VelocityOne Race review: "There are promising signs, but it needs to overcome some rookie errors"

GamesRadar+ Verdict GamesRadar+ Verdict Pros+Punchy 7.2Nm direct drive motor+Comfortable leather wheel+Built-in display+Includes wheel, wheelbase, and pedals Punchy 7.2Nm direct drive motor Comfortable leather wheel Built-in display Includes wheel, wheelbase, and pedals Cons-Force feedback is unreliable and lacking at times-The button box feels like a gimmick-Poor plug-and-play compatibility-RMD has limited uses Force feedback is unreliable and lacking at times The button box feels like a gimmick Poor plug-and-play compatibility RMD has limited uses Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy. Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy. With a 20-year history,Turtle Beachwill be a familiar name for gamers but the new VelocityOne Race arrives as the brand’s first ever racing wheel. This £629/$649 direct drive wheel lands in a bit of a gap in the market too, splitting the gear-driven classicLogitechG923 and more expensive, advanced options like the MOZA R12 and Logitech G Pro. Sim racers have never been spoiled for choice when it comes to picking thebest racing wheels for PCor consoles. While there are plenty of options at the top end of the market, newcomers have been left with just a couple of brands offering basic wheels and little more to choose from. With a few unique tools up its sleeve and 7.2Nm of grunt behind it there’s potential on paper, but is Turtle Beach’s debut wheel a podium contender or will it trundle around at the back of the field? Design (Image credit: Future / Alex Berry) Direct drive wheelbases tend to follow one of two design theories; a compact cube or an oversized wedge. Turtle Beach has firmly gone with the latter because the VelocityOne Race is a huge, heavy lump. It’s similar to theLogitech G Pro racing wheelin both size and shape with a top viewing window that offers a glimpse of theK: Drivemotor inside. It’s an all-plastic shell but feels sufficiently premium with a solid build quality that doesn’t flex or creak anywhere. You’re offered a couple of mounting options for the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race; you can either bolt it to a sim racing seat like the Playseat Challenge X, and there are all the standard pre-drilled holes for this, or you can clamp it to a desk thanks to cleverly hidden arms. A pair of wings unfurl on either side of the wheelbase to reveal a nifty tool storage area and hex bolts that lower clamps from the base of the unit. It’s a nicely considered, tidy solution that offers impressively stable performance even in the most DIY of cockpits. Despite rattling everything else on my desk, the VelocityOne Race itself stayed perfectly put and never needed tightening or adjusting. (Image credit: Future / Alex Berry) The 30cm D-shaped wheel itself is wrapped in hand-stitched leather that feels great to hold and doesn’t feature the same scratchiness I found on the Logitech G Pro. It’s also nicely sculpted in a way that I found made it remain comfortable across driving styles, whether it was holding it edge to edge in F1 23 or a higher grip in Forza Horizon. Unfortunately, not all of the VelocityOne Race’s wheel inputs feel quite so good. While the buttons are tactile and responsive, they’re small and tightly spaced which makes it difficult to not accidentally press more than one at a time, and the four silver cogs feel very cheap. One of these is also reserved solely for controlling the RMD which leaves you with far fewer wheel-bound input options compared to competitors. Features (Image credit: Future / Alex Berry) The VelocityOne Race pedals are a mix of good and bad. Again similar to the Logitech G Pro pedals’ design, the large overall footprint offers plenty of heel space to support the three pedals on offer but the plastic construction leaves you wanting more for your money. There’s only a small amount of adjustment here with just the brake pedal able to shift left and right and while you can cleverly flatten the clutch pedal to free up a little space, there’s no way to remove it entirely and use that space as a wider two-pedal setup. Turtle Beach does include pads to aid with grip on both hard and carpeted flooring, although I found these pretty ineffective. The pedal box was still prone to moving around, particularly under braking and a bizarre choice to have the USB cable stick directly out from the back of the unit means you’re not able to wedge it against a wall like you can with some of the otherbest Xbox steering wheels. Performance (Image credit: Future / Alex Berry) (Image credit: Future / Alex Berry) The pedals aren’t without a few quirks themselves. I found a confusing lack of correlation between physical travel on the accelerator and when games or the RMD would say I was full throttle. The reverse is true of the load cell brake pedal which offers a noticeably short travel distance and while it’s OK to use overall, it always felt a little peculiar. Furthermore, it’s stronger than the all-plastic pedal tray frame and there’s an alarming amount of flex in the frame itself in heavy braking situations. When bolting it onto thePlayseat Challenge XI actually noticed the bottom plastic panel distorting around the screw hole rather than offering a tight and secure fit and I had to sheepishly loosen it a few turns for risk of it sheering off. The ‘Race Management Display’ is a nifty addition and will be particularly useful for Xbox players. The screen allows for onboard configuration of a handful of settings that should allow you to dial in performance to your liking and situation. However it must be said that at this stage I found the changes each setting made particularly gentle. Even going from one extreme to another on some settings prompted a very minor difference in on-track feel. The RMD should also act as a real-time telemetry screen offering information on revs, lap deltas, and gears but at the time of writing no Xbox title officially supports RMD telemetry. While there are a number of PC titles that are named to offer compatibility, I was never able to get any working. It’s a shame as this is a stand-out feature against other wheels. Hopefully, there’ll be great plug-and-play support for this with future updates. Should you buy the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race (Image credit: Future / Alex Berry) The VelocityOne Race is the first attempt from Turtle Beach at a mid-tier racing wheel and unfortunately, that lack of experience currently shows. There are promising signs, but it needs to overcome some rookie errors. TheK: Drivemotor is capable of good things in the right situations and new players in the market are always welcome, but a few too many teething issues spoil the experience overall. Today’s best Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race Wheel & Pedal System deals$649.99$399.99View$649.99$399.99View$649.99$559ViewWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices Today’s best Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race Wheel & Pedal System deals$649.99$399.99View$649.99$399.99View$649.99$559ViewWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices Today’s best Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race Wheel & Pedal System deals $649.99$399.99View$649.99$399.99View$649.99$559View $649.99$399.99View $649.99$399.99View $649.99$399.99View $649.99$399.99 $399.99 $649.99$399.99View $649.99$399.99View $649.99$399.99View $649.99$399.99 $399.99 $649.99$559View $649.99$559View $649.99$559View $649.99$559 $559 We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices How we tested the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race I used the Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race on both the Xbox Series X and a gaming PC for a couple of weeks. Across both platforms, I tested it in Forza Motorsport as well as EA F1 23 and WRC and used it both attached to a desk and in the Playseat Challenge X sim racing seat. For more on the ways we test the latest controllers, check out ourhardware policy. For more controllers check out thebest PC controllers, thebest PS5 controllers, and thebest Xbox Series X controllers. 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Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3 Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5 Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim 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the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5 Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now” 1Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now” 1 Squid Game season 2 review: “Secures its place as one of the best shows on television right now” 2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 2 Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3 Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 4Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 4 Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 5 Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”