There's a distinction in the world of hobbies, about when an item is a "toy" versus "hobbyist grade". I think a good summary of the G27 is that it's on the low end of hobbyist-grade. It's better than any toy, it suits a beginner's budget, but it delivers superior performance to any toy-grade wheel.
Pros:
-Good-feeling wheel. The wheel is covered in (cheap) faux-leather, the shift knob has a (cheap) faux-leather boot, and overall in use the wheel feels good. The paddle shifters have a nice chunky metal feel, and the shifter knob feels natural to use. Overall very comfortable. The pedals are spaced far enough for me to use, and I'm a 6'+ guy with big feet.
-Force-feedback is very variable, including some good resistance and rumble. I would say the feedback is a little on the weak side, the wheel isn't going to pry itself out of your hands, but it is enough to give you a good feel for the road.
-Plenty of buttons. You not only get console buttons (four buttons for ABXY) and a d-pad, but four more buttons below that, and six more on the wheel. This should be enough buttons for any enthusiast racer. Theoretically you can even map the H-pattern shifter to 7 more buttons, if you are going to use the paddle shifters. (If you drive automatic, you could have up to 23 buttons!).
-Essentially this wheel has all the features of a professional-grade wheel, from force feedback to a clutch pedal and an H-pattern shifter, all at a reasonable price for the entry-level person. It's a great value.
Cons:
-No sequential shift. There's an easy mod you can do using rubber-bands to convert the G27 shifter to sequential, but out of the box, it's paddles or H-pattern.
-Wheel buttons are closely spaced, and don't have any tactile difference. If you need to use all 6 wheels controls, such as setting up brake bias and push-to-talk for online and other in-race functions, you're going to fumble the buttons. Logitech definitely could have done a better job here, but so long as you only need these buttons sometimes (i.e. just for push-to-pass) they should be usable.
-A little slow. The way the G27 force feedback mechanism works it's always providing some resistance to the wheel, so it's difficult to really make split-second corrections. You have to spend a lot more cash to get that kind of freedom, so for the value this is really good response. But if you really saw at the wheel you might want to step up to Thrustmaster/Fanatec.
The competition:
-The Driving Force GT is a lower-cost option from Logitech, with some options removed. The DFGT has its shifter mounted directly on the wheel, so you can't move it around, and there are only two pedals- so no clutch pedal for manual transmission. Otherwise it's similar to the G27. I'd say the DFGT is at the high end of toy-grade. But if you only drive automatic transmission or paddle shift, it's not far from the G27 in terms of quality, for less money. A nice entry-level option.
-Fanatec's CSR series wheels cost three or more times what the G27 cost, but they have many great features. Better pedals, tougher force feedback, better feedback motors. Fanatec is really as high as you can go before you step into professional-grade, multi-thousand-dollar setups. sure a Fanatec is better, but it's a lot more expensive too.
-Thrustmaster's T500 is of similar cost to a bare-bones Fanatec setup, and thus slightly cheaper overall. Some people report dodgy customer service, so apparently they're slightly hit-or-miss. Again, better than a G27, but more expensive.
For game fans: The G27 is more wheel than you need. It's the most money I'd ever spend on a game console, and any kid would be absolutely delighted to get it at Christmas (although, have mom/dad help set things up).
For hardcore sim fans: Overall, the G27 is in a niche by itself. It's a great value for money. It has a good feature list, and where it skimps, it does so sensibly. The force feedback motor is relatively weak, but it has good sensitivity. The faux-leather feels on the cheap side, but it's better than plastic, and while you're driving you won't feel the difference. This wheel is overall perfect as a beginner wheel for an enthusiast who's not ready to spend more money on a Fanatec/Thrustmaster setup. If you've been thinking about getting into sim racing, but you just couldn't afford a whole setup, consider the G27. It's a perfect step up into serious racing.
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Reviews with images
Great Value,Great features Highly Suggested.
Today I received mine in perfect shape shipped from the Mainland to Hawaii, Everything works as advertised. This is a great product and I now know why there are so many people stating that this is the best on the market for the price. The only reason I didn't give five stars is because of the setup it takes to actually start Simulating a real driving experience. This is day two and I'm still working on setting everything up. I do comprehend that this is because of the software developers and not Logitech.This wheel has strong force feedback and you can actually feel the bumps in the "road". The plastic clamps that hold this to a desk or table are sturdy, for my application I bolted it to the table and bolted the pedal assembly to a foot-board. I left the shifter just clamped with no bolt(so far but it's just day two for me) The pedal board is larger than I had imagined it would be, the wheel is a little smaller than I imagined, although I have seen racing wheels in actual cars of this size. I plan on printing out button labels to tape to the wheel and shifter assembly for ease of use. I may use Velcro or magnetic tape to attach these. If I do I'll place a link on my web page and have a link here as well.
Top reviews from other countries
ali from weston
great for gaming computers
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2015
