Top Gear!

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Originally Posted by Mark

The point they were making was the time taken to recharge NOT the range.

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Exactly. Even if the Leaf had been run from full on the show they would have still run it flat. This is a total non-story.

And the biggest bit I picked up was that where ever they were when he was down to about a dozenish miles of range that the nearest official charging point, as picked up by the Nissan's Sat-Nav was about 35 & then 75 miles away.

The local council office wasn't any help in finding once closer either.

He also said that he really quite liked the car - well built, comfortable, well equipped etc but until the range / durability / lifetime of the batteries used improved then there were other cars that were "better."

In fact James May commented on driving efficiently because recharging will take so long. I don't remember any specific complaints about the range on full charge. I do wonder if Nissan actually watched the feature.

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Originally Posted by Mark

In fact James May commented on driving efficiently because recharging will take so long. I don't remember any specific complaints about the range on full charge. I do wonder if Nissan actually watched the feature.

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Yes, the point was that it took ages to recharge, but if they'd been like normal people and actually fully charged the cars then they wouldn't have run out so soon. Even Fifth Gear managed to have an electric car segment without being bellendtastic and they also showed how long it took to charge the car.

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Originally Posted by Daniel

Yes, the point was that it took ages to recharge, but if they'd been like normal people and actually fully charged the cars then they wouldn't have run out so soon. Even Fifth Gear managed to have an electric car segment without being bellendtastic and they also showed how long it took to charge the car.

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Yoink! I am shamelessly stealing the phrase 'bellendtastic'.

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Originally Posted by Daniel

Jeez I can't think how.......

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From the Top Gear website:
Transmission
So yes, when we set off, we knew we would have to recharge at some point, because that was an experience we wanted to devote part of the film to. Now granted, James and Jeremy’s stopover – which included brass rubbings, adult scrabble and tattoos – was more knockabout than an average motorist would experience, but the consumer points coming out of the film were quite clear:

1) Electric cars are still very expensive.
2) The recharging infrastructure is patchy.
3) The range readout varies enormously, unlike the information given by a petrol gauge.
4) The Leaf is a very good car per se, and there’s nothing wrong with electric motors, but the battery, in our view, remains the Achilles’ heel of the whole package.

I think that that's all fairly reasonable.
Misrepresentation is a a false statement of fact; that was never done. Nissan may have come out of it looking badly, but the big picture point that as it stands owning an electric car is not as viable as it could be is still perfectly valid.

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Originally Posted by Rollo

From the Top Gear website:
Transmission
So yes, when we set off, we knew we would have to recharge at some point, because that was an experience we wanted to devote part of the film to. Now granted, James and Jeremy’s stopover – which included brass rubbings, adult scrabble and tattoos – was more knockabout than an average motorist would experience, but the consumer points coming out of the film were quite clear:

1) Electric cars are still very expensive.
2) The recharging infrastructure is patchy.
3) The range readout varies enormously, unlike the information given by a petrol gauge.
4) The Leaf is a very good car per se, and there’s nothing wrong with electric motors, but the battery, in our view, remains the Achilles’ heel of the whole package.

I think that that's all fairly reasonable.
Misrepresentation is a a false statement of fact; that was never done. Nissan may have come out of it looking badly, but the big picture point that as it stands owning an electric car is not as viable as it could be is still perfectly valid.

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Why didn't they just drive into a wall, die and then claim that electric cars are unsafe?

I know where you're coming from, but to set out with only 40% power is moronic

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However, Nissan has responded by saying that a telematics device sent to the car company showed that the battery was only 40 per cent charged when Clarkson set off on his journey.

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Why go out in a car which takes AAAAAAGES to refuel with only 40% charge?

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Originally Posted by Mark

The point they were making was the time taken to recharge NOT the range.

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I'm guessing you missed this Daniel.

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Originally Posted by CaptainRaiden

And again the annoying "not wild enough" crap from Hammond on the Lambo Aventador segment. :mad: Why they are bashing good handling cars these days is beyond me. I'm sorry but it's just idiotic.

Teams running in several GT championships around the world, who slave and slave to find the perfect handling setup would be quite happy to run a good handling Lambo, thank you very much. And that competition environment is where these cars will be pushed to the max anyway, so what's the fuss? Nobody is gonna feel the difference EVER between the new Lambo and the old one in normal road conditions.

Why don't they break the steering column and put sand in the gearbox? A lot of this "fun" they're seeking will follow for sure.

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It's called hooning.

Supercars aren't competing in the Harrods Grand Prix aiming for lap times.

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Originally Posted by Daniel

Why go out in a car which takes AAAAAAGES to refuel with only 40% charge?

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Errr, that was the point of the electric car test. Captain Slow - aptly enough - made the point of having an electric car will make you change the way you drive.