These Are The Greatest YouTube Car Reviews Of All Time
Fifteen incredible reviews of fifteen incredible cars
There are hundreds of thousands of videos on YouTube specifically aimed at car enthusiasts dating back to the start of the platform. Maybe a hundred of them rise to the level of truly great pieces of art. For the purposes of this exercise, we're focusing exclusively on car reviews, not build series or video essays. We narrowed it down to fifteen videos made explicitly for the platform, and they're all pretty damn good.
If you can think of other videos that we've missed on our list, by all means please put them in the comments below, so that we can all enjoy your favorites, too! Buckle up, we're going for a ride together.
/Drive - The Zero Fucks Given RX7
Look, /Drive used to be the go-to place for car videos on YouTube. At the time the platform was funneling tons of money into unique long-form content, trying to take on traditional television and make their own Top Gear.
I'm glad we had it while we did, because it produced incredible content like this. I will never forget the Zero Fucks Given RX-7.
/Drive - Chris Harris Drives The Ferrari F40 and F50
This was also the peak era of Chris Harris On Cars. Apparently renting Anglesey and a helicopter for a weekend of drifting Ferraris isn't the kind of content that is sustainable for YouTube to fund.
/Drive - Project Nasty
Matt Farah's /Tuned series was incredible, though. Every video is worth adding to this list, but Joey Seeley's Project Nasty was easily my favorite.
/Drive - The Canyon King’s Lotus
And runner up in that list was the Canyon King's Lotus. This wild machine was later wrecked and rebuilt even wilder. Back when this video was made, this was a 2,150 pound monster with tons of downforce and more grip than a dog on a stick. Oh, and it's twin-charged.
Motor Trend - Ratty Muscle Cars
It doesn't always have to be about shiny and expensive Instagram builds. Put Mike Musto behind the wheel of some crunchy old Mopars, and he'll crow about it from now until sundown.
Hagerty - McMurtry Spierling
The Speirling is one of the most impressive new sports cars ever built, and it does a bunch of stuff that other EVs and other sports cars just don't do. I appreciate Henry Catchpole's ability to break a lot of that down for a regular audience. Good soup.
Hemmings - Dodge Viper RT/10
Put a giggly Brit behind the wheel of one of the most American cars ever made, and you're going to have a wonderful time. He ultimately decides that the Viper isn't his cuppa, but don't hold that against him.
Hooniverse - McLaren 650S Spider
I'm a little biased as I was on set for the filming of this one, and even drove the camera car (an Audi S3). But it's still a good video, like all of Jeff's stuff at The Hooniverse.
Hello Road - Nova Twin Cam
I have so much respect for Ethan and the work that goes into his videos. He works so diligently to develop a stylistic personality for these, and the amount of shots he needs to take in order to make that happen, as a solo videographer/presenter is impressive. Also the Nova Twin Cam is just such a rad car.
Capturing The Machine - Toyota Harrier Zagato
Take a deep dive into the world of one of the strangest and most rare cars on the face of the planet. It's mostly just a Lexus RX, but also it isn't. But also it is.
The Straight Pipes - Fiat 500 Abarth
Just a couple of Canadian pals having fun reviewing cars, The Straight Pipes are another of my favorite channels to watch. Going against the algorithm, my favorite videos are almost always about cars that aren't brand new. When you're reviewing an old car, you can take it out of the context of whatever market forces might have shaped your opinion of a car on the dealer lot. Competitive set, pricing, interest rates, and dealership experiences are no longer of importance. This is a good example of that.
Hagerty - Tesla Roadster
One of Jason Cammisa's best videos on YouTube is about a Tesla. No, not that one. This one!
Savagegeese - Lucid Air Sapphire
Videos are usually better when the car being reviewed is an impressive piece of machinery. The Lucid is an otherworldly speed monster in an utterly gorgeous sedan body, which makes its actions particularly fun to watch. Savagegeese always goes above and beyond with their reviews, often including putting the car on a rack and filming the underside. If you're into the engineering of a car, this is a good channel to watch.
Carfection - North Coast 500 Road Trip
I watched Carfection back when it was the equally clunkily named XCar. With incredible presenters and gorgeous video footage, this was always a go-to on my subscriptions page. I have an unhealthy desire to drive the NC500, and this video didn't help with that need. It's good.
Regular Car Reviews - Porsche Cayman
Mr. Regular peaked in his first season with this incredible Cayman review in the style of Hunter S. Thompson. It's not so much the car as it is the video itself just being so damn fun. I still go back and watch this every six months or so.
Top Gear - Ariel Atom
Okay, so this video was made by the BBC for play on television, so we've included it as a bonus addition. Jeremy Clarkson distorting his face in this rocketship of a car was a formative memory for my young car person brain, and inspired me to torrent every episode of Top Gear in college. It still makes me feel things watching this today, even if Jeremy is a bit of a punchy dickhead.