Logitech Driving Force Pro - wheel and pedals set

Author's product rating:   

Responsiveness	Very responsive
Robustness & durability	Excellent
Look & feel	Good
Ease of use	Very easy
Value For Money	Good

Advantages:	900° rotation, superb force feedback, lots of buttons
Disadvantages:	consumes lots of desk space, pricey

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The Logitech Driving Force Pro, was, until recently when the Logitech G25 came along, quite simply the daddy of all steering wheels. The flagship of Logitech's wheel range it boasted an array of features that would probably even set Schumacher's hands trembling!

When the DFP was released, it was something of a pioneer, for nearly a decade, mainstream computer wheels had really only offered a glimpse of the reality of driving a car; Their wheel designs were obscure, their buttons were too few and their ergonomics were questionable. By far and away the main issue however, was the degree of rotation offered. While this all might sound overtly technical and nit-picky, the reality was that up until the DFP every single wheel out there had a half turn lock-to-lock. Again, if i'm loosing you here in technical jargon, think of it in your own car. When your sat at a junction and want to turn out, you'll have to spin the wheel round a fair way wont you? Well on all gaming wheels, due to the mechanics inside the wheel, the maximum amount you could turn the wheel was 45 degrees left or right (a quarter turn either way)

That was until the DFP came along, it was the first wheel/pedal set to offer a full 900 degree rotation to its users. Now the problem with this is that not every game out there supports such a massive amount of turning. In fact, damn nearly every game made was programmed to work with the ludicrously limited amount of rotation offered by lesser wheels. The good news is however, that more and more games are being brought out that support the full degree of rotation. the first to reach our shores was Gran Turismo 4 - the most recent of the epic series - billing itself as the true driving simulator, it seems only right that it was designed to be used with the true driving simulator wheel.

The experience that such a combination of seriously well sorted game and seriously well sorted wheel provides is truly a step up in terms of entertainment and reality. The fun to be had with such a wheel is truly epic, and if your into your driving games (which I suspect you are if your reading this) then in no time at all you'll find your self sawing away at the wheel - arms flailing like a joyrider as you desperately try fight the force feedback to wind on that extra degree of opposite lock and make it round that tricky right hander.

As just mentioned, the force feedback offered by the DFP is on a par with its groundbreaking rotation levels - you don't just get the dull vibration inside the wheel like you used to with wheels of old. Instead Logitech have once again endeavoured to make it as accurate to the real world as possible. As a bit of car geek myself, I have to say they've succeeded. If your in a compatible game that has a decent force feedback engine, you'll find it quite easy to work up a bit of a sweat, constantly fighting the wheel for control of the direction of your vehicle! With older wheels, you used to get a motor inside the wheel with some weights attached that would spin whenever the game though it necessary to try and simulate bumps or crashes in the game. Once again the DFP strides proudly into the next level of gaming by offering realistic feedback feeling - if your car in game is on ice for example, then the whole steering goes very light, similarly with oversteer and understeer, if your vehicle in game is understeering wildly towards the fence, the wheel lets you know by flopping about in your hands just as it would in real life. I've no idea how it does this - for all I care it could be witchcraft, but my god it works.

You really cant begin to underestimate the DFP as a top accessory to your gaming computer. It could be said that it feels a bit inadequate compared to its new big brother the G25. And whilst it is true that it doesn't have all the features of ultra new hardware like a gaited shifter or a clutch pedal, you'd be mad to write it off as yesterdays news. The DFP still offers fantastic levels of realism for what is now a very reasonable price.

As has been mentioned not every game out there supports its mahoosive range of features, but nearly every new game that comes out is being made with the capability to get the most from the DFP.

Perhaps one of the nicest things about the wheel (which is billed as being PS2 compatible only) is that you can plug its USB lead straight into your pc, and with a small amount of searching online find drivers for it to work straight away with the massive range of PC games available. Quite why Logitech don't advertise this anywhere i'm not exactly sure, although I suspect it has a great deal to do with the fact that the PC-only G25 was only a year or two down the line when the DFP was released.

To sum up, the Driving Force Pro is a cracking bit of kit if your into your driving games on your PS2 or PC. There's more programmable buttons on it than you can shake a rather large stick at, the clamping system used to hold it to your desk is straight forward and surprisingly effective, and its bloody robust. I've had my wheel well over a year or so now and its used regularly with some force, and no one thing on it has broken. As much as I abuse the gear shifter, it refuses to snap, I jab its buttons in moments of in-game frustration and still they refuse to break, and despite nearly pulling it off the desk once or twice, the clamping mechanism valiantly refuses to give up the ghost.

Just a few things to note before you take the plunge and go buy one - the superb force feedback function needs a fair bit of power to make it work so you'll require a free plug socket in order to make the wheel work. As said, not every game will support its armada of features, but the wheel has been cleverly engineered to work with games new and old - you can 'lock' the wheel back into 180 degree rotation mode if your favourite game doesn't comply with the DFP's new technology. And finally, ensure you have a bit of space by your feet for the nicely weighted pedals to sit, and get ready to start loosing hours trying to beat that elusive best lap time!

Thanks for reading,

Tom