Top Gear (series 17)


The seventeenth series of Top Gear aired during 2011 on BBC Two and BBC HD and consisted of 6 episodes, beginning on 26 June and concluding on 31 July.

Episodes

Criticism and Controversy

Electric Cars Review film

Following the broadcast of the final episode of Series 17, a scene from the Electric Cars Review film was criticised by a disabled motorist charity, in which Jeremy Clarkson and James May were shown parking their electric cars into two disabled parking spaces. In response to this, the executive producer Andy Wilman defended the presenters in an online blog, revealing that both had expressed deep concerns it would create a disrespectful impression, but only used the spaces when the car park's owner gave permission, adding that there had been three other disabled parking spaces available, before apologising to any viewers that had been upset by the scene.
In a later scene in the film, Clarkson was shown getting people to help him push the electric Nissan Leaf up a street after it had run out of charge. This sparked controversy when Nissan discovered from the onboard data logging in the car, that its charge had been run down to only 40% capacity before the "test drive", which soon drew in criticism from the company, electric car enthusiasts, newspapers, and celebrities in response to the show's view on electric cars. However, Andy Wilman rejected claims that the show was misleading viewers about the Leaf's charge and range, and stood by the consumer points that were raised in the film.