Idk what it is, but the driving feels so off to me in this game. And this isn't coming from some newbie in the racing game genre. I have racing wheels, my Ferrari wheel set up, love sims, some NFS here and there, and play Forza series till my heart stops (with gas, tire wear, all damage on, etc). It's just that this game seems to have some weird mechanics. It's like it's trying to be an arcade racer AND a sim and masters neither of the two. Also it feels inconsistent: I can hit a guard rail at some points and it barely stops my speed, while other times I can hit on or go off road an inch and I might as well let go of the controller because the car just goes into "fuck it let's spin" mode.
Also the rubberband style AI. If there's one thing I don't like in racing games is the "I can do anything you can do" AI where they all of a sudden become godlike because you don't suck. If I'm better than the AI, then I expect to be just that, better. I don't need the always on your ass to make things seem balls to the walls all the time mechanic. I shouldn't be shitting on the opposition in the first half then all of a sudden they become Ricky Bobby on the final lap.
Not hating on the game though. The graphics are nice, the sounds are nice, the rain...oh god that glorious rain. But the mechanics turn me off for some reason idk.