I'd just like to start this review by saying that I'm a huge fan of the old trio. I was about 13 years old when I first started watching it, and I feel like I've grown up with Hammond, Clarkson and May. My go-to comfort watching is an episode of Top Gear.
The Grand Tour has been pretty excellent, however I feel that their last two specials released have lacked the initial spark that they had (Not saying there aren't great moments, I just feel like something is missing)
One of my favourite Top Gear episodes was the Patagonia special, for one particular moment. Near the beginning, Clarkson talks about his fondness for his Porsche 928 because it was that car that enabled him to see his dad and say farewell to him on his deathbed. It was that moment of sobering sincerity among the comedy that I absolutely loved, and to me made Clarkson feel much more human.
This episode, in particular, strikes a similar tone with the new trio driving the same cars that their dads had. But there are some absolutely hilarious moments spread throughout this episode too - Driving on their "dad's" lap around the track was incredible. I do also appreciate the new format of the series, ditching the celeb interviews due to covid. When rewatching, I feel like these are usually the parts that date the most and become pretty uninteresting!
Often at times throughout Chris, Flintoff a Paddy's seasons of TG, there's been a huge sense of friendship that I don't get as much with the original three. I actually like and appreciate the encouragement they frequently give one-another. The 24 hours in a car episode is easily one of my favourite challenges they've done, and I'd recommend starting there if you're one of those that don't think the new guys are capable of filling the shoes of the original trio.