Sports Car Forum - MotorWorld.net - 5th Gear - S10 EP6 - 30th October, 2006

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In this weeks edition of Five's motoring show, Jason Plato tests the new Lotus Europa S, Tom Ford looks back at the life of the Vauxhall Monaro, and Jon Bentley examines speed bumps.

Lotus have built a reputation for making light, nimble sports cars great fun for a track day session or quick blast on a Sunday morning, but too raw to be considered as realistic long distance tourers. Now they've introduced the Europa S, a car which they believe has genuine GT credentials it even has carpets and a boot! Jason Plato set about discovering if it is now possible to get comfortable in a Lotus.

Tom Ford says goodbye to an old friend, the Vauxhall Monaro. Quite possibly the best value muscle car for sale in the UK, it remains a rare sight on British roads. Now production is coming to an end, but the car is going out with a bang in the shape of the VXR 500, the fastest, meanest Monaro ever.

Jon Bentley takes a close look at speed bumps, the bane of the every day motorist constantly jarring our teeth and ruining our suspension. But do some cars cope with them better than others? Jon suffers for the cause and compares a ten-year-old saloon, a modern family hatchback and a top of the range 4x4 and reaches a surprising conclusion.

Jonny Smith, meanwhile, has a big meadow to mow and thinks he has the perfect tools for the job a super powerful 4x4 coupled to a four metre wide gang mower. But he hasn't considered the 250,000 Claas Cougar the largest grass cutter in the world. The Claas can cut a swathe 16 metres wide. Will Jonny be able to mow four times quicker and beat the mammoth machine?

Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson test their nerve with the new Kawasaki ZZR1400 the most powerful production motorcycle in the world. Their challenge is to find out who will go fastest on a straight length of track. As the tarmac runs out, who will keep the throttle open the longest?

Also in this evening's show, super spy Roger Moore talks to the Fifth Gear team about the best Bond film car chases of all time.