Driven to Distraction (Clarkson book)

Driven to Distraction is a non-fiction book, first published in 2009, written by English journalist and television presenter Jeremy Clarkson. The book is a collection of Clarkson's articles for the Sunday Times newspaper, all originally published in 2006 and 2007. The articles consist of car reviews combined with rants on current events.

Ascari

 * Ascari A10 - "daft for sure, and not at all relevant in the modern world"

Alfa Romeo

 * Alfa Romeo Brera Coupe V6 - "you've bought something for one reason only: because it's beautiful"

Aston Martin

 * Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster - "it's a car you simply have to buy. Just so you can look at it"
 * Aston Martin DB9 Coupe - "perfect"

Audi

 * Audi R8 - "one of the truly great cars"
 * Audi S3 - "woolly and cumbersome"
 * Audi TT Mk2 V6 Quattro - " the normal 2-litre version offers just as much, for £5,000 less"
 * Audi S6 Avant - "everything is overshadowed and ruined by the suspension"
 * Audi RS4 Convertible - "perfect...I'm genuinely struggling to think what might be wrong with it"
 * Audi TT Mk2 2.0 Turbo - "I did enjoy driving it"

Bentley

 * Bentley Continental GTC - "kick back and cruise"

BMW

 * BMW 135i coupé - "the best car BMW makes"
 * BMW X5 - "next time the road ahead is closed could you escape up the embankment and across the fields in an X5? I think not. But in a Range Rover you could. I know, because I've done it"
 * BMW 335i Convertible - "get the big boy (the M3) instead"
 * BMW M6 Convertible "the speed. Oh my God. The speed. It's hyperspace fast"
 * BMW 335i Coupe - "as a driver's car, then, this is yet another winner"
 * BMW Z4 M coupe - "probably the first disappointing BMW M car I've ever driven"
 * BMW Z4 M convertible - "a fast and comfortable cruiser"
 * BMW M3 CS - "get a CS? Or go for the Audi RS4?...one of the most delicious choices in any corner of the motoring universe"

Chrysler

 * Chrysler 300C diesel estate - "God it's a wallowy old hector"

Dodge

 * Dodge Grand Caravan - this chapter is really an account of an unhappy experience hiring vehicles in Canada.

Ferrari

 * 1964 Ferrari 275 GTS - "a ton and a half of style, heart and soul"
 * Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano - "gratifying...sorted...sensational"

Fiat

 * Fiat Bravo 1.4 Turbo - "not quite as good as a Golf. Except for a couple of things. The way it feels and the way it looks"
 * Fiat Panda 1.4 - "you're better off with the Suzuki Swift Sport"
 * Fiat Grande Punto - "the biggest car in its class but... the least powerful"

Ford

 * Ford Mondeo Titanium X - "refined and comfortable. It feels...like a Volvo"
 * Ford Focus Coupé-Cabriolet 2.0 - a refined, elegant, comfortable and remarkably well priced tool"
 * Ford S-Max 2.5 Titanium - "it's an MPV you buy because you like it"

Honda

 * Honda Civic Type R - "slower and slightly less economical than the old one"

Jaguar

 * Jaguar XJ-R 4.2 V8 Supercharged - "Makes you look a little bit cool. Cool, and when you're stuck at the lights surrounded by a million Mercs, a little bit smug as well"
 * Jaguar XKR 4.2 litre V8 Supercharged - "wonderfully soft and compliant....a car you can dream about"

Koenigsegg

 * Koenigsegg CCX - at that time the fastest car to go round the Top Gear track

Lamborghini

 * Lamborghini_Murciélago LP640 - "a mad, expensive, preposterous waste of money, the sheer force of its personality knocks the techno-Ferrari into a cocked hat"
 * Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder "for the first time ever (I think I might) buy a Lamborghini)" (he later did indeed buy one)

Land Rover

 * Land Rover Defender Td5 90 station wagon - "it's rubbish: uncomfortable, slow, impractical and ... not that cheap"

Lexus

 * Lexus LS 460L - "unbelievably comfortable and quiet"
 * Lexus GS (Third generation 450 hybrid) - "Does this mean it's saving the planet? hmmm I'm not so sure)
 * Lexus_IS Second generation - "a pretty car and we know from every single survey undertaken that no other vehicle on the planet is quite so well made"

Maserati

 * Maserati Quattroporte Automatica - "The way it drives. It is absolutely horrible"
 * Maserati Quattroporte V Sports GT - "of course it looks absolutely wonderful"

Mazda

 * Mazda CX-7m- "looking good and having fun"
 * Mazda 2 1.3 - "in the cut and thrust of modern driving....it is terrible"
 * Mazda6 MPS - "when you turn the key and go for a drive it's...it's...it's just amazing"
 * Mazda MX-5 Third generation - "slightly more practical, slightly better looking version of something you loved anyway"
 * Mazda RX-8 - "jolly good if you don't mind spending as much on oil as you do on petrol...."

Mercedes Benz

 * Mercedes-Benz CL-Class 600 - "as a car it beats all of them (Porsche, Aston Martin and Maserati)"
 * Mercedes-Benz C Class - "There was a time, I agree, when Mercedes stopped taking such care, but they're back in business now"
 * Mercedes-Benz R-Class 300CDI - "a 4x4 and not a very good one... the larger-engined R500 at least has a burbling V8 to have some fun with"
 * Mercedes-Benz S 500 - "the most jaw-dropping piece of technology to be fitted with four wheels"
 * Mercedes M-Class W164 - "efficient and good fun but... too expensive"

Mini

 * Mini Cooper S Clubman - "torque-steers like a wayward horse and has no boot, no rear visibility, a silly door and a ridiculous cruising speed"
 * Mk II Mini Cooper S - "the biggest drawback is the price"

Mitsubishi

 * Mitsubishi Outlander - "reliable and practical but unutterably boring that you never feel inclined to open it up anyway"
 * Mitsubishi Evolution IX FQ 360 - "unbelievable, seamless barrel of torque and power"

Nissan

 * Nissan Qashqai 2.0 Tekna - "gives you a sense of wellbeing, a sense that while you may live in a normal house with two normal children, at least the car you drive makes you look a little bit interesting"
 * Nissan Micra C+C Convertible - "Someone, at some point in this car's development should have had the courage to pull the plug"
 * Nissan D40 Navara - "not bad....a torquier diesel engine than any of its chief rivals and a bigger load bay"

Overfinch

 * Overfinch Supersport (customised Range Rover Sport)- "(the performance enhancement) is worth every penny"

Peugeot

 * Peugeot 207 GT - "not as much fun as it should be"
 * Peugeot 207 - "overall I sort of liked it"
 * Peugeot 407 Coupé - "nothing to make you feel special...big diesel... heavy...smooth and comfortable"
 * Peugeot 607 - "surely the most dreary and underwhelming device in the history of mechanised transport."
 * Peugeot 807 - "would be the nastiest car in the world were it not for the aforementioned 607."

Porsche

 * Porsche 911 (997 Series Turbo) - "smooth and unruffled...comfortable and controlled"

Renault

 * Renault Clio III - "it's actually very good fun to drive"
 * Mégane Renaultsport 230 Renault F1 Team R26 - "you can't put this much power through the front wheels and hope for the best"
 * Renault Clio Sport - "fitting a 2 litre hatchback with all this pseudo-F1 stuff is like fitting your washing machine with a front wing"

REVAi

 * The REVAi (known as G-Wiz in the UK) - "too small, too dangerous and I'm sorry but it runs on juice from a power station, hardly a flower in the big green scheme of things"

Rolls-Royce

 * Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé - arriving in a drophead at the Oscars or at the casino in Monte Carlo would be more impressive, I suspect, than arriving in Keira Knightley"

Škoda

 * Škoda Roomster - "Yes it's wobbly and rough but it's extremely clever (and) well-equipped"

Subaru

 * Subaru Impreza WRX - "it's no looker either, and the fact of the matter is: the next Evo is"

Suzuki

 * Suzuki Swift Sport - "a great little car"

Vauxhall

 * Vauxhall Corsa VXR - "an enjoyable, charismatic car that's fun to drive, reasonably priced"

Volkswagen

 * Volkswagen Golf Mk5 GT TSI - "where's the power?"
 * Volkswagen Polo 1.8 GTI - "if I wanted a fun little car I'd rather have a Mini"
 * Volkswagen Phaeton - "better than any of its rivals from Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Jaguar and Maserati". However regarding the diesel version Clarkson says "It is a car designed to be as silent and as efficient and as focussed as a contract killer. So putting a diesel under the bonnet is like putting James Bond in a pair of wellingtons"
 * Volkswagen Transporter TDI 174 Sportline - "bloody hell it's quick"

Volvo

 * Volvo C70 Second generation - "well-priced...looks great...weird to drive"
 * Volvo S80 V8 - "at £48,150 for the SE Sport model...it is exceptional value for money"
 * Volvo XC70 - "unless I really needed the Volvo's vast boot I'd save £14,000 and buy a Subaru Legacy Outback"
 * Volvo XC90 V8 Sport - "as a piece of design has always been the best school-run car"

One chapter is a wish-list of Jeremy's favourite cars, his "dream garage" as follows:
 * Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder - "noisy and shouty mid-engined drop-top supercar"
 * Aston Martin V8 Vantage - "savage"
 * BMW M5 - "all that power, all that handling, all that comfort"
 * VW Phaeton 6.0 W12
 * Rolls-Royce Phantom
 * Corvette C6
 * Vauxhall Monaro
 * Porsche Carrera GT
 * Pagani Zonda F
 * Alfa Romeo Brera
 * Audi RS4 - "astonishing 414BHP V8 motor"
 * Bugatti Veyron - "the engineering summit, man's hobnail boot in the face of nature"

Part II of the book consists of a small number of Clarkson's articles other than his regular automobile column on topics including travel, restaurant reviews and an account of his trip to Iraq.