I used to like the fact they dont take themeslves too seriously, (most early challenges were genuinely original & funny), but at times they now appear seemingly desperate & bored.
...........That Yeti feature was a waste of time viewing & got the fast forward treatment on the Sky +, not because the car was less mundane than the Atom but simply because I didn't find it entertaining or informative. Great to see the 911 I even lost interest when Hammond raced a freefall beetle dropping from a plane.
Fifth gear may have had less frolicking but at least I could relate to seeing back to back fast laps from comparable cars. The also used to have occasional items on good used buys. The old format Top Gear & old production team evolved into Fifth Gear which is now sadly axed.........ironically I never used to watch it as much as TG but I miss Fifth Gear now.
Of course in the old TG days Jeremy tried to provide some light hearted relief when alongside more traditional presenters, some of which footage can see
here
Talking of old formats for these programmes I also miss the vampire Quentin Wilson on the old TG &with his bargain used car buying guides. The trade insider role was replaced by Jason Dawe who only did series 1 on the new format & then went on to present the used Car Roadshow with another old school TG presenter Penny Mallory, (that show hasn't aired a fresh series since 2008).
Nowadays my only recently made used car fixes seem to come from hit & miss episodes of Wheeler Dealers featuring Mike Brewer & Ed China
I actually fell asleep wtaching the TG Boxing Day Special,(3 wise men routine)............I don't want to see programmes featuring driving gloves & bootspace measurements but I currently feel I want a better journalistic motoring fix.