Best Grand Tour Episodes Ranked

December 7, 2021

Introduction – Best Grand Tour Episodes

Well, this is timely, isn’t it? In anticipation of the latest Grand Tour special, Carnage a Trois, releasing in a few weeks, I’ve decided to make the best Grand Tour Episodes Ranked. This list doesn’t include any specials, so unfortunately there’s no entry for James and his Caterham in Madagascar. This is my latest TV show top 10 list. So without further ado, here is some history about the Grand Tour before the list kicks off properly.

History – Best Grand Tour Episodes

The Grand Tour is a motoring show that first aired in 2016. Long before the likes of Clarkson’s Farm, Jeremy headed up this show. It ran for three seasons until the decision to focus solely on Grand Tour specials from 2019 onwards. The show came about after Jeremy Clarkson’s firing from the BBC when Richard Hammond and James May also left, showing solidarity with their co-host. Eventually, Amazon decided to bring the three men aboard for a new motoring show: The Grand Tour. The Grand Tour typically featured 13 episodes of very silly car-based activities. One highlight in Season 1 includes the utter failure of Celebrity Braincrash, a game show where no guest ever played as they all died prior to arriving at the tent. So let’s get into my best Grand Tour Episodes.

Best Grand Tour Episodes

10. The Holy Trinity (S1, E1)

Kicking off the best Grand Tour episodes ranked is the first-ever episode of the first season. This episode shows the former Top Gear hosts picking right up from their days on the BBC. The centrepiece of the episode is the three men racing each other in three different supercars. Clarkson chooses the McLaren P1, May chooses the Ferrari LaFerrari and Hammond chooses the Porsche 918. Apart from Clarkson taking liberties with the subtitles, other highlights include the start of the ill-fated Celebrity BrainCrash and THAT bet. Long story short, Clarkson bet his car would be faster than May and Hammonds. He lost that bet and his house in the process. Wonderful stuff.

9. Enviro-Mental (S1, E4)

Next up is what happens when the three hosts were tasked with making environmentally friendly cars, out of natural materials. Hammond decides to construct a ‘living’ car out of plants. May initially makes a car out of mud, then bricks after the mud disintegrates because mud is not a good car body material. However, Clarkson leaves a lasting impression with his car made out of dead animal bones and skin. Truly terrifying and revolting stuff there. Other episode highlights include more cartoonish nonsense on Celebrity Braincrash and every single environmental car failing spectacularly. Hammond’s car went up in flames, Jeremy’s gets infested with maggots and James’s just keeps falling apart.

8. Berks To The Future (S1, E9)

This episode is mainly here for one part of the show: Clarkson’s ‘proper’ sport utility vehicle. What he comes up with pretty much sums his ideas on the Grand Tour. He fuses the mechanical aspects of a Land Rover with a 1980s Mercedes-Benz SL. Needless to say, the car looks ridiculous, especially the interior which looks like it’s seen better days. Desperate to prove it’s good looking, Clarkson not only gets actual Chelsea players to review it but he puts it up for auction. So, at the auction, he ends up bidding on his own car and losing a fair amount of money on it. Other highlights include Hammond trying to make an apocalypse vehicle, being blown up three times by Clarkson and May because of reasons, and the three men trying to generate electricity.

7. Dumb Fight At The O.K. Coral (S1, E10)

Now, next up on the best Grand Tour episodes, is another attempt at the three hosts being environmentally friendly. Here, they try to make a coral reef out of old stripped-down car bodies. Whilst the idea is sound, in theory, the execution leaves a lot to be desired and why is that? First, Clarkson gets a very small boat, Hammond drops one of the car bodies accidentally and the presenters lose the location of their reef. What else happens in the episode? Clarkson goes on about Alfa Romeo and Brian Johnson, of AC/DC fame, getting taken out by American ‘Football’ players. Oh, the presenters also had a fight with the Nashville audience about American ‘Football’ vs Football and it did not end well for the Brits.

6. Up, Down And Round The Farm (S2, E5)

Well, what’s this? Is this the first entry not from Season 1? With good reason; this episode sees Clarkson trying to skid with an old Subaru in the countryside. Unfortunately, this idea backfires when Hammond and May reveal some behind-the-scenes footage of Clarkson destroying the same gate over and over and Clarkson is not happy. The other highlight is Hammond testing off-road machinery in Dubai. This machinery includes a massive tank-like ATV and several powerful off-road vehicles. Oh, Bill Bailey and Dominic Cooper race to determine the fastest person with a failed early career in a band. Wonderful stuff.

Top Five Best Grand Tour Episodes

5. Past, Present Or Future (S2, E1)

At the halfway point of my best Grand Tour episodes is Past, Present or Future. This episode centres around the three men trying to prove which era of car is best. Clarkson arrives as the past with a Lamborghini, May is the present with a Honda NSX and Hammond is the future with a Rimac. Needless to say, tensions start running high because Hammond books a hotel at a wellbeing resort which definitely doesn’t annoy May and Clarkson. Other highlights include the debut of two celebrities racing to be the fastest in a random category. Here it’s the fastest former talent show host between Ricky Wilson and David Hasselhoff. Oh, Hammond crashes but that is kind of a given.

4. Operation Desert Stumble (S1, E2)

Still my personal favourite Grand Tour episode is this belter from Season 1. The centerpiece of this episode is three car enthusiasts taking on a special forces training course in Jordan. Needless to say, there are numerous circumstances of hilarious nonsense. Examples of this include Jeremy being hit on the head with a shovel, James getting shot over and over and Clarkson crawling across the finish line. The other highlight is James being subjected to spinning, the sport of repeated donutting in cars causing him to be very upset.

Top Three Best Grand Tour Episodes

3. From [Censored] To [Censored] (S1, E12)

What an episode idea. So, this episode centres around the presenters driving on the romantic road in a Bentley, Jaguar and Range Rover. When they are close to the endpoint, Wedding, Hammond and Clarkson decide they should go to May’s favourite place in the world: the Nurburgring. Oh, and there’s also plenty of jokes about the validity of the Loch Ness Monster given the tent was on the shores of Loch Ness. Furthermore, and seeing the presenters trying to input F**cking into a satnav is something I didn’t know I needed.

2. Opera, Arts And Donuts (S1, E3)

Narrowly missing out on Number 1 is Opera, Arts and Donuts and realistically this could have been number 1. Why? The episode centres around May and Clarkson planning to do a grand tour through Italian cities in a Bentley and a Rolls Royce. Sounds lovely right? Until Hammond turns up in a Dodge Hellcat to do a lot of donuts and rev his engine in tunnels.

Soon, his co-hosts are actively trying to dodge him (nice pun!) but he keeps following them, donutting outside the Colosseum and an old Italian Church. The other major highlight? Jeremy’s house is destroyed because of his bet in the first episode. Truly stupid and wonderful TV.

Top Ranking – Best Grand Tour Episodes

1. The Falls Guys (S2, E2)

And at number 1 on my Best Grand Tour episodes is…. The Falls Guys. This episode harks back to the days of Top Gear challenges. Basically, Clarkson would take a car to a location whereas May and Hammond would take public transport. So, this episode sees Clarkson race his co-hosts from Central Park to Niagara Falls in a Ford GT not suited for the road. Despite James seemingly having an advantage, he has to deal with Hammond on crutches after a crash. Shocking, I know. Needless to say, Clarkson sabotages his co-hosts to make their flight to Canada much harder. So, seek this episode out as it’s truly brilliant.

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So, those are our thoughts on the best Grand Tour episodes of all time! But what do you think? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

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