Logitech G Pro Racing Wheel & Pedals Review

Logitech G Pro Racing Wheel & G Pro Pedals

design

Having used the Logitech G920 consistently for a year or two, I felt a weird sense of pride looking at the Logitech G Pro. The same design language is on show here so the Pro feels like an evolution rather than an outsider joining the ranks, like the G920 has hit puberty and grown into itself.

Everything has beefed out, smoothed off and become that bit more premium. Across the board it’s an improvement, though just like with the previous generation, across the board it’s all plastic too. That’s not necessarily an issue, plastic has its place and for what its worth the plastic used here doesn’t feel or look cheap and tacky. However, having shelled out the best part of a grand for a racing wheel you’re right to expect to see a bit more metal trim around the place.

A funky patterned grille covers the front and back of the particularly large G Pro base and these are the start and end of the design flair on offer, aside from these the G Pro wears a mature and understated black outfit. With active cooling on board the grilles aren’t just there to look good and instead play an important role. The fan inside works hard at any time the unit is on and while it’s not silent I also never found it was loud enough to be a distraction while playing. 

A USB hub tucked away on the back of the unit provides connection points for the separately sold G Pro Pedals and well as other optional accessories like a gear shifter. It’s worth noting if you’re upgrading from the G920 that the previous generation pedals aren’t compatible with the G Pro without a paid adapter.

While housed in a proprietary shaped plug, the connection between the G Pro pedals and G Pro base is, bizarrely, micro-USB. Sure, once you’ve plugged them in for the first time you’re likely to never see it or notice it again, but c’mon – why are we still using micro-USB in 2023?

Premium vibes ooze off the Logitech G Pro wheel while also maintaining the same identity forged by the previous G923. The leather trim of the wheel itself is soft and feels great to hold, though the stitching around the inside is noticeably hard and scratchy which does start to become uncomfortable after a few laps. It was a problem I found with the G920 too so it’s a shame to see this wasn’t considered this time around. It may not be a lifetime problem though as the G Pro features a quick release wheel, so while there’s no other styles available currently, it certainly points to replacement wheel options in future. 

Tucked behind the brushed metal (no plastic, yay!) wheel face you’ll find magnetic gear shift paddles which are gorgeous to use. They’re responsive with crisp, almost click movement and soft clack as they activate. They’re partnered by a pair of dual clutch paddles that offer a smoother and more linear travel. These can be configured to a number of options either by using either Logitech’s G Hub software on PC or the onboard controls, I tried them as throttle and brake which worked well and forms a nice accessibility option.

The fact of the Logitech G Pro wheel is littered with buttons and inputs in what they describe as a “thumbsweep layout”. In less marketing speak that means ‘around the edge’ and while the button you want may never be too far away, I found I did usually have to go searching for them. This may be a case of muscle memory, and F1 drivers have shown it’s possible (and necessary at times) to take a hand off the wheel to adjust a dial, though it’s not as simple as it may have been.

The Logitech G Pro wheel may be an all-round improvement on past models, but it’s the new Logitech G Pro pedals that I think are the star of the show. The particularly large baseplate houses three equally large, lovely metal-faced pedals with a load of customisation potential. It’s a modular system and each pedal can be adjusted side to side or you can do away with a pedal entirely if you want. The faceplates can also be adjusted to a number pre-defined positions, combined it all offers an impressive amount of personalisation.

There’s still more plastic than I’d like across the build of the G Pro Pedals but once again there’s no look or sense of cheapness and after multiple weeks of testing there are no signs of wear creeping in. The heel platform is roomy with plenty of texture to stop your feet sliding around. If you’ve not yet invested in a cockpit like the Playseat Trophy, cleverly Logitech has designed the G Pro pedals with a flat edge along the back so it’ll butt up flush against a wall – very clever.

performance

Chances are the Logitech G Pro won’t be your first racing wheel, fair play if it is, but most racers are likely to be upgrading from a cheaper belt or gear driven option like the Logitech G920/G923. If you’re wondering whether you’ll really notice much of a difference, I’m here to tell you it’s like night and day.

I stuck the Logitech G Pro Wheel and Pedals onto their matching Playseat Trophy Logitech G Edition (which is a joy and well worth looking at too) and was astonished at just how much of an improvement the Pro is over the gear driven G920 I had been using. I hoped it’d be better of course, particularly if you’d shelled out the best part of £1500 to get here, but I didn’t expect it to feel quite this good.

Where gear driven wheels often feel rough and manufactured, the Logitech G Pro is super smooth and fights back at you with resistance that feels much more like driving an actual car. The result is far more immersive and meant I felt connected to the virtual road. After a few laps the Logitech G Pro wheel stopped feeling like a controller and coupled with the excellent Playseat Trophy I might as well have been in a real car.

It’s not just smooth, the Logitech G Pro Racing Wheel packs a series punch too and can fight you with up to 11nm of torque. If you’re new to more powerful force feedback wheels I’d recommend diving into the settings and dialling this down first and slowly ramping up because the G Pro is not afraid to remind you of its power and pull you around, particularly if you end up off road.

I took to the streets (and the fields) of Mexico in Forza Horizon 5 and the G Pro Wheel pushed back against me through every turn and was quick to punish me for asking too much of the car. The change in road surface was particularly clear, even dipping a wheel into the gravel on the side of the road felt completely different. Tearing around Silverstone in F1 23, even with the game’s much publicised troubles with Logitech wheels this iteration, I could feel the forces of the car through my forearms. I could pick the moments the aerodynamics were loaded and unloaded through the wheel, particularly in high speed corners or snaps of oversteer.

On top of traditional force feedback, the G Pro Wheel offers TrueForce, Logitech’s own tech that attempts to add an extra layer of detail on it. It’s cool? I think? It’s hard to say for sure as it’s not supported by all games (nothing in F1 23 for example) and the base force feedback is already impressive to begin with. There’s definitely a difference between games that support it and games that don’t, though it’s a little hard to describe. The main thing is regardless of whether it’s TrueForce or not, the force feedback feels great.

The Logitech G Pro Wheel base features a row of rev lights and a sharp black and white OLED display. The display allows for the same deep level of customisation you’d find in the G Hub desktop app while the rev lights are bright and configurable too. Being able to fiddle with settings onboard is a great quality of life add for console gamers and I often found myself tweaking things to try new setups mid race.

The screen and G Hub both unlock control over things like force feedback torque and input mapping, with the added bonus of multiple profiles sitting over the top. The ability to switch between completely contrasting settings on the fly is great as the setup I use for F1 23 is completely different to Forza Horizon 5, swapping between them was as quick as swapping game on the console itself. 

While it’s a shame to need to dish out another £349/$349 to buy the Logitech G Pro Pedals separately, the results speak for themselves because they are a joy to use. Compared to the small, simple pedals of the previous generation, the Pro pedals feel real rather than a toy. 

While their baseline build quality is commendable in itself, the depth of customisation is the highlight of the Logitech G Pro Pedals. Each pedal can be setup independently and dialled in to how best suits you and your driving style. The accelerator and clutch pedals share a set of springs with four differing resistance levels ready to be swapped out via a clever quick release system.

The load cell brake pedal is Driver of the Day on the pedal podium and it operates on pressure, not distance. If you’re used to a linear pedal then this will require a fair bit of getting used to but once you’ve adapted it’s the things that best highlights the quality of the unit as a whole. A set of elastomers combine to control how much pressure the brake needs to fire off and after trying a couple of configs I unlocked a far greater feel for braking than with a traditional pedal. This was really telling in F1 23 where the load cell brake of the G Pro actually improved my lap times and my consistency.

summed up

I’ll lean on a couple of F1 drive catchphrases to sum up the Logitech G Pro Racing Wheel and its partner G Pro Pedals. The wheel itself is a Carlos Sainz style smooth operator and the pedals are in the words of Max Verstappen, simply lovely. The strong, detailed force feedback wheel and 100kg load cell brake pedal are not only more  immersive than previous iterations, they actually made me a better driver.

The only issue is price. There’s no avoiding that £999/$999 for the wheel plus a further £349/$349 for the pedals is a lot and there are quality direct drive options from other brands well below that price point. That said however, the Logitech G Pro racing setup is incredibly strong and does little wrong, so if you can afford the entry fee you’ll be rewarded with a championship contender.