The Suzuki Jimny is a tiny, boxy SUV that is famous for being incredibly good at driving over mud, rocks, and steep hills. Unlike most modern small SUVs which are just raised hatchbacks, the Jimny is built like a miniature heavy-duty truck, making it a cult favorite for off-road enthusiasts.
The Discovery 4 is a large, boxy luxury SUV from Land Rover. It is famous for being incredibly comfortable on long road trips while still being able to climb up muddy mountains and tow heavy trailers with ease.
This is a sporty, boxy wagon from Subaru that uses the same turbocharged engine as their famous rally-inspired sports cars. It gives you the space and grip of an SUV but drives more like a fast hatchback.
A Targa is a type of car roof where you can take off the middle section over your head, but the rear window and a protective metal bar behind your seat stay in place. It is a middle ground between a normal car and a full convertible.
The Suzuki X-90 is a very strange-looking small car from the 1990s. It looks like a tiny two-door sedan but sits high off the ground on a 4x4 truck frame, complete with a removable glass roof.
This is the classic, boxy British farm truck that Land Rover built for decades. It is loud, slow, and basic, but it can drive through almost any terrain and is incredibly easy to fix.
The Cayenne Turbo S is an incredibly fast luxury SUV from Porsche. It has a massive twin-turbo V8 engine that makes it accelerate like a supercar, while still having four-wheel drive and plenty of space inside.
The S3 is a small, sporty luxury car made by Audi. It looks like a normal small sedan or hatchback but has a much more powerful engine and all-wheel drive to help it grip the road better in wet or snowy weather.
The Audi S1 is a tiny, premium hatchback packed with a powerful turbo engine and all-wheel drive. It is highly sought after because it is incredibly fast, grippy, and fun to drive, especially in slippery conditions.
The Quattro is a famous vintage sports car from the 1980s that changed car racing forever by using four-wheel drive to grip dirt and gravel roads incredibly well. Today, Audi uses the word 'Quattro' to describe any of their cars that have all-wheel drive.
The A6 Allroad is a premium Audi station wagon that sits slightly higher off the ground and has protective body cladding. It uses smart air suspension to raise or lower itself, making it perfect for driving on both smooth highways and muddy farm tracks.
The Allroad is a luxury station wagon made by Audi that sits slightly higher off the ground than a normal car. It has extra plastic armor around the wheels and all-wheel drive, making it perfect for driving on rough gravel roads or in bad weather without needing a bulky SUV.
The RS5 is a fast, high-end sports car made by Audi that comes as a two-door coupe or a sleek four-door hatchback. It is built to combine luxury and comfort with very fast acceleration and excellent grip on the road.
The Range Rover is a large, highly premium SUV made by a British brand. It is famous because it is incredibly comfortable and fancy on the inside, yet it can drive through tough off-road terrain like mud and snow just as well as a rugged utility vehicle.
The 911 is a famous two-door sports car made by the German company Porsche. It is unique because its engine is located in the very back of the car, and it is widely considered one of the best-handling and most reliable sports cars you can buy.
The M2 is a small, two-door sports car made by BMW. It is highly praised by car enthusiasts because it is small, very powerful, and designed to be incredibly fun and exciting to drive on twisty roads.
The X5 is a popular, mid-sized luxury family SUV made by BMW. It is designed to feel sporty and fun to drive on normal roads, while still offering plenty of passenger space and a high-up driving position.
The Audi 100 is an older, classic sedan that Audi made several decades ago. It was known for being comfortable, safe, and one of the first normal passenger cars to offer all-wheel drive for driving in the snow.
The Ariel Nomad is essentially a street-legal, high-speed dune buggy. It has no doors or roofโjust a roll cage, two seats, big knobby tires, and a powerful engine, making it one of the most exciting off-road toys in existence.
The Golf is a small, practical hatchback car made by the German company Volkswagen. It is one of the best-selling cars in the world because it is easy to park, fuel-efficient, and very well-made.
The Skyline is a famous sports car made by Nissan in Japan. It is incredibly popular in movies and video games because of its high-tech engineering, fast speed, and how easily it can be modified to go even faster.
The M3 is a high-performance, faster version of BMW's standard 3 Series compact sedan or wagon. It is designed for driving enthusiasts who want a practical everyday car that can also go incredibly fast on a racetrack.
The M3 Touring is a very fast station wagon made by BMW. It has a powerful twin-turbo engine, all-wheel drive, and a sporty suspension, allowing it to carry groceries or dogs in the back while driving as fast as a race car.
The Veyron is an extremely rare, ultra-expensive supercar made by Bugatti. It is famous for having a massive 16-cylinder engine and being one of the first road cars ever built that could drive faster than 250 miles per hour.
The 911 Dakar is a special version of Porsche's famous sports car that has been modified to drive off-road. It sits higher off the ground, has tough off-road tires, and is designed to slide around on dirt, sand, and mud.
The Defender Octa is the ultimate, most powerful version of the modern Land Rover Defender. It has a twin-turbo V8 engine and a highly advanced suspension system that makes it incredibly fast on pavement and unstoppable off-road.
Car
Lamborghini Huracรกn Sterrato
The Sterrato is a wild, off-road version of Lamborghini's Huracรกn supercar. It keeps the loud V10 engine and futuristic styling but adds raised suspension, chunky tires, and protective body panels so you can drive a supercar on dirt roads.
LIVE
Hey guys and welcome back to the Drive Talk podcast at Serials on the Diddly Squat farm.
Yeah, Jeremy Clarkson's farm.
I know. And the weather is absolutely atrocious.
It is.
It's cold, it's been raining all day, it's muddy underfoot, I've even got me wellies on.
But it has stopped raining.
I think so, but it's hard to tell because there's wind and the water is just coming off everything, including this massive Michelin tractor tyre here.
Well, this is the cool thing we're here for, because you think, well, why are we at an agricultural show?
It's been going years, it's one of the biggest agricultural shows in the country.
But we're here with Michelin because, Cal Suprise, massive big tractors like that, in fact, that tractor is on Michelin tyres.
And we're learning all about tractor tyres.
And it seems like there's a lot.
It's a lot more complex than your average Michelin road tyre for your car.
I know, because what I didn't realise is tyre pressure is everything.
It is.
But we're going to talk more about that with someone who actually knows what they're talking about a bit later on, so we don't absolutely murder it.
But you're looking very healthy and very tanned, my friend.
What have you been up to?
I just found this really good fake tan.
It's lovely.
It looks quite genuine.
And no, I've been in Greece for a week on holiday, actual holiday.
Wow.
I was going to say no cars, but we did have a car on one of the days, but I just, yeah, just switched off and enjoyed it.
It was a lovely Icos resort, which I know you're very familiar with.
Yeah, we're still waiting for that brand deal from Icos.
We should do a podcast there.
Wouldn't that be great?
It'd be great.
We're going in September to the one in Marbella.
Of course you are.
Yeah.
We could spend, we could do a podcast at every resort.
Yeah.
Pat's nodding.
Road trip to Icos.
Us three and our respected partners.
Yes.
They can test out all the facilities while we do work.
That would be very, very nice.
So you've been, but before you were on holiday doing nothing, what have you been up to, dude?
I've been doing lots of press launches.
A couple of studio shoots.
Oh yes, couple of studio shoots.
Mate, you can never, ever have a goat meat for doing too many studio shoots.
I've done one this year, maybe.
Wow.
A few more than actually.
Yeah, I've done a few.
Not as many as you.
I've done too many studio shoots.
I'm a bit sick of them.
But actually, when we get onto our car challenges, one of the studio shoots, which is currently
under embargo, but by the time this goes out, it would have lifted.
One of those studio shoots might be one of my cars in my car challenge.
Oh, yeah.
Okay.
How are you been?
What have you been up to?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Still recovering from the Ferrari Lucia experience, but no, all good.
Yeah.
All good.
Do you, like, are you a bit like me?
I know we've both got not that we haven't got the best memories in the world.
But because it's been such a busy few months or busy year, when you asked me then what
have you been up to, apart from my holiday, which I've just got back from, I genuinely
actually can't really remember what I've been up to.
It all melds into one.
Doesn't it?
I can't believe it's nearly the end of June.
I know.
I completed one more lap around the sun last week, so that's, yeah, 54 times I've been
around the sun now.
Wow.
That's impressive.
I know.
We're on holiday next week, so looking forward to that.
But, you know, it's been, it's been all right.
It's been busy.
Yeah.
But we have a challenge.
We do.
So, Pat sets the challenges normally, and he senses a WhatsApp with details of what
the car seeking challenge is.
Doesn't he?
Yeah.
And it's normally me that doesn't read the WhatsApp.
And I get a lot of grief for kind of not reading the WhatsApp.
Or if I have read the WhatsApp, I kind of forget.
You read bits of it.
Yeah.
But on this occasion, I've read the WhatsApp and nailed what we're going to be doing.
Yeah.
And you haven't.
Well, Pat sends it on the day that we're leaving on our last day on holiday.
So I kind of thought I'd read it, but obviously I hadn't read all of it.
But I've just done a bit of last minute homework.
So I should be all right, I think.
So we know that you guys love our challenges where we try and find cars that either certain
specifications and price points and things.
So we've got a car seeking challenge with a farmer related theme.
Yeah.
So farmer, two car garage, and we've got four price points, but we're going to do three
now, and then we're going to leave you hanging and do the last one right at the end.
Which is the Harry Metcalf, no limit budget.
Yeah.
More money than God budget.
So we've got farmers, two car garage for 25,000 pounds.
That's total for the two cars.
Yeah.
50,000 and 100,000.
Yeah.
Okay.
And the question is, I guess, what is the requirements for a farmer's two car garage?
Well, in my head, it's almost definitely all wheel drive.
Yes.
And something that's, I guess, a bit rugged and sort of used to going in the field.
Well, we came in this morning, I came in an M4.
It was frozen, brilliant white.
Oh, it was white.
Oh my God.
Yeah, frozen, brilliant white this morning when I left home.
It's now frozen, not so brilliant brown.
And it's in the field over there, but it's X drive.
So it should be all right.
I'm in my front wheel drive mini and it's bad.
Oh, are you?
Yeah.
Which I watched yesterday morning.
I'm really pleased I did that.
Excellent.
Well, I might be getting some tricks off the tractor tire experts here because it's on
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires.
Yeah.
But maybe if we let some pressure out of them, might get some added grip.
I don't think it works like that with Michelin road tires.
Anyway.
Yeah.
So should we do some challenge?
The first bit of the challenge.
Yep.
Then we'll have a walk round, find out more about tires.
Yep.
And then we'll do the Harry Metcalf Unlimited Challenge at the end.
Perfect.
Who's going first?
ยฃ25,000 for your garage.
ยฃ25,000.
Okay.
Just a great amount of money, really.
Not for two cars, especially when I arrived here thinking that was for one car because
I hadn't read the messages properly.
So you've only chose one car?
No, no, no.
Thankfully, that one car was ยฃ21,000.
So it's left me in absolute fortune to buy my second car.
Four grand.
Yeah, four grand.
So I think I'll do one.
Yeah.
And then you do one.
And then I'll do my second.
Okay.
And then we'll swap it around for the next price.
The glasses are all steamed up, look.
Like Mr. Magoo.
Oh, yeah.
Now, you guys may well have noticed through some very subtle branding that the Drive Talk
podcast is proudly sponsored by Michelin.
Hey, Joe.
Sorry?
Oh, yes.
Michelin.
Yeah.
I mean, t-shirts, wheel, they bend them on a drinks flask.
But we're also brand ambassadors for Michelin.
And part of that is that we are really lucky we get to run Michelin tyres on our cars.
And I don't know about you, mate, but the amount of people who come up to me at events
or DM me on social media and say, I need some new tyres for my car, can you get me a deal?
Have you got a discount code?
It happens all the time.
And thankfully, Michelin UK have stepped forward and they've given us a code where you can
actually get up to ยฃ100 rebate on your tyres.
But don't worry, if you've just recently bought your tyres, you could also potentially get
up to ยฃ100.
And the specific code that you need to use is...
You're asking me?
It's super easy.
We'll put all the details in the description of this video or in the show notes if you're
listening on an audio podcast platform.
But the code you need is DT4W26.
Drive, talk, four wheels, 2.6 for 2026.
And as Joe says, don't worry if you've just bought some tyres and you think, oh, that's
just typical.
That's not a problem.
And if you're just about to buy some new tyres, then you're going to get ยฃ100 off, which is
great.
Happy days.
Good financial advice in 2026.
Who would have thought?
So my first car, I've screen shot it because the internet here is not great because there's
a lot of people.
I know.
I was going to get my laptop out, but I'm not allowed.
Oh, you're not allowed?
Okay.
Let's have a look.
You look...
Okay.
So my first and most expensive car of my ยฃ25,000 garage is probably quite predictable because
in the time we've been here talking about our garage cars, everyone has mentioned it.
So you probably got one as well.
But it's the new Suzuki Jimny.
Oh!
Yeah.
And...
Cool.
I've gone from...
I think it's quite an early one.
So it's a late 2018.
Yeah.
Gun metal grey.
Oh, that's quite a lot.
I'm not sure if that's a wrap or what, but it's actually...
This particular one is in Chipping Norton, which is about five miles away.
Let's go and buy it.
So I can actually go and buy it today.
James, can we go and buy that car?
I'm not sure if it's on the right tyres.
I can't really tell.
No.
But yeah, 21,750 quid.
It's got 38,000 miles.
Yeah.
To me, that's a proper off-road car.
Yeah.
So you know, in the WhatsApp group that you didn't read,
one of the requirements was that the car was quite good at towing.
Oh, I mean, this would tow at least...
I'm not sure if you can even put a tow bar on it.
Can you put tow bars on these?
I don't know.
Oh, I forgot about the towing bit.
Yeah, you did.
Oh, well...
I think the second car, my cheaper one, will do that.
But anyway, what was your first car?
So I have spent a grand tow...
So how many JLR products are going to be in your guesses?
Quite a few.
I purposely stayed away from them because I thought if you say it needs a tow
and it needs to be a farm vehicle, it needs to work.
If you're going JLR, then it's just going to be a sort of...
Yeah, a bit of furniture.
Brand deal incoming.
Anyway.
So I've gone for a Discovery 4.
Yes.
For ยฃ20,000, or ยฃ19.5 grand.
Yeah.
But you can't see because it's a screenshot,
but it's got a really good tow bar.
Oh, OK.
It's not got the detachable one.
It's got the actual kind of physical tow bar.
And those can tow three and a half tonnes.
Nice.
Good off-road.
That's my everyday farmer's car.
I'm going to make up that our farms are quite close together.
So if I actually need to tow something, I could just give you a ring.
Yeah, OK.
You go by the Jimny and I'll borrow that.
It's like I've got a brand new Combine Harvester.
Exactly.
Yeah, that's it.
Yeah, nice.
Right, what's your five grand special?
So my five grand special is a Subaru Forester.
Oh!
Yeah.
A 2002 model.
Four grand.
Last owner, 18 years, 131,000, but that's not many miles for something that's nearly 25
years old.
It's a 2-litre Turbo S, which I believe is actually the same engine that was in the Impretza WX
at the time.
You're pushing the boat up there.
Yeah, I really am.
I think it is because they were really popular when I lived in Australia.
Actually, when I was in Australia, that was a brand new car all those years ago.
I don't know what color that is, but James would probably love it.
Yeah.
It's very unusual.
It's diving.
Yeah, right.
It's diaper.
You know, it's one of those cars that I think it's slowly maybe growing into itself.
I think if you saw one at a car show today or even here at the Serials event, you'd kind
of think, hmm, that's pretty cool because it's got the vent in the bonnet to say that it's
the 2-litre Turbo.
Right.
Yeah, it's nice.
OK.
It's good considering you'd only chose one car and you've suddenly found two.
Exactly.
I've dug myself out a bit there and they basically come together to equal 25 grand exactly.
OK.
So my theory is with my cars is the car, the expensive car is the everyday usable four-wheel
drive car.
Yeah.
And the second car is the fun day have a bit of a giggle car.
Right.
So I only had like five or six grand left.
Yes.
So I've gone for a car and I couldn't actually find one for sale in the UK.
So I'm having to buy this one from the Netherlands.
Oh, OK.
And it as a car, as a form factor, I reckon it's unique.
OK.
It's never been done before or after.
This sounds like a hard sell.
Right.
It's four-wheel drive.
Never been done before or after.
OK.
Right.
It's four-wheel drive.
Yeah.
It's a two-seater.
Yes.
And it's a Targa.
Yeah.
I've got absolutely no idea.
Oh, my goodness.
That is horrific.
But somehow I can see you in it.
It's a Suzuki X90.
Oh, that is so horrible.
Look, it's gone.
So it's like a Vitara gone bad.
Yes.
Just when you thought a Vitara wasn't bad enough.
It's got a spoiler on the back as well for extra downforce.
Oh, my God.
That is, I can see you in that bed.
You've almost got a bike.
Right.
Because I could just see.
That would be your next track car.
Yeah.
I've gone for my convertible mini track car to one of these.
Look at that.
It's wicked.
Look at that.
Did not even look.
That is terrible.
That is terrible.
No.
You were just taking Mickey out of my forester.
Can you see my hand?
Look, I'm actually shaking on that car.
I think you're shaking because that car is so bad.
It's cool, isn't it?
That is how I'm made.
Could the interior?
I've never seen one of those before.
That is nice.
You never let me down with your car challenges.
You went through a good phase, but that's just, yeah, that's really nice.
Interesting.
So we've now got 50 grams.
I think you go first this time.
Okay.
So my 50 grand this time, I can put my camera this way around, I have spent 30,000 pounds
on my first car.
Okay.
Right.
And it's from your favorite manufacturer.
BMW?
No.
Porsche?
No.
JLR?
Yeah.
Of course.
And I've gone classic Defender.
Oh, nice.
But this is the pickup one, right?
So it's got the canvas back so you can put like your sheepdog in there or sheep or whatever.
Yeah, it's a problem.
There was loads of those in the field over there.
It would be appropriate as well.
It's a really nice spec.
It's got the two and a half feet of diesel engine in here.
Oh, is that the BMW one?
I think that's cool.
That is a cool, yeah.
Yeah.
30 grand.
Yeah.
That is the coolest.
And that is the archetypal farmers.
I mean, there's how many of them are in the car pops over there.
Yeah.
Right.
There you go.
That's very good.
Nice.
So my 30 grand.
So my first car is 27 grand.
Oh.
It's from a German manufacturer.
BMW.
No.
Mercedes.
No.
Porsche.
Yes.
It's a KN.
Yes.
It's a Mark 1 KN.
No.
Oh.
No.
27 grand.
I mean, that would be pretty steep for a Mark 1 KN.
Could be like a classic, couldn't it?
Yeah.
No.
No.
No.
No.
So I think it's a facelift second generation because it's a 2015 and a 65.
Yeah.
It's a KN 4.8 Turbo S.
Right.
And it's a really nice spec.
It's like a blue with a tan interior, which probably wouldn't be that sensible as a farmer.
But anyway, we'll gloss over that.
You can put seat covers on it.
I'm not sure if it has a tow bar, but I'm pretty sure you could get them fitted on this one.
So we're just pretending it has the optional tow bar, obviously.
And yeah, 90,000 miles plus that 11 years old.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Pretty nice.
I think that would be a good car because you could put some off-road-y tyres on it and
it would be very, very capable.
But at the same time, it's a nice daily to cruise around and get six miles to the gallon.
Excellent.
Yeah.
Six miles to the gallon.
So, right, my next one.
So I'm figuring if you're a farmer, you've got loads of fields like that out there that
you've got that you can just play with at the weekend.
So I'm going to spend 20,000 pounds literally on a toy.
Okay.
You are going so left-field here.
Oh my goodness.
Polaris Razor.
Wow.
They are wicked.
So I'm going to borrow a lot of your cars.
I drove one of those across Morocco for 1,500 kilometres.
Wow.
They are unbelievable things.
And what's that worth, did you say?
This is quite punchy, I think.
This one was...
Hold on.
What's my phone done?
Oh, no.
He's having a moment.
Oh, there we go.
It was 20 grand.
20 grand?
Yeah.
And how old's that then?
2020.
Okay.
Yeah.
It's the Turbo one.
So it's the XP Pro 1000 Turbo.
It's a 1000cc, big spec.
Come on.
That looks like fun.
Yeah.
I'm going to come over and visit you in your farm quite a lot.
Exactly.
You've got some fun cars.
So you've got your defender to do around, you know, your shopping and your sheepdogging
and stuff.
And then that sounded a bit rude.
And then you've got your Polaris racer to get somebody on a field like that, wicked.
Okay.
Well, I've gone a bit more sensible, but I've gone for something.
Again, I think you'd be happy to do a direct swap.
I could come over and drive that in the fields and you could take this one out and have fun
on the roads.
Oh.
It's from a German manufacturer.
Has it got lots of ground clearance to get in and out of the farm?
Not really, but you could probably jack it up a little bit.
It's four-wheel drive.
It's very small.
Even, yeah, I mean, it's a small car, modern standards, old standards.
It's a car that the manufacturer unfortunately stopped making recently in the last couple
of years, but it's a really fun little car.
Whenever I see one on the road, I'm like, that's cool.
TTRS.
Close.
R3.
S3.
Very close, but think smaller.
Oh, S1.
S1.
Oh, cool.
Yeah.
So this one, 14.5 grand.
Why did you stop making those there?
Well, cool, weren't they?
It's a 2015 again, like my KN, Turbo S. 70,000 miles.
It's got bucket seats, black.
Oh, cool.
It's got the pan roof.
I like those.
I've driven one of them.
I have in Australia years ago.
Yeah.
Really fun little car.
So I just thought, yeah, that's the forward.
The only thing that really keeps it as a farmer's car for me is the fact that it's a Quattro
all-wheel drive.
But yeah, so that's my two-car.
You can see the pattern here, but all my cars are more of a driver-focused car.
That was well done to find that this morning.
Oh, I found it about 10 minutes ago.
Right, 100 grand.
Yes.
Now we've got lots of scope here for 100 grand.
We do.
So how much you spent on your big car?
I have spent, well, to be honest, I don't know the confirmed UK retail prices, but I know
they start at 70 grand.
So I'm going to say I spent 70 grand on one.
Okay.
Yeah.
I might go in first.
Yeah.
Okay, so it's a car that, again, as we, well, we've already talked about it.
I'm not going to beat around the bush.
It's the new, this is going to sound like an advertising.
Is it one that you saw in a studio recently?
It's one I saw in a studio very recently.
It's the new Audi A6 all-road.
Oh, your favorite SUV?
My favorite SUV.
To me, the ultimate farmer's vehicle, it kind of, now it is, it's classy.
It's an estate car.
No, no, no.
In a world that's full of like, or if you see, like, I've talked about this on the podcast
before, behind me, there's this private boarding school, and every morning you've got mums
and dads and they're two wagons and they're Range Overs and they're this and they're that.
There's even new Uruses that go, whatever.
Yeah, you're great.
But when you see one of these, you're like, class.
Absolute class.
Estate, jacked up estate car.
Yeah, it's a jacked up estate car, but it's got big potential.
And, and this is, so this is the new one.
Excuse the thumbnail there of me, of me looking a bit serious.
Audi are really smashing out of the park with their new cars, actually.
That RS5 and that look really cool.
Yeah, I think, yeah, some of their higher end, the RS products looking really good.
All the electric stuff's awful, but yeah.
And a lot of their average, like the new A5, I think it just looks a bit boring, a lot
of their sort of mundane stuff, but then their punchy stuff.
But this one, what I love particularly about this is it will be the only Audi that you
can buy with the 3.0 V6 diesel engine.
And that to me, I mean, I love a six-pot diesel.
So yeah, that's a cool car.
Starting at about 70 grand.
Perfect to buy when diesel's at like 190 litres.
Exactly. Yeah, absolutely.
How many of yours have been diesel so far?
All of them.
Oh, no, I thought Suzuki wasn't.
No.
Guess who makes my car?
J-Lo.
Right.
So if you look out there, there's two things that you're going to see in the car parks quite
commonly, like the pickup trucks, you know, the kind of workhorses and Range Rovers.
Yes.
If you're a farmer, you've got to have a Range Rover.
Yes.
So I've gone 60 grand of my 100 grand on a Range Rover.
So I've gone used.
Yep.
But it's the spec.
Look at the colour of that.
That is pretty good.
That is pretty good.
Right.
Wow.
That's like that.
What's the 911 Porsche colour?
Oak Green.
Yeah, Oak Green metallic.
So this is a Range Rover and it's the VA autobiography.
Oh, yes.
So it's got 525 horsepower for 60 grand.
Nice.
I mean, how much was that new?
525 horsepower when it works.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's, I mean, that is...
That's all right.
That is pretty cool.
I mean, I must admit, I'm not a fan of Range Rovers in general.
Oh, you are?
I've never spotted that.
But the spec on that is, yeah, it makes up for it.
Okay.
So that's good.
Nice.
So I've got 40 grand left over.
Yes.
I've gone for another toy.
Okay.
Do you want to do yours first?
I'll do mine first.
I've just got to find it and remember which one it was.
Oh, here we go.
Okay.
So this one, like yours, is very predictable.
Yeah.
For me.
BMW.
Yes.
Okay.
So it's to go alongside...
How much you've got left over from your budget?
30 grand.
30 grand.
Okay.
BMW what?
It's 2019.
You said four?
No.
No, no, no.
No, this is...
M2?
No.
No.
No.
It's a car that I absolutely...
Is it a four-wheel drive?
Is it a farmer's car?
Yes.
It is a four-wheel drive.
It's probably more of a farmer's car than the 86 all-road is.
Right.
An X5.
Yes.
Diesel.
30D, 2019, just lovely.
It's a main dealer.
Okay.
It's done a few miles.
So your 100 grand farmer's really boring then because he's got an Audi estate and a BMW SUV.
Yeah.
What's the fun in that?
Well, they're both just nice cars.
Okay.
Yeah.
That's just...
Yeah.
I think I'd be happy this...
I'm a happier farmer than you.
Yeah, I know.
I feel like I'm being the boring one here.
Oh, my goodness.
Is that a nomad?
It's a real nomad, yeah.
Mate, you've got a field like that.
You've got 40 grand left over.
You're going to buy an aerial nomad, aren't you?
I might have to knock him down on price a little bit.
Yeah.
43 grand for an aerial nomad.
That's awesome.
And the spec on that again.
If you did more of those, you got some.
I have.
Yeah.
I drove one on a TV show that...
Don't worry about it.
It was cancelled many years ago.
It was cancelled many years ago.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And you could put like a whiplash of air and pretend you're driving off forward.
Money or remote control cars.
Yeah, exactly.
So, yeah, aerial nomads.
Aerial nomad and Range Rover.
That is like dream garage.
I think between our car selection, we could...
There's a theme for one.
There's a theme.
There is a theme, but I would have, yeah, I would have replaced some of mine with some
of yours.
None of the JLR stuff, obviously.
But, yeah, that's...
That is cool.
I like that.
I'm a bit jealous.
So, should we go on then and find out more about Traptitize?
I think we should.
Yeah.
And then remember to hang around for our unlimited Harry Metcalf 2 car garage.
If you were Harry Metcalf, what would you buy?
Should I take a walk around?
Yes.
I think we should find someone that knows what they're talking about.
What about this dude throwing these beanbags, look?
Oh, I don't know.
I mean, he's got...
I like his jacket.
I wonder if we can get one of them.
He is.
He's branded up as Michelin, so he must know something about something.
And he's pretty good at this.
Oh, he's got 20.
Come on, on we go.
Hey, let me get some bags.
Got a bit soggy.
How are you, mate?
I'm not too bad in yourselves.
Yeah, very good.
Good to see you.
Bit wet.
Sorry, I do apologise.
How are you, mate?
Just trying to get a big score in.
Yeah, no worries.
We should have a go at this.
You really should.
Really?
Yeah.
You talk, I'll throw.
If you can beat my score.
Here we go.
While he's missing, can you tell us what you do, Andy?
Of course.
I'm a marketing brand manager for Beyond Road Business Line within Michelin.
So that includes obviously agriculture, the reason why we're here today,
but also material handling, military, construction, mining.
I love the Beyond Road.
Yes.
It's quite good.
I know where we are now.
I know the road.
Trust me.
Trust me.
I mean, we talked a little bit off camera earlier on.
And in many ways, they're a lot more specific than a car tyre.
I mean, car tyres in general, summer tyres, winter tyres, cross climates,
you know, that sit in between.
And obviously you've got hardcore tyres, like studded stuff for Nordics or whatever.
But with tractor tyres, it's a lot more than just going to have some new tyres for my tractor.
Oh, absolutely.
You know, when you look at the different tractors that are available in terms of size, weight, horsepower,
and you also start looking at the usage.
So we've obviously got things like the road bib for tractors that predominantly on the road.
You've got a more traditional lug pattern for tractors that spend most of their time in the field.
Which is this?
Which is this?
Because that to me looks like a tractor.
Looks like a tractor tyre indeed.
And then obviously we've got other things in between like the Evo bib,
which is designed as a 50-50 tyre for guys that spend a lot of time on the road but also in the field.
And the biggest key on that is it's designed to adapt the pressures between the hardness of the road
and the softness of the field.
Obviously you guys, you know, whether it's motorbikes, bicycles or like the cars,
you understand the importance of getting your pressures right to get the tyre to perform.
The interesting thing with the tractor tyre is you actually need different pressures for different activities.
Obviously depending on the weight of the vehicle, the weight of the implement you're carrying.
But in the field, you want a very, very low pressure, maybe as low as 8 psi.
Spread the footprint out.
So the pressure that you're impacting on the field is reduced.
You can increase your yield by potentially up to 4%,
which when you think about, depending on the size of your field and your crop,
4% increase in yield is huge.
Conversely then, when you're travelling back to the farm or between fields on the road,
8 psi is going to be very wallowy, increasing your fuel usage as well.
So you're burning money there.
So you need the tyres to be back up at like 16, 18 psi.
And the Evo bib is designed to be run at both pressures.
I love the fact that they're called bib.
Everything has the word bib in it.
So these Mac X bibs here.
So I was talking before, a tractor generally is not suspended at the back.
There's no suspension at the back, but it's on the front.
So you've got, I guess, the tyre itself forms part of that.
And obviously when it's running at that sort of lower pressure,
that's actually providing cushioning as well.
I wouldn't lean against it.
No, I wasn't going to lean against it.
I was just looking at the height.
That's six foot.
Yeah, potentially just about.
It's a six foot tyre.
The sidewall, you've got like a little ripple.
It looks like it's got blisters on it.
Yeah, if you saw that in your road tyre,
if I had that on my PS4S, I'd get rid of it.
Absolutely, perfectly normal and perfectly natural on an agriculture tyre.
And you've even got a bit of velvety sidewall in there.
The technology is coming across from the car on the motorbikes these days.
If we could see it in the mud anyway.
The size of it.
But you've adapted, you've got sort of like standard tractor tyres,
then you've got IF and VF technology,
which is internal construction of the tyre
that enables it to be run at these ridiculously low pressures.
Yeah.
Because you think about the weight you're talking about here,
especially when you've got an influence on the back,
something on the front as well.
How much would this kind of weight do you think?
Heavy.
It's a technical term.
Very heavy.
I've got to ask, right, how much is one of these?
They look expensive.
It depends on the size.
It depends.
Obviously, you know, you can go up to, like, you know,
this is a 38-inch tyre.
Retail on these is three and a half, 4000
Wow.
Each.
Yes.
Wow.
But how long will they last?
Because those are the tread problems.
Absolutely.
And potentially, again, you know, it depends on your usage.
It depends on getting your pressures right for a start.
But you could get four or five years out of a tractor tyre.
So, and again, it's, I guess, it's like tyres on other machines.
You know, you shouldn't really be looking at the cost of the tyre.
When you fit it, you only know the true cost of the tyre
when it comes off at the end of its life.
Sure.
And, you know, the Michelin total cost of ownership philosophy
and, you know, five years down the line,
it's actually worked out a very good value product.
Yeah, yeah.
But in the farm world, because I know in the car world,
we talk about it a lot in the podcast, people,
the average punter is all about, like,
oh, I'll go for the cheapest tyre.
And they don't see the value in that.
They don't see the number one, it's not going to last anywhere near as long.
Number two, it's not going to give the performance and the safety.
I guess it's the same with the farm stuff.
Absolutely.
You could buy it.
There's cheaper stuff out there, but it's cheap for a reason.
Absolutely, 100%.
And, you know, like we said, that's a 4,000-pound tyre.
Yeah.
I'm sure you could spend, you know, considerably less than that
on a lesser brand.
I mean, there's a lot of brands in the market that you'll be familiar with.
There'll be a lot of brands in the market that you all have never heard of,
because they're not involved in motorbikes or car tyres.
But, you know, they're available in the market,
and they're black and round and will fit on your tractor,
and they will hold some air.
Hold some air.
But they will ruin, they won't get the traction.
They'll ruin your fields.
They won't last as long.
They're more likely to punch all the rest of it.
Absolutely.
And this is not the sort of thing.
I mean, the thing is, when we're coming up to what are they called?
Cropping.
Harvest.
Cropping.
He's a farmer at heart.
We're coming up to Harvest, but I know this from watching,
and I know we're at Diddley Squat,
and I love watching Clarkson's Farm,
because it's just taught me a lot about farming, apart from...
Very good at getting that message across.
And you've only got, sometimes in the UK,
especially, you've only got a certain amount of time to get everything done.
And so, if you come out and your tractor's high as flat,
or, you know, that could cost you an absolute arm and a leg.
Absolutely.
Which is why they tend to do kind of tire maintenance and stuff on their vehicles,
kind of out of season so that things are ready so that you don't have that problem.
Because, unfortunately, it's not quite as simple as when you have a puncture on your car.
You think, oh, I'll just pop down to my local tire shop.
They'll have one on the shelf.
15 minutes later, you're on the way.
When you've got a puncture on one of these, who's got one on the shelf?
Yeah.
You know, it's a big shelf, indeed.
Yeah.
What's the weight of this?
Heavy.
Oh.
You're asking me a technical question.
I'm just going to find that expert from Michelin to...
Yeah.
He's around here somewhere.
Obviously, swapping the pressure on your car or on your bike is pretty easy.
When you've got a tire of that size, swapping your pressures is not practical very easy.
So, essentially, what we're saying here is,
run at this pressure in the field, run at this pressure on the road.
How am I going to change my pressures?
So, essentially, here, you've got what they call a central tire inflation system.
You have a unit in the cab.
It stores and remembers your optimized pressures, which Michelin can go out to the farm,
do a weighing exercise, work out what the correct pressures for your tires should be.
It will then store that in the system.
And at the flick of a button, it drops your pressures or increases your pressures and pumps it back up.
So, this is an aftermarket system.
So, PTG is part of the Michelin Group, who are here with us today.
And this is their system, which ties in nicely with the Michelin product,
because it's basically saying, this is how you get the best performance from the product.
It's funny, because I've been, like, if you go dune bashing, you know, and the Middle East and stuff,
and the first thing you do is they'll pull off the road and then they'll drop the tire pressures.
100%.
And I've never even thought about it for a tractor until today.
And it kind of makes complete sense, really.
Yeah, 100%.
That's very cool. I really like this tire.
Is that standard?
It wouldn't stay that colourful, would it?
It doesn't really work very well in the UK.
No, no, but I love that.
It looks cool.
I think it looks fantastic.
What letter is the way to go forward, I think?
Yeah, definitely.
Okay, so, yeah, so the pressure thing, so essentially, you've got a farm,
the tractor's parked in the yard,
you've got loads of land,
and the easiest way to get to the field that's five miles away is along a road.
So you just jump in the cab,
and, well, it's probably already set hard because you've driven it there.
Probably set to 18psi, yeah.
You get to the field.
Open the gate, press a button, it drops it straight down to 6psi.
And you've worked out exactly where it needs to be,
depending on what you're towing and what you're doing.
What your implements are, and obviously, depending on, again, the pressures,
and we can help with all these things,
but, you know, it's not just, like, on your car, you say,
oh, I want, like, 36psi or 40psi.
In this, it's the weight of the tractor,
it's the conditions in the field,
but it's also what implements you've got,
if you've got, you know, a cultivator, plow, cedar, whatever on the back,
they all weigh different things, weight box or tank on the front as well.
Again, so it's different pressures, front and back,
for the terrain, for everything.
OK.
But that's what you need to do to get the most out of your tyres.
And as we all know, getting your pressures right is the kind of the crucial bit.
Absolutely.
But, no, so let's go on to Twill then, because that is...
We love a Twill.
I know you do.
Again, bought this here this weekend because...
This weekend, it's not the weekend.
UTVs, ATVs, that market.
Farmers more and more are using these small machineries,
gaiters and things like that.
Yeah.
OK, you know, on your average farm, it's a traction, it's a mud thing,
but again, you look at the surface here, just, you know,
this is a standard field.
You've got some sharp-edged stones and rocks in the field.
Yeah.
Not very good on, like, bulbous tyres that you normally get on, like a UTV.
Yeah.
So Twill, again, punch resilience because it's an airless solution,
but also the traction lasts, you know,
potentially three to four times longer than a pneumatic tyre.
And obviously, you know, you're never going to have any downtime,
or instance, with it.
I'm missing working on making the Twill for bigger stuff.
Not for tractors.
Not for tractors, no.
Potentially, I mean, I guess you can keep going bigger.
I mean, at the moment, we're UTV, ATV, skid steers.
Yeah.
Obviously, the golf carts, as you're very familiar with.
And the truck-mounted forklifts is the big market in North America,
where they tend to run very, very big rear tyres.
Yeah.
Or Twill's in this case.
Not so much in the European market,
but that's a massive focus in the North America,
which is where Twill are predominantly sold.
Nice.
Cool.
Thank you for that.
I reckon we should go and see some proper big tractors
and kind of see what we can find.
Yeah.
Hey, you're a legend.
Thank you for your time.
You're a nice driver.
So good to see you.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Brush up your knowledge on the weight of the tractors next time.
Go get a coffee and warm up.
Yeah, we'll do.
See you later.
At least you brought weddings.
I know.
I got the memo.
I know.
These were new about a week ago.
Look at the state of them now.
I mean, to say it's cold,
it's the middle of June, apparently.
It is.
It's freezing cold.
It's wet.
But let's go in here,
because there's loads of, like,
very expensive-looking stuff in here.
Yeah.
Look at this.
So this bit, apparently,
this is where all the crop sprayers and stuff are.
Okay.
But look at the size of this thing.
Oh, my God.
Oh, this is another one of those insects
that we're just looking at.
Yeah.
But it's on Michelin's, look.
Wow.
Mega X bib.
That.
Wow.
Look at the state.
We need one of these for the podcast.
Wow.
I mean, they literally do have a tyre.
Felt like every kind of tractor
and agricultural bit of kit ever.
Big boys toys.
Oh, you've got to have a go.
I've been eating here for you as well, Ped.
Wicked.
Oh.
Yes.
Oh, look.
You've got a springy chair.
Oh, my, oh, my goodness.
Wow.
It's a good view, that, isn't it?
It is, actually.
Oh, I really want to.
How do you want me to go in one of these?
Look how small the steering wheel is, though,
compared to how massive the-
Oh, look.
I think you can pull that whole unit forward.
Oh, okay.
That's better.
I was going to say.
The driving position.
And then you drive for the joystick.
Okay.
So that's like forward backwards.
And what's this?
You reckon that's a brake?
I don't know.
Oh, mate.
This is so much fun.
The windscreen wipe, look.
It must go all the way around in a big circle.
This is when-
Cup holders, that you haven't got them in you.
There's one over an Alpine Walton.
Yeah.
Love it.
And all the screens.
This is cool.
Buttons up here.
It's like being in an aircraft.
What?
A bit of kit.
Wow.
Oh, yes.
Look, you can even climb up the back on here, look.
Oh, my God.
So they're doing live demonstrations over there
of all the different crop sprayers.
Yep.
I think we should take this over there.
That must be the most over-sprayed bit of crop
in the whole country.
Yeah.
Just to give you an idea of how tall this is
and how open it is.
I mean, I could almost-
I mean, Pat could stand up in here, couldn't he, basically?
Pat's wife could stand up under here, that's for sure.
I mean, there's so much room.
But what Andy was saying to us earlier on
was these crop sprayers, is that what it's called?
They do as little damage as possible
and clear as much as possible.
So you've got slight-
Although these aren't narrow, they are narrower
than a lot of the other bigger tractor tyres.
And there's all this clearance, height-wise and width-wise
so that it makes a minimal impact on the ground
that it's going over.
Do you reckon you would have the sort of courage,
I was going to say the other word,
but I'm not, to stand there when this goes over you?
I don't know.
But I saw literally sort of thing on Instagram,
a guy on a motorbike go underneath on the wheelchair.
Oh, my goodness.
So, yeah, I mean, I don't know how much that thing weighs,
but it's huge.
That's a big common harvester.
Look at the size of it.
I think, you know, when you see these going around in the fields
and they're normally quite a way off,
they're massive.
But this is cool because it's on Michelin's look,
but it's got some tracks as well.
Wow.
Wow.
Wow, wow, wow.
Whenever I see combine harvests,
I always think of the original Superman.
You know, when he rescues...
Is it Lois Lane or something?
And that is unbelievable.
Cerex bib twos on here, look.
Oh, yeah, I thought they were the Cerex bib twos.
VF 585 R34s.
But isn't it funny?
Because they all look very similar,
tread patterns and stuff,
but they're all specific.
Sexy velvet.
That is very nice.
Well, mate, I think we should head back
and do our dream garage.
I mean, to be honest, it makes a change
being at a car show where you're not talking about
about the M3 Tourings.
Well, I mean, we're surrounded by
tractors and farm machinery,
so why would I talk about an M3 Touring?
I mean, the last thing we're going to see around here
is an M3 Touring.
Whoa.
What?
It's an M3 Touring.
Why? Why is there an M3 Touring
at an agricultural show?
I reckon that's here. Did you have a word with them?
I didn't, but I really like to spec on that.
I really, really like to spec on that.
Gravit grey, Silverstone interior,
carbon buckets, exactly like one of mine.
Michelin tyres.
And it's a Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres.
Well, there you go.
We've covered the spectrum of Michelin tyres.
Yeah, exactly.
From road tyre to the biggest
agriculture tyres ever.
Let's go back, get a cup of tea,
and do the Harry's Garage Dream Garage.
Yeah, Dream Garage.
Maybe I should have put that as one of my dream cars.
Oh, I like the exhaust.
Is that an Acrapovich system?
Yeah, that's still expensive.
Very, very good.
Why haven't you got an Acrapovich system on yours, mate?
Because I've got an AC schnitzel system.
Oh, there you go.
Yeah, there you go.
This is a Twil.
Twil is a combination of
tyre and wheel.
It's an airless tyre.
We saw these when we were at MotoGP, didn't we?
On the golf buggies that they drive around.
They're cool things.
They're addictive to watch as well when they're in action,
because it just looks like it's collapsed,
but then it's just constantly
sort of coming back out again.
Very cool.
Is it still raining?
It's not great.
Anyway.
I should get the branding in.
Look at that.
This is one of the umbrellas
that Michelin kindly gave me for my wedding
in September.
Thankfully it didn't rain, but I was ready for it.
Thanks to James and Michelin, actually.
Very trendy.
We've kept them hanging long enough.
Harry Metcalf Challenge.
Imagine you had more money than
well, he's got a lot of money anyway.
More money than Harry Metcalf.
What unlimited
funds, what would you have,
your two-car Gary?
Remember, you've got the farmers' theme.
I know he's got some nice road cut,
but what are you going for first?
Okay, so my first car,
Money No Objects,
is
German,
obviously.
Begatti Veyron.
No, I didn't go that extreme.
It's fun.
Right.
It's a sports car,
but it's capable of going
pretty serious off-road, I would say.
It's a Dakar.
Yay!
I so nearly chose a Dakar.
You're going to laugh at my second choice.
I already think I know what it is, but yes.
I got to.
If you had a farm and you owned a Dakar,
it would be awesome.
I could join you in your Nomad.
Although, I would be a higher...
You would be the slightly poorer farmer.
I would be a poorer farmer.
So, I've gone for,
guess who makes my one?
Lamborghini.
JLR.
It's a Bola.
I very nearly thought about Bola,
because this is my sensible everyday car.
I've gone for a Defender Octa.
That's the new one.
I'm looking at the spec on that one.
So, this is like...
Actually, I've not gone mad. It's 140 grand.
Whoa, what happened there?
Look at that.
That's pretty nice.
Everyday, you can tow with it.
It's not silly, silly money.
Oh yeah, you can't tow with a Dakar.
Can you?
But you can tow with my second car.
So, that's my first one.
But the reason I said I might laugh for the second one
is who do you think makes that?
Lamborghini.
Is that a Storato?
So, we can have a race
Dakar versus Storato.
240 grand.
I'll say, is it exactly the same price?
No way.
Oh no, yours is ยฃ2,390.
Oh, you know.
Mine's 40 quid cheaper.
It's half a tank of fuel.
They've come up on they.
To be fair, this is the only one...
Oh, look, it's got all the gear on it.
All the gear, no idea.
Yeah, so I think that was
a fairly obvious choice to Dakar or Storato.
Yeah, brilliant. Nice.
What's your other one?
My main one is
actually that tractor behind us.
You've got a tractor.
Which is probably more expensive than the Storato.
Well, so I was talking to
the emission
experts here, the farmer experts
and
they said that the, is it a Fent?
Fent, yeah. Fent.
That's like a really high-end brand.
And that particular tractor
in bare form
is about ยฃ40,000,000, ยฃ250,000.
But
like with cars and Porsches and stuff,
if you go on the configurator
there are a lot of options that you can fit
to that tractor, bringing it well
up over ยฃ300,000.
And I'm sure with all the bits on it that it has,
it's going to be over. But it's on Michelin tyres.
Most important thing.
And yeah, that's my,
and that definitely toes.
I would imagine it probably does.
Top-end, top speed's not going to be that good?
No, no.
But it will tow anything.
I could even move the house with that if I needed to.
So, yeah, that's my
that and a Porsche Dakar.
That's a one-seater
and a Porsche's a two-seater. Which one are you going to go shopping in?
Well, yeah, I don't know.
You could probably fit quite, if you put like a,
yeah, I don't know. Yeah, probably the Porsche.
But anyway, let us know
what you think of our car choices
in general. Yeah. And which ones
you would go with. Because
it's quite an interesting, interesting topic.
I love it. It's when you get free money,
it's like, right, I've got ยฃ50,000 to spend. Yes.
How can I waste that by buying
the worst car possible?
Yeah, we always go for things that you probably
wouldn't actually go for. No, I'd never buy
any of them. The Octa I'd probably go
for maybe. Yes. Yeah, the Octa's pretty cool.
But maybe not the Suzuki X90.
That is terrible. That's like
the worst car choice ever.
Which, yeah, I'd
never seen that before and I can't unsee it
now. It's really, it's plagued me.
But anyway, yeah, hopefully
you've enjoyed this podcast
and we've managed to not get too
wet. No, but we've got to get out of the car
park yet. We have. You're off to Le Mans
now. I'm off to Le Mans. Yeah, driving down.
The Fatso's Pat. Pat's off to Le Mans.
I'm not. Yeah, well
Pat's kind of, he's not really going to Le Mans.
He's going there and then he's staying in Paris.
Yeah, where are you staying, Pat? Oh, Paris.
Is that the Paris that's close to Le Mans?
Yeah, it's about
two and a half, three hours away. Yeah. I'm
actually going there and staying there. He's staying in Le Mans.
Oh, that's good because the race is
at Le Mans. Yeah, yeah, 24 hours of it.
Yeah, not in Paris. No, no, no, no.
But yeah, hopefully
you enjoyed this podcast. Remember
to check out
Michelin UK on Instagram.
Give him a follow as well
and leave any comments, questions below
on this, on this. You've got questions
about these bad boys. Yeah, you've got any questions.
Get a set of them on the M3, mate. You'd be wicked. Well, I did
ask and apparently this is the smallest
one they do. Yeah. Of this particular
tyre and
I'm not sure it would fit in the wheel
ups. No. So I'd have to jack mine up about
two metres. You'd have to have them little extensions
on the wheel arch. Exactly. Yeah. Oh, they could set
up the sides. Yeah.
How cool would that be? Monster truck.
Oh, yes.
That's a project for next year, maybe.
Maybe. Anyway, we'll see
on the next one, guys. Take it easy. Cheers.
Cheers.
About this episode
Broadcasting from the muddy grounds of Jeremy Clarkson's Diddly Squat Farm during the Serials agricultural show, the hosts team up with Michelin to explore the surprising complexity of tractor tires. The core of the action is a farm-themed two-car garage challenge, tasking the hosts with picking the ultimate agricultural duos at ยฃ25k, ยฃ50k, and ยฃ100k price points. From rugged Suzuki Jimnys and dependable Land Rover Discoverys to quirky imports, they debate towing capacities, off-road capability, and daily usability, wrapping up with a look at the ultimate "no-limit" farmer's garage.