Jeremy Clarkson and the team return with a look at Ford’s new Scorpio, the most controversially styled carto appear in years. Plus Tiff Needell drives the latest three-wheeled Grinnall Scorpion.

Buyers don’t expect many surprises when a new Escort-sized car appears. But, according to Jeremy Clarkson, the Alfa Romeo 145 is one motor that dares to be different. Impressed by its Italian good looks, he gives it a test drive to see if its performance is equally stylish. Plus Quentin Willson tries to identify what could be the classic cars of the next decade.

Some four-wheel-drive off-roaders are becoming more like plush saloons. Jeremy Clarkson and Tiff Needell find out how well they handle on the road. Plus Quentin Willson test drives the new Lexus LS400, a luxury saloon with “1,700 refinements” — but is it really now one of the best cars in the world?

Jeremy Clarkson test drives the new Audi A4, while Chris Goffey drives modern replicas of two great classics, the Porsche Speedster and the Ferrari 500 Mondial. Steve Berry visits John Fletcher, a former miner and motorbike enthusiast, whose home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, is virtually a shrine to two-wheelers.

Jeremy Clarkson visits the JCB excavator factory in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. Plus Chris Goffey test drives Honda’s new Civic and compares it to the the Ford Escort.

From the Geneva Motor Show, Jeremy Clarkson reports on the launch of some new British cars, including a Bentley convertible and the first MG roadster in 25 years. Plus a look at a Mercedes with three body options, and the Fiat Barchetta which replaces the Spider. With Steve Berry, Quentin Willson.

Fiat have taken their tiniest car and created a sporty version of it. Jeremy Clarkson drives the new Cinquecento Sporting to see whether it offers more fun than Britain’s Mini Cooper. And Tiff Needell tests a new racing car built to look like one from the 50s. It’s set to compete in a race series called Formula Classic.

Daewoo is the latest car manufacturer from South Korea to launch cars in Britain. Chris Goffey drives the Nexia and Espero, which go on sale here later this month, and assesses the company’s strategy of selling direct to the public through its own showrooms rather than through dealers. Plus Tiff Needell test drives the new French supercar, the Venturi 400 GT, to see how it fares against the Italian opposition.

Jeremy Clarkson investigates the practice of “car chipping” by which computer boffins give a car a boost by reprogramming the engine management chip for speed rather than fuel efficiency. For as little as £200 it may be good value for money, but how will the insurance companies react, and will the engines be able to withstand it? Plus Quentin Willson reveals this year’s results in the Top Gear survey of customer satisfaction.

With the prospect of warm weather ahead, drivers’ thoughts turn to convertibles. Jeremy Clarkson test-drives the new soft-tops on the market, which range from Fiat’s avant-garde Punto and the Pininfarina-styled Peugeot 306, to the Saab 900 and Toyota’s Celica GT Cabriolet. Plus Tiff Needell tries out the new 911 Turbo Porsche, the first with four-wheel drive and a turbocharger, to find out how it compares with Porsche’s classic 959 model.

Jeremy Clarkson test drives the new Škoda Felicia, which replaces the popular Favorit, the model that helped change the company’s image. The Felicia has been re-styled and now features many components, including the engine, from Škoda’s parent company, Volkswagen. Chris Goffey looks at the latest offering from Tatra, manufactured in the Czech Republic, and gets a feel of the past in a Type 87. Plus Steve Berry tests the handling of the Chrysler Atlantic, a luxurious modern coupe with echoes of 30s glamour.

Chris Goffey drives the new Rover 400, the final car to emerge from the Rover-Honda partnership. And Steve Berry goes to Italy to visit one of the newest motorcycle companies, Aprilia, whose strategy of marketing bikes as fashion items includes the new Moto’ 6.5, styled by designer Philippe Starck.

In the last in the series, four teams compete to build a Westfield sports kit car against the clock. Quentin Willson considers the pros and cons of buying a secondhand XJ series Jaguar, and Andy Wilman attends the Orange Show Art Car Festival in Houston, Texas, where last year’s customised exhibits included cars covered in human hair, dog biscuits and empty beer cans.

In the first of a new 14-part series, Jeremy Clarkson drives the first all-new MG sports car for two decades, the long-awaited MGF, and asks if we are about to see the rebirth of the two-seater open-top sports car. Plus, Steve Berry visits Pebble Beach in California for the most prestigious concours d’elegance event (competition for high-pedigree marques like Rolls-Royce and Bugatti) in the world.

This week, Jeremy Clarkson drives the most important new car to be launched this autumn, the Vauxhall Vectra. It replaces Britain’s favourite fleet car, the Cavalier, but how good is it? Meanwhile, Tiff Needell tries the new Saab with electronic kit that enables the driver to change gear without the tedium of using a clutch pedal. Plus, Michele Newman finds out what it takes to enter a motor race when you’re a complete novice.

Jeremy Clarkson visits Blackpool to test the new TVR Cerbera, “the noisiest, fastest and most exciting car this side of a Lamborghini Diablo”, and to interview TVR’s boss, Peter Wheeler. Plus, Tony Mason meets “Babs”, a monster car that broke the world speed record twice before turning over and killing its driver. Fifty years on, it has been lovingly rebuilt and restored.

This week, Jeremy Clarkson aims to realise a long-held ambition — to drive a GT40, the supercar that Ford built in the 1960s to beat Ferrari at Le Mans. In case he has trouble handling all that raw power, former Top Gear presenter Noel Edmonds is on hand to help.

Tonight, a preview of the London Motor Show, which opens at Earls Court tomorrow. Presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Quentin Willson and Steve Berry at the show, with reports from the field by Chris Goffey and Tiff Needell.

This week, Quentin Willson road tests the new Nissan Almera, replacement for the popular Sunny. Jeremy Clarkson drives at Le Mans in Ford’s 230 mph GT90, and changes his mind about America’s ability to produce a supercar. Plus, Chris Goffey goes to the Army School of Mechanical Transport near Beverley in Humberside, where he learns to handle an 11-ton Saxon armoured personnel carrier.

Jeremy Clarkson test drives the new Mercedes E-class. It boasts a host of unique features, but does that make it a more desirable luxury car than the Jaguar? Plus, a trip to the Motorcycle Show at Birmingham’s NEC, where Steve Barry and Tiff Needell inspect some new machines.

This week, Quentin Willson demonstrates how to take on the car auctioneers and win, while Tony Mason fulfils a childhood dream by driving a new fire engine manufactured by Dennis.

In Italy, Jeremy Clarkson tests the Fiats that are seeking to prove mainstream does not mean boring, while Steve Berry charts the history of the Vincent motorcycles with the help of riders who tested the bikes in the post-war years.

Tonight, a race against the clock to build a kit car. Plus, Tiff Needell takes Lamborghini’s new prototype, the Cala, out for a test drive.

Jeremy Clarkson tests the Volvo 850R against the BMW 328 and the Alfa Romeo 164 Lusso. Plus Steve Berry takes a look at the world’s finest Corgi model car collection.

Quentin Willson previews the new 200 series from Rover.