If you are a gear head who loves to tune into great TV that shares your passion, there’s really no shortage of shows to pick from. There are just so many automotive-related shows on TV now. However, that does not necessarily mean all of them are worth your time or your cable subscription.

One show, however, leaves other in the dust, including fan favorites Grand Tour and Top Gear. That is right; we are talking about /DRIVE on NBC Sports. This high octane series is just entering its fourth season and doesn’t seem to be running out of gas any time soon.

What is /DRIVE?

/DRIVE had some humble beginnings. It started off as a popular automotive YouTube channel. Back then it produced various web videos dedicated to car reviews, driving adventures, motorsports coverage, and their most viewed videos went deep inside the manufacturing of high-end cars. This YouTube channel was up since January 2, 2012. It was so popular that /DRIVE ended up as the first new series that aired via Google’s original content initiative.

Let’s put things in reverse a bit. This was conceived by Michael Spinelli of Jalopnik.com in partnership with Gumball 3000 veteran Alex Roy of Team Polizei 144, Matt Farah of TheSmokingTire.com, and Chris Harris formerly of AutoCar and EVO magazine. Even now on NBC they remain the primary contributors to /DRIVE.  While you have very likely seen these four all over the car world online or at least read those names on a byline on several places it is just so terrific to be able to watch them here in various and often unexpected settings.

Why /DRIVE is Ahead of the Pack?

For a show with such humble beginnings as a web series, /DRIVE is impeccably shot and produced. Undoubtedly, NBC has given the production a bit of a boost. However what you really get are knowledgeable hosts with unique personalities. Although it is partly scripted, /DRIVE forgoes any attempts at overproduced drama.

Getting into the meat of what a /DRIVE episode is like, we got a sneak peek into the first 4 episodes of the newest season.

The season 4 premiere opens with a love letter to the 80s and MIAMI VICE. They take a look at the unique car culture in Miami but especially Miami in the 80s. The hosts Spinelli and Harris dress up as Crockett and Tubbs from MIAMI VICE (Don Johnson & Phillip Michael Thomas) all while driving the famous white Ferrari Testarossa (512TR) from the show. Late they test out the Lamborghini Countach QV from the 2006 movie with Colin Farrell and Jaime Foxx. Meanwhile Farah later drives a more modern Miami-beloved machine: the Aventador S.

You’ll see Spinelli arguing to his fellow hosts that that Miami is America’s Monaco, to no avail. In the end this episode is a delightful time. They all are. The rest of the episodes cover budget endurance racing, and the last of the preview episodes goes over US National Parks.

If you love cars but haven’t seen a single episode of /DRIVE you need to change that. Tell us what you think of the show if you’re already a fan in the comments section below. We love hearing you all sound off with your opinions!