Thrustmaster T248 Review (Xbox/PC)

Our hands-on Thrustmaster T248 Review has us playing with a wheel Designed for all gamers looking for performance and immersion and wanting to free themselves from their keyboard, mouse, or gamepad, or improve their skills after starting out with a beginner’s wheel.

Thrustmaster T248 Review Pros:

  • Sleek expensive-looking steering wheel and pedals.
  • Pedal tension can be adjusted.
  • Spare spring/coil for the pedals.
  • Comes with tools.
  • The steering wheel has a clamp underneath to attach it to a desk or table.
  • Adjust steering wheel sensitivity with a dial underneath.
  • Cables are kept in place with clips.
  • Clear easy-to-read LCD screen.
  • Has all the Xbox buttons clearly marked.
  • Paddle gear shifters.
  • Has a hefty weight to it.
  • 3 cables – Xbox connection, power plug, and a cable to connect the wheel and pedals.
  • The LCD screen will show functions like a rev counter, mileage, etc.
  • The cable has a breakaway part to stop damage.
  • Dimensions –
    • Width: 11 inches / 280 mm
    • Depth: 11.8 inches / 300 mm
    • Height: 11 inches / 280 mm
  • Easy to navigate the menu on the LCD screen.
  • Switch the wheel between Xbox and PC modes.
  • It has so many buttons
  • Impressive strength in terms of feedback.
  • The wheel will self-calibrate when you plug it in or change the mode.
  • Compact box.
  • Manual included—easy plug and play.
  • Pedals have a polished metal attachment.
  • Three pedals on the unit.
  • The pedals feel realistic.

Thrustmaster T248 Review Cons:

  • The material used for the wheel can be easily marked with greasy or grimy hands and is a real pain to get rid of.
  • Doesn’t work on Playstation consoles.
  • Had major problems getting game pass games recognizing the wheel when streaming from the cloud.
  • Only one cable has a breakaway part.
  • All the best functions of the LCD only work on PC and only work on set games.
  • Not all games will recognize or have the wheel listed.

Related Post: Thrustmaster T Flight Full Kit X Review (Xbox Series S and PC)

Thrustmaster T248:

Official website.

Manufacturer: Thrustmaster

Store Links – 

Thrustmaster

  • 9/10
    Build Quality - 9/10
  • 9/10
    Ease Of Use - 9/10
  • 9/10
    Value For Money - 9/10
9/10

Summary

The steering wheel really is a fantastic bit of kit, I’m not usually a peripheral guy purely because of the space needed and the fact that the money I spend on a wheel, I could buy a few games. Here however I got the opportunity to use a wheel and now I see what all the fuss was about, the build quality is not just solid and sturdy, it’s clean and looks really flashy and expensive. The way they have made it so you can mess with the tension of the pedals, the responsiveness of the wheel, and the many customizable buttons make it so you really can play your way. Yes, it does still require a fair bit of real estate but it is just a wheel that clamps onto a desk and a set of not heavy but not light pedals that can easily fit on a shelf afterward. Now as a new driver in the real world I did find that by default the games I played like Forza Horizon 5 and Wreckfeat were fun but required a lot of tweaking, mostly because of the constant movement needed. No, it wasn’t until I used it with F1 2022 that it really clicked for me. Being an F1 game the movement was not as erratic and common as a Forza, I could tweak buttons and sensitivity sliders but honestly, even in default, it worked so well. Put it this way, with the wheel plugged in I would sit there and play F1 2022 for hours up to n hours, the wheel made every victory a personal achievement, every time I nailed a chicane I would smile and the wheel wouldn’t even bat an eyelid. Now for the safety part, the pedals as said are a tad heavy so they will be fine, the wheel needs to be clamped down as it does have some serious feedback force! They have kept the wires coming out to a minimum, a power plug, a cable to attach the two together, and a cable to hook up to the Console/PC. One of the cables has a breakaway section so if someone catches it will snap open and cause no damage or movement. I really did look forward to the next time I got to use the wheel, I felt a bit cheated that all the cool graphics and LCD displays were not available on any of the Xbox games, it did work on PC but it’s on a game by game basis and again it wasn’t as common as you would like. The plastic used does have grip properties to it but any greasy fingers will leave those horrible marks that take a while to clear. Overall though the sheer quality of it all and the way some games just excel the experience really do make this a must-have for any serious driving fans and in particular F1 fans, I will bang on all day about how good it is with F1 as that is the game that played the best and made me feel like a professional driver. So yes it takes up space and it won’t work on Playstation 4 or 5 and it doesn’t like game pass streaming games but it is a top quality low price entry into a world that you couldn’t experience any other way.

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!