I'd liken it more to The Daily Show actually, a news show with a comedic twist. While there is comedy involved viewers expect what they're seeing not to be lies or fabricated stories. Hiding behind the "we're an entertainment show so we don't have to have facts" whenever someone questions a review is lame.
That's not very accurate. The Daily Show has a history of calling people out on misrepresentation. Jon Stewart went on Hardball (or whatever it was called) and chewed the hosts out for destroying journalism and dialog in America.
If you want to liken it to The Daily Show, then all of Top Gear is much more like Stephen Colbert's and Steve Carrel's old bits.
> do you expect an iPhone blog to give glorious reviews to an Android phone?
Yes. I tend to hold bloggers to higher standards than traditional media. If they write something, I expect it to be true to the best of their knowledge. I stop reading and recommending those who fail to keep up. And that's why I ignore traditional media, and TV in particular.
It's sad though, that people no longer seem to expect truth in media. But if we should assume that everything in newspapers/TV news is a bunch of smaller and bigger lies, then why do people bother watching the news?
Taking the guys on Top Gear as legitimate motoring journalists is the same as taking Stephen Colbert as a legitimate Republican.
Top Gear is about three idiots who love cars. Watching Top Gear for car buying advice is like watching Jersey Shore for dating advice.