Episode Archive - Series 5

On a little and large Top Gear, we took a look at a huge American 'muscle' car that might just manage a corner, and an electric car with less get-up-and-go than a lethargic teenager.

We sometimes get criticised for smacking the environment around the chops with a barrel of oil. It's not our intention to hurt the planet and its fluffy bunnies, though. So we thought, let's have a look at the Toyota Prius, which was a new hybrid car containing both a standard petrol engine and electric motor.

The theory is simple: use the electric motor for city driving, and the proper engine for motorways. First, the petrol consumption was awful. It managed less than a diesel Lupo, which defeats the point. What's worse, it was slower than a diesel too, which is really bad news - unless driving above 30mph scares you.

The Mustang is another of those American 'muscle' cars the US loves so much. We wouldn't be surprised if somewhere in mid-America there are people getting married to them. To be fair, the new one looked amazing. It had a hard edge that made it look tough, in a John Wayne sort of way. If it could grow stubble, we suspect it would.

But the Mustang wasn't perfect. The engine sounded like it had a smoker's cough. But you felt like a real man (or woman) behind the wheel.

First shown on: 12/12/2004