1

FIFTH GEAR WORLDWIDE PROGRAMME 8 DUR: 25 25

10:00:00 OPENING TITLES

10:00:21 TIFF NEEDELL VO In this edition of Fifth Gear, Tim reveals whether Car Share clubs really can save you money. Itll log how long Ive been in the car and send me a bill at the end of the month

I head out to what was once the fastest Grand Prix circuit in the world in the brand new Nissan 370Z. Thats fantastic.

00:42 And car mad celebrity chef James Martin tests his driving ability in an F1 car. Oh man....

FIFTH GEAR

10:00:55 - TOM This is the brand new Toyota Urban Cruiser. Its kind of a chunky little SUV thing, based basically on the same platform as the Yaris. Now Toyota reckon that this combines an active lifestyle with green credentials, so as ever Ive devised three deeply practical tests to figure out whether its active, fresh and green, or slow, dull and a little bit brown.

01:18 Test 1: does it work as a 4 x 4. Now personally Im still utterly unconvinced as to why something called the Urban Cruiser needs 4 x 4 at all, but because its got it, were going to test it. So Ive come somewhere very slippy the Austrian Alps. In Tamworth.

10:01:37 TOM Now under the bonnet weve got a 1.4 litre diesel with 89bhp. Now that sounds fairly paltry until you realise the Urban Cruiser only weighs 1100

kilos which makes its power to weight ratio actually very good, and its certainly seems to be coping.

Oh dear.. and ohhhh No. No.

02:00 Just as quick comparison this is the Nissan XTrail not the worlds most hardcore 4 x 4, but it does have a similar transmission arrangement to the Urban Cruiser and similarly rubbish road tyres. Lets see how it gets on.

SEQUENCE

10:02:21 TOM This is absolutely creaming it. Test 1: Urban Cruiser fail.

10:02:31 TOM Test two Is it Green? emissions ... Well CO2 or gas

Have become an increasing concern of late, so Id like you to imagine that each of these balloons represents 10grams per kilometre of CO2. 02:44 Now currently a Fiat Panda 4 x 4, the smallest car we can think of with four wheel drive, produces this many balloons fifteen and a half. Now youd think the Urban Cruiser, being bigger, would produce more but it doesnt. pretties!! Fly!! It produces just 13 balloons making it the greenest 4 x 4 you can buy. Test two Is it green? yes it is. The Urban Cruiser wins. Fly my

10:03:14 TOM Test Three Is it cool? Now Toyota says that the Urban Cruiser is for people who are dissatisfied with traditional hatchbacks and wants something that better expresses their individuality. So Ive decided to talk to some individuals to see what they think.

10:03:33 TOM Is this cool?

INDIVIDUALS Not really for me. No No (Why not?) Just being honest.

10:03:39 TOM You wouldnt want to be seen in it?

INDIVIDUALS Quite bland Bland

TOM Bland is a good word

INDIVIDUALS It doesnt seem 4 x 4 it just seems like a little bit

of a bigger version of a car.

10:03:51 TOM If I told you it was sixteen and a half grand

INDIVIDUAL LAUGHS I wouldnt.

TOM Would that make it better or worse?

MAN Worse. Theres no way.

10:04:00 TOM Is it cool? subjective Well thats always a little bit of a matter, but when you end up

mentioning the price No. Fail.

10:04:09 TIM Right moving on now to something which should hopefully be just a little bit less rubbish Nissans new 370Z.

TOM Now Tiff absolutely adored its predecessor the 350Z, but Nissan said theyve changed

absolutely everything on this new one.

10:04:24 TIFF Which is rather worrying because there were only two things I didnt like about the 350Z. The first was the suspension crossbeam in the rear luggage compartment which totally

compromised the space, and thats gone, and the other was a very nasty plastic cubbyhole in the centre console and thats also gone. So what have they changed on the rest of it?

10:04:48 TIFF VO Well for a start the new Z is 50 kilograms lighter and has 16 more horse power and I love the designs new slashes and kicks that make the car look tighter and meaner. Just look at that swoopy profile and tell me you wouldnt like one.

05:06 To test the car weve come to somewhere very special. A place Ive been keen to visit before it completely crumbles from view. This is Reims in Northern France, which hosted the French Grand Prix back in the day.

10:05:21 TIFF And it was right here back in 1953 that Britains first ever World Champion was involved in the so-called race of the century, when the dashing young Mike Hawthorn went head to head with the legendary Juan Manual Fangio.

10:05:37 TIFF VO The circuit was incredibly quick being little more than a triangle consisting of two very long straights connected by a section of frighteningly fast curves.

10:05:49 TIFF You can no longer drive the whole circuit as this dusty loop pends into a dead end, but you cant

help but marvel at the heroics of the drivers that used to wrestle their monstrous machines through these sweeping corners on their skinny little tyres. 06:06 Hawthorn and Fangio battled for 60 laps of this 5 mile circuit, swapping the lead on virtually every straight, with the young upstart occasionally looking across at his great hero and giving him a cheeky smile as they roared towards speeds of nearly 200mph with just little tiny fly screens to protect them from the elements. 06:27 Now we cant head towards that sort of speed (a) cos were on public roads, and (b) because this Nissan is now limited to 155mph. What I can appreciate is the extra bit of power this new 3.7 litre V6 has.

10:06:44 TIFF VO It serves up a healthy 326 bhp which gets the car to 62 in just 5.4 seconds. But its the engines grunt that impresses most,

10

just tickle the throttle at any speed and you surge forward like a bullet train. 07:04 Prices start at just under 27,000, which is 10 grand cheaper than a similarly powered BMW Z4 and 17,000 less than the Porsche Caymmene S. That sounds like incredible value, provided the car handles. To find out we have to detour from the circuit and head for some bends.

10:07:27 TIFF Despite all the improvements, the 370 actually doesnt feel quite as frisky or responsive as the 350 did. But thats not really a bad thing

because theres definitely more overall grip, its just that the balance seems to have grown up a bit, become a bit more refined. The nose there still points into the corner very nicely when you want it to. Once you start addling the power the rear follows round.

11

10:07:55 TIFF VO Pay 30 grand for the GT packed version and as well as things like heated seats, and a six CD changer, you get Zync Pro Rev control.

10:08:05 TIFF All my life Ive heel and toed on down changes to match the engine revs, but now, by just pressing this little button, for the first time ever on a manual gearbox theres an auto blip which we just brake, go for the gear lever. Ha ha. Go straight into 2nd gear. It revs in 1st gear. 08:28 Thats fantastic. Oh how Fangio and Hawthorn would have loved an auto blip everytime they braked to the end of those long straights and had to go down through the gearbox double declutching and heel and toeing to make sure they didnt burst the transmission or blow the engine up. Thats brilliant.

10:08:56 TIFF So who won the race well Mike Hawthorn of

12

course by just 1 second after two hours and 45 minutes of racing, and to celebrate he headed to the local hotel with a bottle of Champagne in one hand and a pretty girl in the other, and I reckon Nissan should pop open the odd bottle of bubbly as well, cos from where Im standing this 370Z looks like a surefire winner.

FIFTH GEAR

10:09:21 TOM Now Tims about to come over all caring and sharing, which may come as a shock to some of you.

TIM Yeah, now we all know how difficult it is getting round cities nowadays. Youre either hot and

sticky stuck on a tube somewhere.

TOM Or youre getting stung for parking charges, the congestion charge, you know all the rest of the

13

other gubbins.

10:09:34 TIM Yeah now one solution which has recently risen in popularity is to join a car share club, where you can literally hire a car for as little as an hour as and when you need it.

TOM Yeah, but the question is do they actually work?

10:09:49 TIM VO Just having a car sitting on your driveway will cost you an average of 2,000 a year in insurance and depreciation. Small wonder then that the membership of car share clubs has nearly tripled in the last 18 months.

10:10:04 TIM Car sharing is not the politically correct term for what joy-riders do, its basically a pay as you go

14

car scheme, and Im gonna test it today to see if its the future.

10:10:14 TIM VO There are five big companies operating such schemes, who charge between 50 and 60 for a years membership. You ring up or book one of their cars online with as little as half an hours notice and you simply pay for how long you use it.

10:10:28 TIM Now the clubs are most popular in London and the cars arent stored in some sort of central depot, theyre quite literally dotted across the whole of the city in various car parking spaces. The idea is this you quiet simply use the car closest to you. 10:41 Citroen C1. Oh Wicked, alright, okay thats fine, thank you.

10:10:47 TIM VO

15

The first of the three cars Im gonna use today is a Citroen C1 from Whizzgo. Parked slap bang outside Euston Station. Ahhh here it is. And the brilliant thing is I dont even need to find the keys.

10:10:59 TIM Now when you register they send you a smart card, which apparently when you park over a sensor in the front window is gonna open the doors. Lets give it a go.

Heh presto, were in. 11:11 So now youre thinking how do you start the car. Well you go in the glovebox. I punch in a special pin youve been given, and provide you the keys and now you can start the engine.

10:11:24 TIM VO This basic car from Whizzgo costs 60 for a years membership and 5.99 per hour. That

16

includes 40 miles worth of fuel and the 8.00 London congestion charge, which all car share clubs should include as part of their deal.

10:11:38 TIM Now just as an exercise in testing the value, Im gonna enter an endurance race with this cabbie here. Basically were gonna go 6 quids worth, cos thats how much it costs to drive this for an hour, see where we get. And were off.

11:49 Follow that cab. Ive always wanted to say that. How much are we up to now mate? 3.00s? 3.00 already, weve only done .4 of a mile. Mind you wed have to pay the parking right and that is not cheap in London. Hes saying youre getting 35,000 worth of car plus a chauffeur for 6 quid. Thats a good point.

10:12:10 TIM VO

17

After just 1.2 miles my 6 fare was up. I still had ages left in the car, but I headed back anyway.

10:12:19 TIM Now at the end of the journey, you basically wave your smart card under the sensor, it will log how long Ive been in the car and send me a bill at the end of the month. 12:28 Now you might just recognise this space that is because its exactly the same one we took it from this morning. So, unless youre a fan of round trips, this scheme definitely isnt for you.

10:12:38 TIM VO The next company, Street Car, have a way round that, and have three cars located just around the corner. Street Car has an annual membership of 59.50 and they offer whats called a one way trip. For an extra charge you can hire the car from its designated space and then return it to a different location.

18

10:12:58 TIM This cars actually a little bit cheaper at 3.95 an hour, mind you, you do only get 30 free miles with this one as opposed to 40 with the last car. 13:06 Now Street Car are the biggest car club in the UK which means that theyre much more likely to have a car near where you live.

10:13:13 TIM VO At the end of the hire you have to stick an hours worth of parking on the car to give them enough time to pick it up. Its dead simple, if the car gets clamped after the hour, its their problem.

10:13:23 TIM Do you know what, Im quite impressed with the flexibility of the service, but not the cost. The one way scheme actually costs an extra 24.50 plus the cost of parking the car for an hour until they collect it. It is rapidly, yummy, approaching the cost of hiring a car for the day.

19

Lunchtime.

No.

10:13:43 TIM VO Finally car three. Provided by ZipCar, which

costs 50 for a years membership. If you want to travel on slightly longer journeys this could be the answer, but youll need to drop you car back at the same place you start the trip. This Honda Insight starts at 3.95 an hour but youll get 60 free miles worth of fuel and ZipCar also offers a few premium cars like the BMW 3 Series, just in case youre worried about being spotted driving something ... a bit humdrum.

10:14:12 TIM If you really love cars, nothing can beat the thrill of having your own lump of metal, but if you travel less than 6,000 miles a year, you could save up to 1500 perfect if youre only making frequent journeys.

20

FIFTH GEAR

10:14:27 TIM

Now you may know James Martin as the telly chef, but to us hes just as much of a fan of cars as we are.

TOM Hes got an awesome set of cars in his garage, one of which is an actual F1 car. Theres a slight snag though, it hasnt got an engine.

10:14:40 TIM Hmm it doesnt work at all, so when he rang us and said please can you get me a go in the real thing

TOM We said yes we can.

10:14:50 JASON Now its not every day you get to drive an F1 car,

21

and it absolutely blows your mind just how quick these things are. 15:02 But the real reason Im at Silverstone today is Ive got to train celebrity chef James Martin how to drive a Formula 1 car and Ive only got half a day.

10:15:12 JASON Good to meet you.

JAMES MARTIN Good to meet you as well.

10:15:14 JASON Now I know its not gravy that runs through your veins, its petrol isnt it.

JAMES It is. I was in the wrong queue at the job centre I think. I went left and yeah turned out to be a chef, but erm my passion is cars. Im absolutely obsessed with them.

22

10:15:28 JASON Youve never driven a really saucy racing car have you?

JAMES The ultimate has got to be Formula 1 hasnt it really.

10:15:37 JASON VO This is what were tempting him with. A 1996 Benetton as driven by Jean Alessi. Its V10 engine puts 750 horse power through a 7 speed semi automatic gearbox, meaning its gonna rearrange his internal organs.

10:15:54 JASON Now its not a foregone conclusion were gonna let him out in the F1 car. First hes got to prove himself in the Formula Silverstone.

JASON So, Im now gonna l keep a bit of an eye on what

23

James is up to. Have a look at his racing lines.

10:16:10 JAMES Thats all you want when youre sat in a car is to have Jason Plato on your arse, turn in. Two thirds of the track, Power, power, power, power.

10:16:20 JASON Turned in a bit early there. Understeer on the way out. But I have heard hes gone off and got himself a racing license, so hes not the novice hes actually pretending he is.

10:16:34 JAMES ***** missed that. Done it again.

JASON So the hairpins a bit of a problem. If he does that in the Formula 1 hes gonna have a bit of a moment!

24

JAMES Better corner.

10:16:50 JASON Good, better.

JAMES Driving single seaters is unbelievable. And to think I could have been doing Loose Women.

10:16:59 JASON VO Im not sure what he meant by that, but anyway, time for some feedback.

10:17:04 JASON If when you turn the car into the corner you can feel a bit of understeer (yeah), thats too fast. But not bad. Not bad.

JAMES Thats like saying my omelettes are sort of half

25

good.

10:17:14 JASON VO ,u

Power Power Power Power I decided to check with Tim Preston and Phil Osborne of Cars International, Formula 1 experts and suppliers of the car, whether he made the grade.

10:17:27 JASON Youre the boss, youre the team man around here, youre the bloke who owns the car.

MAN Yeah.

JASON Ill ask you first.

MAN Yeah okay you can ask me first. I mean it looks

26

good to me. I think youve done a great job to get him where he is so quickly.

MAN I think hes a sensible guy and hes gonna do what hes asked to do and I think you should be okay.

10:17:45 JASON VO It was time to give James the good news.

JASON Well (Is it a yes or a no?) Well they werent keen and Ive twisted their arms. No mate theyre well up for it. (Are they happy?) Yes theyre happy. He he he Come on thatll do wont it

JAMES Youre a star, get to drive my dream.

10:18:07 JASON VO

27

While the team prepped the car I decided to cook up an extra challenge for James.

10:18:12 JASON Earlier on in the day I did 5/6 laps in the F1 car and I did a time of 34 seconds. I think a fair challenge would be if you dont bust 40 seconds you have to cook me and my mates food and we have a look in your wine cellar and choose one nice bottle.

10:18:33 JAMES ... Im thinking now why did I answer the phone call to you lot. Right, alternatively, (yeah), alternatively if you lose you buy me dinner at the restaurant of my choice.

JASON Thats gonna be a lot of money.

10:18:47 MAN The thing to remember James is just to be very

28

relaxed and calm in the car.

10:18:51 JASON VO After a final safety briefing it was time for James big moment.

10:19:03 JAMES My heart rate has just doubled.

10:19:13 JAMES This is it.

JASON First task done, to leave the pits without stalling. Good lad.

JAMES ****** Im driving a ....F1 car

10:19:34 JAMES Its fierce. This is the senses .....

29

10:19:49 JASON Hes probably only taken one breath in the last minute and a half.

10:19:59 JAMES Oh man alive.

10:20:11 JAMES What a car. What a car.

10:20:20 JASON That was alright wasnt it?

JAMES This is fantastic I tell you. I want one. But most of all whos buying lunch?

JASON I am. (LAUGHTER) Mate well done. Well done.

JAMES What did I get?

30

10:20:32 JASON You got you down, you kind of you were chipping down, soon you got under 40 to be honest, just under 40 then chip, chip, chip, and you got yourself down to 38 zero and then I think your last lap before you backed off just under 37. Proper work.

10:20:46 JAMES Im sweating like a kipper. I cannot believe how instant everything is. Do you know what I mean, its just literally bang, bang, bang....... the power of this thing, its like a rocket. Where do I sign for one of these anyway. LAUGHTER Thank you very much.

10:21:02 JASON Do you want me to bring over, do you want me to bring the sales...

31

JAMES No maybe not. Thank you Fifth Gear, thats what I should be saying shouldnt I. Wicked.

FIFTH GEAR

10:21:15 TOM Weve decided to finish up with a little bit of a shoot out treat call it our tribute to the 80s.

TIM Yeah now it all hinges around Cosworth, the engine specialists who can turn normal cars into pin-ups.

10:21:31 JASON PLATO VO The first of which is this 1989 Mercedes 190E Cosworth. It might look as an assuming as a Bavarian Businessman, but dont let its subtlety fool you. This was the super saloon of its day. Packing 195 horse power from a 2.5 litre engine. The 190 Cossie has, on paper at least, the

32

speed to match even the newest hot hatch.

10:21:58 JASON VO But its not the only one. This 1986 Sierra

Cosworth was Fords Iron Lady. Stout, powerful and imposing. While the 2 litre engine may be smaller than the Germans, a turbo means its actually more powerful, with 201 horses romping through the rear wheels, it doesnt recognise the meaning of defeat or subtlety.

10:22:21 JASON First up, the Mercedes. 22:25 Now the whole reason this car exists is so Mercedes could go and race in the German Touring Car Championship in the 1980s. Back then the cars had to based on road-going versions something called homologation. This car was created. Cosworth did the engine. 60 comes up in about 7 seconds, so its not a rocket ship. Its hard work to drive, its really soft,

33

its a bit sloppy, but its good fun.

10:22:52 JASON So.... lets set a time. Come on you old girl.

Start the clock.

10:23:00 JASON Now even though this is a big saloon car, you know back in those days, they didnt have to put too much safety kit on cars, so it doesnt weigh a great deal. You know it weighs 1300 kilos which is about the same as a, as a modern day VW Golf. Oh get in *****

10:23:18 JASON VO And the Mercedes 190E Cosworth crosses the line in 47.15 seconds. How does the whale tail compare?

10:23:29 JASON

34

2 litre turbo charge engine, gets you to 60 in what, 6.8 seconds. Its certainly more racy than the Merc, but its got a thing called turbo lag, all 80s cars with turbos had this horrendous lag. You know you put your foot down you get nothing, then you get nothing. And then whoosh it comes in with a bang. Ive got a sneaky suspicion this might just be a bit quicker than the Merc. Lets find out.

Start the clock

10:24:02 JASON Now this had revolution aero-dynamics with that great big windmill at the back. But it works, you know the cars really stable at high speeds. It certainly made you look like a boy racer.

10:24:17 JASON VO At the first check point the Sierra is just .8 seconds ahead.

10:24:21 JASON

35

Now brakes are good.

Considering its on old-

styled tyres, its got pretty good grip.

JASON VO At the second check point the Sierra has increased its lead to 1 second exactly.

10:24:35 JASON You can even get the tail out on corner entry. Its quite nicely balanced. Soft, but quite nicely balanced.

10:24:45 JASON VO And the Sierra Cosworth crosses the line in 46.02 seconds, so Fifth Gears Cool 80s Cossie of Choice is the one with the massive wing.

10:24:56 END CREDITS 10:25:21 ENDBOARD