Regarding the thread question of driving realism, realism depends on many factors, both regarding the game and one's sim hardware.
Based on FFB alone, AC wins the toss, since most sim drivers will experience game realism through their wheel only. If you're lucky and use a program like Fanaleds, you can customize your settings to get pedal rumble and some mild effects which provide the driver with two zones relaying motion/vibration. This "wheel and pedals" camp constitutes the bulk of sim drivers, and it is here AC beats out everyone in the digital driving experience. And I do mean EVERYONE.
But bring in aspects like sim-vibe or buttkicker enhanced rigs, entry level/home made motion rigs, even professional level motor driven sim chairs, AC looses some ground. Again, Kunos' game always wins in the FFB department...but driving isn't about how the car feels in your hands. It's also about how it makes your entire body react (no pun intended!
). Some people like prominent YouTuber EmptyBox constantly complain about AC being "unpredictable, overly grippy, and unnatural for the driver's other senses." I have found previous physics models from Kunos Simulazioni to be a bit too easy to drive/anticipate in performance situations. Kunos seem to have corrected these problems a great deal with 3 major updates to the tyre model and physics model of their game to the general praise of forum users.
Do I believe Assetto Corsa has the best physics model of any simulator? Depends. If you own [insert generic wheel and/or pedal set here] the answer is yes. But if you own an entry grade sim package, or a motion rig and custom peripheral hardware like seq shifters, DSD control boxes, etc., AC is only a top contender. In fact, in the price point of 30 - 100 $., AC and
every other game can only ever be "top contenders." Why? Because when you think about it, the truest way to accomplish real driving physics digitally is to replicate an extremely limited number of cars, maybe 1 - 3, in every possible way for a LOT more money. To do the tyre model any justice alone should cost the user AC's list price alone, not counting the steering model, FFB model, suspension model, etc.
If each of these "physics phactors" (haha) were given independent attention in a new simulator--let's call it Wild About Driving--the game would be more tool than toy. It would also pack a casual-gamer-slaying price of more than a few $$$. Perhaps worst of all, Wild About Driving would require users to own a LOT of driving-specific hardware beyond a generic wheel and pedals. I'm talking about shifters that deliver accurate gear shifts, pedals that require the same pressure to brake and heel-toe brake as in real life, wheels that require the amount of arm strength to turn the wheel of a specific class of car, etc. Those things would leave most of us deep in debt--but without a doubt closer to what real performance driving is like.
In this, it is up to the gamer to decide if AC is a miracle or devil in disguise. Some berate AC without any good sense, and I disagree with all claims against Kunos' product for this reason alone: AC has brought very realistic effects to the most people, period. If you like driving and own a good wheel, AC will bring you the best experience among them all. iRacing can't do it; ProjectCars can't do it--hell none of them can. Kunos knows their market, knows how to deliver just enough physics to fool those of us who don't know a damn thing about performance driving into thinking we really can drive--that might seem like defrauding your client base, but to me I think it was the smartest move a gaming studio has made. If John Q Public were to experience performance driving as it really is, most of us would probably quit being fans because it is very difficult, not so much fun. Just talk to any real driver worth their salt. Kunos has captured all the fun of driving without the bad, and given a good physics model to us to enjoy without very much stress...things which other games struggle to do. Just peruse the iRacing forums...2 topics dominate: how to drive at all, and why AC is so popular