Replacing Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May on The Grand Tour is a bit like asking three brave musicians to headline Download immediately after Black Sabbath. ๐ธ๐
You might be talented. You might know exactly what youโre doing. You may even bring enough horsepower to rearrange the internal organs of everyone in the front row. But the moment you walk onstage, thousands of people will be standing there with folded arms, waiting to compare you with the legends who came before. ๐๐ฅ
No pressure, then. ๐ฌ๐ง
The newly rebooted Grand Tour arrived on Prime Video on 4 September 2026, with all six episodes released together. James Engelsman and Thomas Holland โ the pair behind motoring channel Throttle House โ are joined by trainspotter, internet favourite and genuine petrolhead Francis Bourgeois. Together, they inherit one of the most famous poisoned chalices in motoring television. ๐๐จ๐บ
So, have they stalled on the starting line, or has The Grand Tour found another gear? โ๏ธ๐
Here is The Riff Report verdict on the opening episode โ with a few mild spoilers ahead. โ ๏ธ๐ค
๐จ FIRST THINGS FIRST: THEY ARE NOT CLARKSON, HAMMOND AND MAY
Thank goodness for that. ๐
Trying to manufacture another Clarkson, Hammond and May would have been a complete disaster. Their chemistry was built over more than two decades of arguments, insults, catastrophically bad decisions and the sort of friendship where setting fire to your mateโs car counts as emotional support. ๐ฅ๐๐
Engelsman, Holland and Bourgeois wisely avoid performing impressions of the old trio. The new presenters feel younger, more internet-savvy and considerably less likely to start an international incident over a number plate. ๐๐
That does mean the reboot initially feels calmer. The old programme often behaved like three divorced dads had been handed an unlimited budget, several supercars and absolutely no adult supervision. The new version is friendlier, tidier and more polite. ๐ณ๐๏ธ๐ฅ
Perhaps a little too polite at times. ๐
๐ A SMART HANDOVER โ WITH THE OLD TROUBLEMAKERS STILL LURKING
The programme knows exactly what viewers are thinking, so it does not pretend the past never happened. ๐ง ๐บ
The opening includes a wonderfully awkward pilgrimage to Jeremy Clarksonโs pub, where the newcomers seek the blessing of the man whose enormous boots they are about to fill. Clarksonโs appearance provides a clever bridge between the two eras, while Richard Hammond and James May also remain part of the wider handover. ๐บ๐๐
It is a reassuring move. The original trio are not erased, replaced or shoved into the television equivalent of a locked garage. They are treated like the founding members of a legendary band who have handed the instruments to a new line-up โ although they are probably still hiding backstage, waiting to unplug something important. ๐ธ๐๐คฃ
Once that ceremonial passing of the keys is complete, the newcomers head for California and get stuck into the sort of gloriously excessive machinery that has always powered the show. ๐ด๐๏ธ๐ฅ
๐๏ธโ๏ธ SUPERCARS, JENSON BUTTON AND JETS โ THATโLL DO NICELY
The first proper challenge throws the trio into outrageous performance cars before sending them across California, through Bombay Beach and towards the Thermal Club. ๐ด๐ฃ๏ธ
There are huge engines, expensive tyres, sweeping desert roads and enough glossy cinematography to make an old hatchback feel personally inadequate. ๐ต๐ฅ๐จ
Former Formula One world champion Jenson Button is brought in for a performance test, while the climax involves a high-speed contest with aerobatic jets. It is loud, ridiculous and completely unnecessary โ which is precisely what you want from The Grand Tour. ๐โ๏ธ๐ฅ๐ค
Better still, the presenters are not merely standing beside the cars and reading somebody elseโs opinions. They genuinely understand the machinery, can explain what it is doing and, crucially, are prepared to drive the blooming things properly. ๐ง๐ง ๐
That authentic enthusiasm gives the new series its strongest pulse. โค๏ธโ๐ฅ
๐๐ฅ FRANCIS BOURGEOIS COULD BE THE SECRET WEAPON
Anyone who only knows Francis Bourgeois as the wonderfully enthusiastic bloke who films himself reacting to trains may be in for a surprise. ๐๐ฒ
He is not there simply to provide internet recognition or make excited noises whenever something fast appears. His mechanical knowledge and feel for the cars quickly become obvious, while his slightly eccentric presence gives the trio a useful wildcard. ๐๐ฉ๐๏ธ
Engelsman and Holland already possess a natural rhythm from their years working together on Throttle House. They know when to tease each other, when to let the cars do the talking and how to turn proper motoring knowledge into accessible entertainment. ๐คโ๏ธ๐
Bourgeois arrives as the unpredictable third ingredient. At first, you can almost see the gears turning as all three work out where they fit, but there are flashes of something promising underneath. โ๏ธโจ
The chemistry is not fully cooked yet, butt โ but it is certainly warming up. ๐ฅ๐ค
โ ๐ฅ WHAT WORKS?
The cars look spectacular. The locations feel enormous. The photography remains absolutely gorgeous. The challenges carry the expensive, overblown silliness viewers expect, and the new hosts are clearly petrolheads rather than celebrities who have been handed a script and told which end of the car is the noisy bit. ๐๏ธ๐๐ธ
There is also a welcome freshness to seeing presenters who appear genuinely thrilled to have been given this opportunity. That excitement is infectious. You get the feeling they would still be talking about the cars if every camera suddenly stopped working. ๐๐ฅ๐
The programme feels modern without turning into a frantic social-media compilation. It respects the audienceโs knowledge, keeps the technical chat understandable and still finds room for jokes, speed and jet-powered lunacy. ๐ค๐จโ๏ธ
โ ๏ธ๐ WHAT NEEDS MORE HORSEPOWER?
The biggest missing ingredient is unavoidable: history. ๐ฐ๏ธ
Clarkson, Hammond and May could generate comedy simply by standing beside a broken vehicle and glaring at one another. The new presenters have not yet earned that shorthand. Their exchanges can feel careful, and there are moments when the show is so determined to reassure existing fans that it forgets to declare what this new era wants to become. ๐๐๐
The debut also sticks very closely to the established formula. Beautiful location? Check. โ Three absurdly fast cars? Check. โ Racing driver? Check. โ Aircraft doing something dangerous nearby? Of course. โ๏ธ๐ฅ
It is entertaining, but also familiar enough to make you wonder whether the programme has changed its drivers without altering the sat-nav. ๐บ๏ธ๐ค
The new trio need permission to become messier, stranger and more argumentative. Give them challenges that expose their personalities rather than simply demonstrating the production budget. Let the friendships develop, let the bad decisions breathe and let the inevitable disasters happen. ๐ฅ๐๐ฟ
Chemistry cannot be fitted in the workshop. It needs mileage. ๐ง๐ฃ๏ธ
๐ค๐ฅ THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT
The new Grand Tour is not the motoring television apocalypse some viewers feared โ and it is not an instant replacement for Clarkson, Hammond and May either. ๐๐
It is a promising reboot powered by three knowledgeable, likeable presenters who clearly adore cars. The first episode delivers speed, spectacle, jokes, beautiful filming and one gloriously bonkers showdown with jets. What it does not yet possess is the wild, effortless chemistry that turned the old trio into television royalty. ๐๐๏ธโ๏ธ
But expecting that immediately would be daft. ๐คช
This feels less like a legendary band being replaced and more like a new group playing its first major festival set beneath an enormous banner carrying somebody elseโs name. There are nerves, a few cautious moments and an audience waiting to be convinced โ but there is talent on that stage. ๐ช๐ธ๐ฅ
Let them turn up the amps, make a few mistakes and find their own sound. ๐๐ค
The Grand Tour has survived the driver change. Now it needs to stop checking the rear-view mirror. ๐ช๐จ
โญ๐ฅ RIFF REPORT RATING: 3.5 OUT OF 5 BURNING TYRES ๐ฅโญ
Fast, beautifully made and far better than the doom merchants predicted. The chemistry needs more miles, but there is enough under the bonnet to make this new era worth following. ๐๏ธ๐จ๐ค
The new six-part series of The Grand Tour is streaming now on Prime Video. ๐บ๐ฟ
What did you think, butt? Are James, Thomas and Francis worthy of the keys, or should The Grand Tour have parked up for good when Clarkson, Hammond and May left? Let us know! ๐๐๐
Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Zero Apologies. ๐๐ค๐ฅ
