I've been a fan of the Forza Horizon series of games since the first one, where we cruised through highlights of Colorado, USA. I recently started playing the latest edition Forza Horizon 5 (*) taking place in a fictionalized Mexico. And as is typical when playing a driving game, I find it somewhat unsatisfying to use a standard ("Core") Xbox gaming controller. I started thinking about getting a steering wheel controller again. I tried it once before in the Xbox 360 era, but that ended in a teardown treatment as I didn't use my 360 anymore.

That disassembled steering wheel was a first-party Microsoft accessory with full Xbox 360 branding. For the Xbox One era (including current Xbox Series S|X) Microsoft decided against making a first-party steering wheel peripheral. Instead, that market has been delegated to the existing peripheral ecosystem. We have a whole spectrum of options starting from very inexpensive sets made by manufacturers I've never heard of, up through midrange offerings from mainstream peripheral makers like Logitech and Thrustmaster, up through serious simulation components that cost more than the Xbox console itself.

I decided to start all the way at the cheapest end of the spectrum for two reasons: One, I've already tried steering wheels once with the Xbox 360 wheel and didn't use it as much as I thought I would. If history repeats itself at least I've wasted less money. And second, going cheap means I'll be less intimidated about hacking into the wheel for my own customizations. I concede if I wanted a durable wheel to hack on, I should have kept my Xbox 360 wheel, but too late now.

The lowest Amazon bidder of the day was ~$60 for a Superdrive SV200. (*) Just a small wheel, a few buttons, and two minimalist pedals. Looking on Superdrive's own website, it appears to be a French company which was a surprise. I didn't know there were French companies in this space, good for them. The product it was still manufactured in China, and that part was no surprise.

I ordered one and waited for its arrival.

(*) Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.