Sim-racing has become a discipline in its own right, whether on consoles or PC. More and more sim-racing titles are appearing, to the delight of both game players and virtual drivers.

As for brands, there are many, and those offering the most realistic and immersive peripherals are only available on PC. It’s a shame for console gamers, but there’s nothing we can do about it. There are brands offering sim-racing peripherals for consoles, but they are few and far between. The best-known are Logitech, Thrustmaster and Fanatec. Of these three, only Fanatec had competitive and immersive peripherals, and especially premiums on Xbox and Playstation.

However, the situation has changed with the arrival of Logitech’s first Direct Drive bundle, the G Pro Racing Wheel. The Swiss manufacturer of gaming peripherals is keen to enrich its catalog, while teasing out the Go-To of the industry, which is Fanatec. Is the newcomer to the arena worth considering against Fanatec’s tried and tested bundle? That’s what we’re going to find out.

Logitech vs. Fanatec: the choice of competitors

In Fanatec’s range, there are 2 bundles that can stand up to the G Pro: we have the brand-new ClubSport DD with its F1 and eSport steering wheel, and the GT DD Pro, which is an officially licensed Gran Turismo bundle. Against the ClubSport DD, the G Pro has no chance of winning for the simple reason that Fanatec’s base is far more powerful than Logitech’s. This would be a match with a clear advantage. It would be a match with a clear advantage for the German brand, and we need a fair comparison.

As a result, the best option against the G Pro is the GT DD Pro with its boost kit, developing 8 nm of torque. This still falls short of what Logitech’s base model offers (11 nm of torque), but sim-racing is all about optimizing the ecosystem and, above all, harnessing the power of an electric motor. “Without mastery, power is nothing” is a phrase used in Pirelli ads, and I think it rings true in our context.

We’re going to take a look at several matches between the two competing bundles, to help you make your final choice.

The ecosystem and product customization

Logitech’s brand-new G Pro range currently features an aluminum steering wheel, a Direct Drive base, a Load Cell crankset and that’s it. It’s not much, but you have to start somewhere, don’t you think? Also, there are no other accessories for customizing your setup, apart from the Logitech shifter.

At Fanatec, the story is very different. If you opt for the GT DD Pro 8 nm torque bundle, you get a composite flywheel, a Direct Drive base and a non-Load Cell crankset. However, you’ve got Fanatec’s full range of flywheels if you decide to pick up a different one, with over 40 entries in the catalog. What’s more, the CSL Pedals can be upgraded with a Load Cell kit and a Clutch kit. And if you don’t like this pedalboard, you can switch to another one offered by Fanatec.

Other Fanatec accessories include button hubs, paddle modules, a shifter, a handbrake, stickers, buttons and other products and/or accessories. Fanatec’s catalog is not only comprehensive, but also highly diversified, adapting perfectly to the needs of sim-racers.

Console compatibility

On Logitech’s new G Pro, you can choose between an Xbox and PC bundle, a Playstation and PC bundle, or a PC-only bundle. The difference lies mainly in the steering wheel, which features the buttons of the chosen console. For the rest, it’s the same peripherals.

The GT DD Pro is a bundle developed by Fanatec in collaboration with Polyphony Digital. As a result, the bundle is only compatible with Playstation and PC, at least on paper. On this point, the advantage goes to the G Pro, which offers much better integration on both platforms. However, you can use the GT DD Pro on Xbox, but you’ll need a steering wheel compatible with Microsoft’s console, and you’ll sometimes have problems with calibration and settings.

Design and build quality

Here again, the G Pro beats the GT DD Pro by a wide margin. Logitech’s steering wheel is just sublime, premium with its leather and aluminum, and above all very well made. You can tell that the Swiss brand has put a lot of effort into the design and choice of materials for its first Direct Drive bundle, and it’s paid off.

On the GT DD Pro, the design is OK, but nothing more. But the build quality falls well short of what we’re used to seeing from Fanatec. The steering wheel is made entirely of composite, which is a fancy way of saying it’s plastic. This choice of material was dictated by Polyphony Digital, as the studio, and Sony too, wanted to have a bundle with a rather competitive price tag. And since all the money had gone into the Gran Turismo license, the only thing left was a plastic steering wheel. It’s not ugly, but it creaks when you hold it in your hand, looks cheap and feels like a toy rather than a sim-racing steering wheel.

Bundle availability

In both cases, you’ll find the same availability of bundles. However, Fanatec’s bundles are sometimes out of stock, for reasons of supply from the factories.

As far as I’m concerned, I’d say Logitech’s stock is better than Fanatec’s, since the G Pro is much more expensive than the GT DD Pro, and in my opinion, it hasn’t sold too well. We’ll see about the price later.

Sensations on the track

At this point, I’d say the two bundles are tied in terms of feel and immersion. Admittedly, the G Pro’s base is more powerful than the 8 nm CSL DD, and also delivers constant torque rather than peak torque. However, the sensations are almost the same on both, with a slight advantage for the G Pro in terms of raw detail.

But where Fanatec’s experience shines is in its software solution, which enables the base to be parameterized to a very high degree. As a result, with the right settings, you’ll have two bases that are virtually the same. Another interesting point to mention is Logitech’s Force Feedback algorithm, which in my opinion is not yet perfected. On some sim-racing titles, it does the trick to boost effects that may go unnoticed. But if you use it on AC or ACC, for example, the steering wheel will be saturated with effects, blurring the sensations produced by the base, and that’s really annoying.

Bundle prices

Here, the advantage clearly goes to the Fanatec bundle, with a retail price of less than €1,000 if you take the boost kit, Load Cell and Clutch kits for the pedalboard. And on the other side of the equation, the G Pro with pedalboard will set you back almost €1,500, which is just enormous for not only an ecosystem that’s non-existent, but also in-game sensations that aren’t much better than those of the GT DD Pro.

Handling the steering wheels

The G Pro’s steering wheel is certainly more beautiful and of much better quality, but the GT DD Pro’s wheel is a hair more generous in terms of buttons, even though Fanatec’s wheel only offers 2 paddles. There’s nothing to be said for the ease with which they both get to grips. And the controls are ergonomically distributed across the faceplate.

Which one to choose?

As far as I’m concerned, it’s simple: you take each category covered in this article, and see who scored the most points overall, and also the bundle with the cheapest price. I think it makes more sense to opt for a GT DD Pro bundle and customize it with a nice aluminum steering wheel than to choose a Logitech G Pro. You’ll save something like 300 euros, and also have a much better ecosystem in the long run.