New Top Gear s30, ep3: Defender, Nomad and G63 in Scotland

Is the new Land Rover Defender the ultimate off-roader on sale today? To settle this important debate once and for all, Paddy, Chris and Freddie headed to the wild Scottish Highlands with a new Defender 90, and two of its closest rivals: the Mercedes-AMG G63, and the Ariel Nomad. The latter of which is, let’s be honest, a) not really a Defender rival in the mind of anyone save Flintoff, and b) utterly inappropriate for a winter expedition across the coldest corner of Britain.

Obviously, deciding which of these fine contenders was the ultimate off-roader would require some serious, objective testing. Less obviously, these serious, objective tests included high-speed clay pigeon shooting, and racing to deliver a massive lightbulb to the UK’s most remote lighthouse. Because not enough Top Gear films to date have run the risk of causing an actual shipwreck.

Check out these images from the episode, and watch new Top Gear on Sunday at 8pm, BBC One and BBC iPlayer