Your official Top Gear Series 22 preview

Top Gear has taken decrepit old cars all over the world, from Bolivia and Botswana to Bristol and just outside of Bristol. The most remarkable thing about these endeavours was that, despite the abuse thrown at them, the knackered old cars generally kept going. But then they would, given they are largely simple and mechanical. But what about the cars of today with their complex electronics and computer radar-guided Bluetooth massaging seats? How would they get on in a harsh, dusty environment? To find out, Jeremy, Richard and James were told to pick a brand new GT car each and assemble in one of the toughest places on Earth, a place where General Motors once fetched up with a Euro-spec prototype and promptly went back to the drawing board when outback roads made it snap in half. We’re talking of course about Australia…

For the full preview, including extra pictures, you need this month’s issue of Top Gear magazine

A few series ago, Top Gear engaged in a dramatic Race Across London between a car, a bicycle, a boat and a Stig on public transport. The bike won and the car came bang last, not least because this was James’s department, and he foolishly chose an enormous Mercedes ML 4x4 in which to negotiate London’s narrow and often congested streets. For a car show, this result didn’t go down well. But, worry not, because few realise that Top Gear is engaged in a very slow but extremely thorough project to find the fastest way across every single city in the world… a mere seven years after the Race Across London, we move on, naturally enough, to Saint Petersburg…

For the full preview, including extra pictures, you need this month’s issue of Top Gear magazine

If you spend any time poking around the inky corners of the internet, you might have noticed that classic cars are going up in value. Real gems like Lamborghini Countachs and Mercedes SLs are already soaring out of reach of mere mortals, but what about more modest and affordable sports cars like old MGs, Fiats and Peugeots? Should you grab one now before they become worth eleventy trillion quid at auction? In the interests of the real-world consumer reporting for which Top Gear rightly isn’t known, the three presenters were told to grab an affordable classic each and then live with it in the manner of those who enjoy such things…

For the full preview, including extra pictures, you need this month’s issue of Top Gear magazine

If you hang around long enough in the right sort of bar, you’re bound to meet one of those people with a chunky watch containing a built-in distress beacon, which they claim can summon help in the event of an emergency anywhere in the world. Question is, do these devices work? To find out, Top Gear gave Richard Hammond just such a watch and then dumped him in the frozen wastes of Canada…

We’re all familiar with ambulances. They’re big, they’re noisy and they’re usually glorified vans driven by blokes called Josh in green overalls. At least, that’s what Casualty would have us all believe. But what the Top Gear presenters would have you believe is that these emergency vehicles could be better, so Jeremy, James and Richard asked if they could reinvent the ambulance to make it vastly more effective…

For the full preview, including extra pictures, you need this month’s issue of Top Gear magazine