Type – Driving Wheel Manufacturer – Logitech MSRP - $149.99
There have been numerous attempts to create the ultimate driving wheel peripheral, and the original Driving Force by Logitech for the PlayStation 2 is arguably the finest example of performance and craftsmanship, offering the most authentic driving experience for videogames, largely due to the force feedback technology that made you feel the crashes, bumps, and recoils of your videogame driving. But despite the quality of the Driving Force, Logitech wasn’t convinced that they’ve pushed the envelope far enough, and with Polyphony Digital’s upcoming Gran Turismo 4 for PlayStation 2 serving as inspiration, Logitech bestows their know-how into what is obviously their supreme driving wheel creation: The Driving Force Pro.
With its slick design and ergonomic layout, the Logitech Driving Force Pro gives gamers the most realistic driving experience in videogames by providing technology that has yet to be duplicated in a videogame driving wheel peripheral: 900 degrees of wheel rotation. That means that the wheel can be turned a total of 2-1/2 times lock-to-lock. What’s so exciting about this new feature is that it duplicates the real-life steering dynamics of race cars. As a result, this translates to a hyper-realistic driving experience in your games.
The Driving Force Pro is a lustrous, polished piece of hardware. The wheel is a beefy 10 inches, and an aluminum hub adorns the center. The wheel itself is wrapped in a leather-like rubber molding that not only looks great, but feels comfortable as well. Surrounding the hub are the controller buttons. The four main face buttons are mapped on the right-side spoke of the wheel, and the R2 and L2 buttons are placed just to the right and left of the center hub respectively. The R3 and L3 buttons are placed on the bottom spoke, with the Select and Start buttons mapped directly below them. A solid D-pad is mapped on the left-side wheel spoke. Just inside of the R2 and L2 buttons are two LEDs. The LED on the left illuminates when the wheel is properly calibrated, and the LED on the right only shines if you’re steering mode is in 900 Degree Steering Mode. When in 200 Degree Steering Mode, the LED remains unlit. (Keep in mind that you can’t use the 900 Degree Steering Mode if the game doesn’t support it.) If the game does support the feature, the Driving Force Pro will switch modes automatically upon booting up the game.
You may be wondering where the placement of the R1 and L1 buttons are. In what is an incredibly nice touch, Logitech mounted them behind the wheel as shift paddles to simulate Formula-style racing. But that shouldn’t take away from the Driving Force Pro’s sequential stick shifter, which is just as solidly constructed as the rest of the hardware. It’s shifts fluidly with a subtle click, and has a meaty, comfortable grip; its rounded design is inspired by Italian performance cars.
The gas and brake system is quality stuff too. They feel incredibly good in practice, and seem properly weighted to withstand a good deal of pressure; fully depressing the pedals won’t move the board. And just to make sure it performs well on any surface, Logitech had the foresight to include special carpet grips on the bottom of the unit.
We tested the Driving Force Pro on a number of games, but we chose two games that sort of complimented one another in different areas to get a full spectrum of the wheel’s capabilities: V-Rally 3 and Need For Speed Underground. We chose V-Rally 3 for the really hard hits and the general full range of force feedback, as well as for its turning both right and left very quickly on different-handling road surfaces. We went with Need For Speed Underground for our asphalt game because of the different race modes allowed us to test virtually every feature of the wheel, from the high-speed turning radius requirements to the stick shifting in the Drag racing mode. The Drift modes worked well for testing the unit’s gas and brake pedal performance too.
In gameplay, the force feedback is really the star of the show. During our tests, the feature performed beautifully, fighting you in high-speed turns and increasing the resistance at higher speeds. With every crash, you feel the impact, and just like in real-life, when you hit a nasty bump in the road, you feel as you’re losing control of the vehicle as it forces the wheel violently to the right or left. When on non-asphalt road surfaces, such as gravel and packed mud, you feel the subtle vibrations and small bumps as you drive over the surface. In rally games in particular such as V-Rally 3 or Colin McRae Rally 3, you experience a broad range of feedback. The stick shifter and paddles worked wonderfully as well, with instant response and comfort that quickly makes control second nature. On the hard wood flooring we tested the Driving Force Pro on, the pedal board stayed put for the most part. Only during the panicky kicking around in super intense situations did the unit move, and it did so only minimally.
With the plethora of racing wheels on the market, you may think them all to be the same, but that would be a mistake. The Logitech Driving Force Pro is far and away the best driving wheel on the market because of the quality of the total package. Thought and care was put into the features and layout of the peripheral, which contribute to the overall ergonomic feel. Every piece of the unit has been crafted from quality materials; not one part of the unit has a clunky, cheap feel to it, something all too common in many third party peripherals. The unit even comes with two built-in clamps so you can mount the wheel on a desktop or table. Most of all, the Driving Force Pro works, and it works better than any previous racing wheel. You can steer with pinpoint accuracy, and yet the force feedback effects make the Driving Force Pro a challenge to master and blast to use. It’s a quality product like this that’ll make you want to bust out the old driving games again, just to experience the good time the Driving Force Pro provides. This baby does come with a pretty hefty $150 price tag, which is our only real qualm with the peripheral; but really, you get what you pay for. If you’re serious about a quality racing wheel and you only want the best, here it is.
