Top Gear Season 13 Episode 4: Panamera Road Trip and Hot Hatch Duel
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May take the Porsche Panamera on a cross-country challenge and pit the Ford Focus RS against Renault’s Mégane R26.R.
Airing on 12 July 2009, Top Gear’s fourth episode of Series 13 put the spotlight on Porsche’s new Panamera, with Richard Hammond and James May racing the four-door GT against a Royal Mail parcel travelling the length of Britain. The show also staged a hot hatch face-off between the new Ford Focus RS and Renault’s stripped-out Mégane R26.R.
Porsche Panamera takes on the Royal Mail
Hammond and May’s main challenge involved delivering a letter from the south coast to the far north of Scotland using Porsche’s then-new Panamera. Their rival: a Royal Mail parcel sent by conventional post. The Panamera, Porsche’s first production saloon, was tasked with covering the full length of Britain as quickly as possible, relying on its V8 power and grand touring comfort to beat the postal service to the destination.
The journey highlighted the Panamera’s long-distance credentials, with the team encountering motorways, A-roads and the usual British traffic. The challenge format, a Top Gear staple, provided a real-world test of the car’s speed and practicality, while comparing it to the reliability and efficiency of Royal Mail’s logistics network.
Ford Focus RS vs Renault Mégane R26.R
The episode’s other headline segment was a direct comparison between two of the era’s most talked-about hot hatches. The Ford Focus RS, with its turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine and aggressive styling, faced off against the Renault Mégane R26.R, a lightweight, track-focused special with pared-back equipment and a reputation for sharp handling.
- Ford Focus RS: 2.5-litre turbo five-cylinder, 301bhp, front-wheel drive
- Renault Mégane R26.R: 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder, 227bhp, stripped interior, lighter kerbweight
The test compared raw speed, handling and the everyday usability of each car. The Focus RS brought power and all-weather capability, while the Mégane R26.R prioritised lap times and driving purity, even sacrificing rear seats and soundproofing to save weight. Both cars represented the high watermark of front-wheel-drive performance at the time, appealing to keen drivers with different priorities.
Star in a Reasonably Priced Car and studio highlights
As with every episode, the show included the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment, though the guest for this episode is not detailed in the supplied evidence. The studio sections featured the usual banter between Clarkson, Hammond and May, as well as audience reactions to the Panamera and hot hatch tests.
