I’m sure the detractors will make some wisecracks about three old farts hurtling through a once rich and powerful town as some kind of metaphor for The Grand Tour’s tried and tested formula. Whether it’s watching footage of rock concerts at the Michigan Building on YouTube, trawling through images of the Conner Avenue assembly plant in its heyday, or wandering through the suburbs of Detroit on Google Street View, you’ll almost certainly lose another hour or so on the net.

Which is something you’ll be doing a lot following the first episode. Not that the global audience will have a clue who they are. Even the demise of the celebrity segment is brushed aside courtesy of a sharp but cruel reference to Howard from the Halifax ads and Adrian Chiles.

The muscle cars in Detroit segment is a feast for the ears and eyes – the sound of Hammond’s Demon echoing off the crumbling walls of ‘Motor City’ is a particular highpoint.īut the smaller reference points remain at the heart of what makes The Grand Tour tick. If there’s one thing The Grand Tour does very well, it’s delivering a balance between the sensational and the incidentals. And it scores points for the use of Do the Strand by Roxy Music. As teasers go, the near-on two-minute montage at the beginning of episode one is pretty conclusive. If you enjoyed the first two seasons, you’ll undoubtedly love series three. I’m not complaining – spending the first hour of a Friday morning watching Clarkson, Hammond and May mess about in Detroit was fine by me. Which brings me back to point about being asked to review The Grand Tour. There ain’t much room on this wagon, so be prepared to get cosy with your neighbour if you’re taking a ride. There are clicks at stake here and everybody is hoping to hitchhike on the back of the bandwagon that will be streamrollering online viewing figures for the coming weeks and months. I was asked to watch the first episode and then provide my thoughts. And Prime Video’s viewing figures will shoot through the roof. The tabloids will revel in the show’s silliness. The Guardian will post a largely negative review.

The return of the #amazonshitcarshow – clever hashtag, guys, very clever – will guarantee at least three things.

The Grand Tour season 3: what we know so far.

Which might seem like a strange admission at the beginning of a piece focused on examining the first episode of season three of The Grand Tour, but hear me out on this. I’m going to come straight to the point: I’ve never really seen much value in a review of a television show.

The grand tour season 3 episode 1