top gear season 21 1
Top Gear Season 21 returns to BBC 2 on February 2 Top Gear

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May return to BBC on Sunday and it's as if the trio had never left. "Top Gear" Season 21 Episode 1 starts off the new season with a rather timeless subject: hot hatches.

While hot hatches today are boasting new highs in horsepower figure, the presenters argue that the hot hatches of the past were superior in every way. To prove their point, Jeremy Clarkson chose the Volkswagen Golf GTI, James May presented a Ford Fiesta XR2i, and Richard Hammond showed off a Vauxhall Nova SRi.

In typical Top Gear form, hot hatch demonstrations are never straightforward. Clarkson, May, and Hammond dove head-first into an uphill time trial challenge against the Stig's teenage cousin in a new Seat. In typical Hammon fashion, his overzealous driving took a toll on the little Nova SRi.

Of course, a hill climb is only the beginning. A hot hatch challenge is never complete without a car chase and, wait for it, a massive fireball. Childish or not, explosions are undoubtedly a staple of a proper "Top Gear" episode.

As for "Top Gear" Season 21 Episode 2, Jeremy Clarkson drives a McLaren P1 at Spa-Francorchamps, James May visits a desert to test military equipment, and Richard Hammond in the new Alfa Romeo 4C races Jeremy Clarkson in an amphbious ATV! Check it out here: