[kdbryce]

Originally Posted by johnofcross

Already out man...

http://www.streetfire.net/top-gear/t...-1_2452895.htm

Yeah this comment was from before it was out man....

[synclastica_86]

Originally Posted by johnofcross

Yup. Which is why they made fun of him right after the segment (they as in Hamster and May). They know the car wasn't at complete fault, and flat out blamed the driver, which was hilarious.

Yeh... Clarkson had a great come back though as hamster also can't drive in a straight line.

[shah269]

Did Clarkson almost get killed by a 135 in a straight line ;-)
yeah!!!!!!

Here is how most of my conversations about my car go.
Dude “NICE 135”
Shah “thanks, yeah she’s nice…..”
Dude “So how is it?”
Shah “Ever date a laina?”
Dude (scared look touching a scar on his arm, leg or face) “yeahhhh”
Shah “Yeah its like dating a Brazilian underwear model, she wants me dead….i don’t know why….but I forgive her because she is so good looking.”
Dude (looking up with a smile of all the fun he had with his crazy latina girl friend a few years back) “Yeah!”

So yeah did the car try and kill Clarkson….yeah……is it still sexy? YEAH!

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by cc3

Yes I think that's the term he gave to it. M135i had a serious issue with aquaplaning

Clarkson indicated that it was driver error and FACETIOUSLY indicated the car " tried to kill him".

If any conclusion is to be made about the OTE he had and aquaplaning, it is either that the TIRES were not up to the task or the DRIVER was not up to the task.

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by Kamazzi

All of you can say what you want.... but right now, I have a second F20 1-series, because the first one was crashed in exactly the same way that Clarkson did it.
Except I didn't have the grass all around me.
I was travelling at 110 KM/H, (not miles) at night, on a highway. It was raining, and the car felt very stable just before i hit a puddle of water.
What happened next was exactly the same... car was put sideways to the left, hit the armco barrier.
Spun around.
Hit the armco barrier with the other side.
Spun around again... and came to a halt.
Wiseguys saying that that Clarkson is a crappy driver, and that is the reason for his spinning should take a hike and go play with their toys in a sandbox 'cos obviously you weren't in that situation.
Now a have a next F20 1-series. And this one is getting a spoiler a'la Delta Intergale at the back, to keep the backside stuck to the road.

traction control on or off ?

[Eddien123]

Originally Posted by ILUSV

So what was the verdict? Did the top gear like/dislike the M135i? I'm sure the GTI did very well, I have yet to read a bad review.

He really gave the bmw a beating for what happened haha but yeah he preferred the GTI. Also cause it was cheaper.

[clbmw]

Didn't he say first hot hatch with RWD for 30 years... I thought Clio v6 was RWD?

Agree with a lot of the comments here, operator error essentially.... and a distracting lady behind him.

[dreamspeed]

Top gear tests aren't exactly scientific. It's just all subjective hyperboles

[X6mac]

Originally Posted by AAddict

LMAO, you should work for a tabloid with an imagination like that.

Couldn't have put it better myself. It's all for TV. It was an unfair comparison, performance wise, from the start. So to make it a fair 'ish review Top Gear had implement some sort of catalyst to spark a viewers choice...Any car can aquaplane at 120mph...

[JSTDR1V]

Originally Posted by SteveC

With respect, blaming any model car for what happened on Top Gear is a little silly. Aquaplaning is a function of the depth of water on the road, the speed, the tyre inflation and the tyre tread's ability to shift water.

What caused the accident was hitting deep water at 120 mph

What we saw was just a serious lack of good judgement and driving skill. 120mph on a road with lots of standing water is an accident looking for someplace to happen. In this case it happened.

In Germany where autobahns are often unlimited, there are often 80kph speed limits applied when the road is wet. Travelling at 193kph on a very wet road is simply ignorant, and clearly demonstrated what can happen to any car when water builds up in front of the tyre

I love how you respond seriously to something that they clearly made into a joke through the episode.

We all know what happened. He loved the car until he screwed up. It's a TV show, and if it wasn't Top Gear, they would have reshot the scene not showing the screw up if they wanted to. But it's top gear!

[aacabriolet]

Originally Posted by PAMidge

I love how you respond seriously to something that they clearly made into a joke through the episode.

We all know what happened. He loved the car until he screwed up. It's a TV show, and if it wasn't Top Gear, they would have reshot the scene not showing the screw up if they wanted to. But it's top gear!

Haha more like they purposely shot that scene because it's Top Gear must admit I found that episode most underwhelming. Guess I was looking for some actual facts regarding the M135i and I was obviously watching the wrong show!

Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed Top Gear for a long time now, but that episode was just ridiculous for the most part. Only part I enjoyed was the 918 Spyder around Yas Marina.

[peanut125i]

I thought it was very funny. the look on his face was epic, had to watch it a few times and then laughed some more.

Ok, lets be serius now, any car in just about any road/weather condition has the potential to chuck you off the road. So to my mind I look at it as a wake up call to all the drivers who do not respect wet roads.

[flinchy]

It wasn't on purpose

The terror on his face was real / he was going sideways towards the tarmac which could have flipped the car, then started sliding towards the petrol tanks they have!

No way would any of the OH&S allow a 120mph half mile slide.

[Alpina_B3_Lux]

The guy clearly can't drive. Standing water everywhere and he drives almost 200 km/h. Stupid does not even cover it.

Alpina_B3_Lux

[Bahn360Photo]

BS on the handling of GTI vs BMW and spinning out....no comment! learn to drive in a straight line

[danniexi]

I'd take this top gear comparison with a grain of salt.

Clarkson pretty much is in love with BMWs these days and gave the m135i 5/5 stars on his weekly column.

http://www.driving.co.uk/clarkson/bm...135i-2012/5888

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by danniexi

I'd take this top gear comparison with a grain of salt.

Clarkson pretty much is in love with BMWs these days and gave the m135i 5/5 stars on his weekly column.

http://www.driving.co.uk/clarkson/bm...135i-2012/5888

truth! .

[keithbickford]

Originally Posted by SteveC

With respect, blaming any model car for what happened on Top Gear is a little silly. Aquaplaning is a function of the depth of water on the road, the speed, the tyre inflation and the tyre tread's ability to shift water.

What caused the accident was hitting deep water at 120 mph

What we saw was just a serious lack of good judgement and driving skill. 120mph on a road with lots of standing water is an accident looking for someplace to happen. In this case it happened.

In Germany where autobahns are often unlimited, there are often 80kph speed limits applied when the road is wet. Travelling at 193kph on a very wet road is simply ignorant, and clearly demonstrated what can happen to any car when water builds up in front of the tyre

And furthermore, Jeremy Clarkson loves spinning around in all of the cars he drives. He raved about the 135i stating it was absolutely the better of the two cars, and after the spin, he said it was the worse of two cars. This was just clever television humor and nothing more.

[lawgone]

Originally Posted by johnofcross

Yup. Which is why they made fun of him right after the segment (they as in Hamster and May). They know the car wasn't at complete fault, and flat out blamed the driver, which was hilarious.

Exactly. Some people don't seem to get that it was mostly a joke. Still, sometimes I wish Top Gear would provide some useful information. For instance, they could have discussed why it hydroplaned. But that's just not something they do. Funny episode overall. I particularly liked when they showed the first Mercedes 6-wheeled truck lol.

[PDX1er]

Top Gear (TV show) should be enjoyed for what it is. Car themed entertainment. It's not a video magazine or a reality show in the American sense. It does not pretend that everything that happens occurred exactly as it appears on screen and in chronological order. I mean, how many times have these guys been run over by tanks or blown up by military aircraft? I do tend to trust Top Gear reviews just because I generally agree with what they like and dislike about cars. And the magazine blows the show out of the water.

It's like Wheeler Dealers (another favorite of mine). It's about a couple guys who flip cars. It doesn't pretend to be "real". I think the European audience is more happy to suspend their disbelief. It's a show about "what you might do" not "what actually happened". Different from something on Velocity, Graveyard Carz being an obvious example of crap American reality car shows. Idiots shooting each other in the head with dart guns for 15 minutes, 10 minutes of Viagra commercials, and 5 minutes of guys putting stickers on Mopar cars.

[mPlasticDesign]

The on board camera was great to show his facial expression and how he was just along for the ride. It could have easily flipped when he crossed back over the track. Just wish there was footage of that from outside the car!

[ILUSV]

Outside footage would've been great; Hamond sounded serious when he told Clarkson "I would've caught it" ...