On the 31st of October 2023, EA Sports WRC was released. It has been just over a year since that initial release - how has the game held up in its first year? What has the community most enjoyed over the game's first year?
Over the past few weeks, there have been several articles talking about and discussing the state of EA Sports WRC. The title has competition from other rally sims both modern and classic, especially against DIRT Rally 2.0. But for those who prefer EA Sports' efforts, what has been the most popular car choice and rally over the game's first cycle?
Image: EA Sports
Unsurprisingly, the top class is the modern Rally1 WRC cars. These modern monsters have been the class that the development team have put the most time and effort into in recent updates. The cars received an extra version in the last update to make the Toyota Yaris, the Hyundai i30 and the Ford Puma up look and sound the part for the 2024 season.
Interestingly, the World Rally Car '97-11' class comes in at the impressive third spot. Historic rally cars are rarely the stars of the show, especially with the licensed modern WRC cars being the focus of EA Sports WRC, so it is good to see the classics are still getting thrown around the rally stages around the world.
2001 Ford Focus Martini livery. Image: Mengodriom
As for the community's most driven car, the Rally1 Toyota was always going to take the top spot. The M-Sport Puma comes in a close second but surprisingly, the Hyundai is kicked off the final step of the podium. The Ford Fiesta Rally3 car takes the final spot, this could well be due to its popularity at the start of the career mode.
To contradict the car class list, the Group B Audi Quattro is the only historic car in the top ten. The Group B class will forever be popular in rally sims, but not quite enough to knock the Rally1 machinery from their thrones at the top, it would seem.
Audi Quattro 1985 Updated Livery for Mikkola/Röhrl. Image: Mengodriom
With these lists indicating what the most popular locations and cars were throughout the first year of EA Sports WRC, what did you most enjoy driving and where did you most enjoy driving it? It could be Group B in Sweden or the classic 60s cars in Japan. Let us know down below!
Image: EA Sports WRC
Rally Monte Carlo stands as the clear winner. This could be down to the fact that it is often the first rally selected on the screen whilst setting up your rally or in career mode, or the fact that some stages are on dry tarmac, and some are on ice and snow. The variety and tactical planning required to be fast throughout the rally is very charismatic for Monte Carlo.
Portugal and Finland follow Monte Carlo, two locations that could not be further away from the class leader in terms of style of rally. Finland is full of fast forest stages with huge jumps and long banked turns. Portugal is open and dusty with a seriously high level of concentration and stage knowledge required to go fast.
Rally Portugal. Image: EA Sports WRC
What has been your favourite combination of car and rally location to drive in the first year of EA Sports WRC? Let us know in the comments down below!
Over the past few weeks, there have been several articles talking about and discussing the state of EA Sports WRC. The title has competition from other rally sims both modern and classic, especially against DIRT Rally 2.0. But for those who prefer EA Sports' efforts, what has been the most popular car choice and rally over the game's first cycle?
The community's most popular car class and vehicles
Image: EA Sports
Unsurprisingly, the top class is the modern Rally1 WRC cars. These modern monsters have been the class that the development team have put the most time and effort into in recent updates. The cars received an extra version in the last update to make the Toyota Yaris, the Hyundai i30 and the Ford Puma up look and sound the part for the 2024 season.
Interestingly, the World Rally Car '97-11' class comes in at the impressive third spot. Historic rally cars are rarely the stars of the show, especially with the licensed modern WRC cars being the focus of EA Sports WRC, so it is good to see the classics are still getting thrown around the rally stages around the world.
2001 Ford Focus Martini livery. Image: Mengodriom
As for the community's most driven car, the Rally1 Toyota was always going to take the top spot. The M-Sport Puma comes in a close second but surprisingly, the Hyundai is kicked off the final step of the podium. The Ford Fiesta Rally3 car takes the final spot, this could well be due to its popularity at the start of the career mode.
To contradict the car class list, the Group B Audi Quattro is the only historic car in the top ten. The Group B class will forever be popular in rally sims, but not quite enough to knock the Rally1 machinery from their thrones at the top, it would seem.
Audi Quattro 1985 Updated Livery for Mikkola/Röhrl. Image: Mengodriom
With these lists indicating what the most popular locations and cars were throughout the first year of EA Sports WRC, what did you most enjoy driving and where did you most enjoy driving it? It could be Group B in Sweden or the classic 60s cars in Japan. Let us know down below!
The community's most popular events and rally locations
Image: EA Sports WRC
Rally Monte Carlo stands as the clear winner. This could be down to the fact that it is often the first rally selected on the screen whilst setting up your rally or in career mode, or the fact that some stages are on dry tarmac, and some are on ice and snow. The variety and tactical planning required to be fast throughout the rally is very charismatic for Monte Carlo.
Portugal and Finland follow Monte Carlo, two locations that could not be further away from the class leader in terms of style of rally. Finland is full of fast forest stages with huge jumps and long banked turns. Portugal is open and dusty with a seriously high level of concentration and stage knowledge required to go fast.
Rally Portugal. Image: EA Sports WRC
What has been your favourite combination of car and rally location to drive in the first year of EA Sports WRC? Let us know in the comments down below!
