birthday.

Season 11 Episode 7

Tom Ford and Jonny Smith enter a demolition derby in two unlikely vehicles, Reliant Robins. Tiff Needell tests the latest Porsche 911, the GT3RS. Vicki Butler-Henderson drives the new Vauxhall VXR8.

Season 11 Episode 8

Vicki Butler-Henderson tests the latest BMW X5 4.8i. It's an impressive machine - costing £50,000 it'll do 150mph. Jason Palto tests the ultimate track car, the brand new Lotus 2 Eleven.

Season 11 Episode 9

Tom Ford spends the day with the scourge of modern day motorists - wheel clampers. Vicki Butler-Henderson tests the latest version of one of the greatest coupes of our time, the Nissan 350Z.

Season 11 Episode 10

Vicki finds out what's quickest in the Shoot-Out feature - the brand new Audi S5 or the BMW 335i; England rugby star Kyran Bracken is given some circuit driving tuition from Jason Plato; Jonny Smith tests a potential revolution in city transport

Season 12 Episode 1

Vicki finds out if the new 207 GTi is as exhilarating to drive as the 20 year old hot hatch the 205GTi; Fifth Gear conducts a fascinating world's first crash test.

Season 12 Episode 2

Jonny and Tom decide which is best, a diesel Mini or petrol one; Tiff compares the new Subaru Impeza to a previous version and Vicki discovers which is quickest, the British or Japanese version of the Honda Civic Type R.

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