I asked Americans to watch The Grand Tour - and their reviews were brutal

When I lined up The Grand Tour for two unsuspecting Americans, I thought I was giving them TV gold. Instead, I got a brutal reality check. The Amazon Prime series, fronted by ex-Top Gear trio Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, exploded onto screens in 2016 with a £160 million budget and global fanfare. The first season saw the presenters pitch up in a travelling tent studio and take viewers on a worldwide ride - racing hypercars, staging outrageous stunts and bantering their way through challenges.

Critics at the time hailed it as Top Gear reborn, bigger and brasher than ever. But for Brad and Kathy Collins, a married, retired couple from New Orleans, were having none of it. After just one episode, Kathy offered up a merciless review. "I watched one episode and did not like it. It wasn't my type of show, I didn't find the humour funny and struggled to watch the full episode. Found Clarkson's Farm much easier to watch and actually funny."

I'd barely recovered from that blow when Brad delivered his verdict. He admitted he laughed in parts, but still twisted the knife: "Yes, we watched the first episode.

"It was like Monty Python on Top Gear. Funny and entertaining. I suspect the show is aimed at motorhead,s but I enjoyed comedy and cars."

Monty Python on Top Gear? I wasn't sure if that was praise or punishment. After a few more episodes, I pressed them further, and Kathy doubled down.

She said she couldn't stand the lads-on-tour-style antics, found the car obsession overwhelming, and found the jokes clunky.

"It's not American humour, I guess. I just didn't get it, and I was bored." Brad gave points for the visuals and the scale, and even praised the humour, but confessed it felt too much like an "in-club" for petrolheads.

It came as a surprising review for me.

Season one of The Grand Tour was marketed as universal entertainment: supercars tearing through deserts, tanks rolling across battlefields, the trio bickering like naughty schoolboys.

In the premiere alone, Clarkson, Hammond and May staged a McLaren vs Ferrari vs Porsche face-off in Portugal, complete with explosions, overblown gags, and the kind of chemistry fans swear only they can deliver.

Yet to Brad and Kathy, it came across as chaotic and exhausting. "It's just loud men in cars," Kathy shrugged.

What millions of Brits hailed as the greatest motoring comeback of all time left two ordinary Americans mostly rolling their eyes.

To their credit, Brad said he might watch another episode - if pushed. Kathy said she'd rather stick with Clarkson's Farm, which she found "genuinely funny".

So, there it is. I thought The Grand Tour would win over new fans across the pond. Instead, my experiment ended with a damning review: too loud, too niche, and too much Clarkson.