You know what you're going to get with "Top Gear." Basically, as host Jeremy Clarkson says in the opening episode of Season 11, the "usual orgy of speed and three middle-aged men falling over a lot."

One of the highlights of both the 11th and 12th seasons of the BBC-produced show, which arrived on DVD in the U.S. on Jan. 18, happens early on, in fact in that same first episode, in which the crew, including Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, have 1,000 pounds (or roughly $1,600) to buy used cars and outfit them as police pursuit vehicles.

The segment is filled with the expected "Top Gear tomfoolery," with the chemistry and byplay between the three hosts coming through strong as always.

The DVD releases come just in time for the 13th season's arrival in the United States, with BBC America starting up new episodes as of Jan. 25. Season 11 contains six episodes spread over two discs, with the season 12 set having eight episodes spread over four discs.

Known for its fast cars and faster driving, the 11th and 12th seasons do, however, find the hosts bowing to the economy and rising gas prices, but doing so with the usual "Top Gear" spin.

The first such segment pops up early in season 11, testing out which super car can go the furthest on one gallon of gas. The experiment pits a Ferrari 599, a Lamborghini Murcielago, a Mercedes McLaren, an Aston Martin DBS and an Audi R8, none of them priced under $114,000 and the majority of them coming in at more than $300,000. If you're wondering, the R8, the "cheapest" of the bunch, won the race with a whopping 5 miles per gallon.

The three hosts also have what Clarkson calls the "dullest" race they've ever had, attempting to travel the 750 miles from Basel, Switzerland, to Blackpool, England, on one tank of gas. The race, split across two parts of the 12th season's fourth episode, is a display of hyper-miling and British wit that eventually ropes in The Stig, the show's anonymous, perpetually helmeted, "tamed race car driver," a mainstay on the show whose identity keeps fans in the United Kingdom guessing.

Other highlights from the two seasons of the show include Hammond using an Audi RS6 to race two skiers down a mountain in the Swiss Alps, a race between a Nissan GT-R and public transportation (including a bullet train) across Japan, a staged "fox hunt" with dogs pursuing a Daihatsu Terios scented with fox urine and Clarkson storming the beach with British Royal Marines in a Ford Fiesta.

Of particular note for American viewers is the Fiat 500, which makes an appearance early on in the latter season. Clarkson puts the tiny Fiat 500, which will be hitting the U.S. before too long as part of Chrysler's partnership with Fiat, through the paces and comes away with a favorable opinion of the "geniuninely good, small, fast car."

Anerican viewers will also get a kick out seeing the trio making the trip across the pond to visit the United States and to partake in our muscle cars, including a Dodge Challenger, a Corvette ZR1 and a Cadillac CTS-V. The segment, which sees the three ending their trip by pushing their cars to the limit on Utah's Bonneville salt flats, is easily the highlight of the two DVD sets.

While the 11th season set is light on extras, the 12th season makes up for it with commentary on the Vietnam special, which sees the hosts attempt to travel the length of the country in eight days, and a special director's cut of the Botswana episode with commentary, deleted scenes, photo galleries and more.

Once again, the biggest downside for American viewers is likely to to be the "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment, which sees celebrities taking timed trips around the show's test track in a Chevrolet Lacetti. While it has the occasional celebrity U.S. audiences will recognize, like Mark Wahlberg and Tom Jones, most of the stars come from the British "telly."

But that's not enough to detract from what the show offers, which is the usual British hijinks and fast, fast cars. And for those with even the slightest interest in cars, that's more than enough.