I don’t know about you, but I grew up with Gran Turismo. It was one of those games that made me fall in love with cars. I spent entire afternoons playing GT, GT2, GT3…, tuning up some old junker just to win that impossible championship. There was something special about that slow, deliberate progression — that feeling of earning your victories.
That’s exactly why it hurts to see what Gran Turismo 7 has become.
Don’t get me wrong — it’s not a bad game. Visually, it’s stunning. The handling feels great, and it still has that core sim-racing DNA. But it’s also a perfect example of how a live service game can lose its way.
All of this hit me when update 1.57 dropped — the one that added, among other things, the now-infamous Renault Kangoo.
My first thought? “What am I supposed to do with a Kangoo in Gran Turismo 7?”
Still, curiosity got the best of me.
And that’s when I ran headfirst into Sophy AI 2.1 — the so-called crown jewel of the game. I wanted to see how this “advanced” AI would handle my new French van. Spoiler alert: you can’t use it. In fact, most new vehicles aren’t compatible with Sophy at all. So I had to stick with the regular AI — you know, the one that forgets how to drive and brakes in a straight line.
And that’s the real issue with Gran Turismo 7 : they keep throwing new cars at us, but there’s nothing meaningful to do with them. The Café Mode? Let’s be honest — it’s just a glorified tutorial. There are no real championships, no tailored events, and no challenge worth your time.
You can’t even set up proper one-make races online unless you trust the lobby host to manually enforce the rules. And even then, the UI makes it a hassle to find anything that matches what you actually want to do.
Sophy AI should be a game-changer — a way to bring life back into solo racing. But it’s just not there. It doesn’t defend, it doesn’t adapt, and it often feels just as robotic as before. Most of the time, it’s more frustrating than fun.
Lately, Gran Turismo 7 feels less like a racing game and more like a car collection simulator. And sure, having a beautiful garage full of liveried cars is cool… but this is supposed to be about racing, not shelf decoration.
There’s still hope. With smarter events, real use for new cars, and a properly integrated AI, GT7 could still shine. But right now? It feels like we’re driving a Kangoo… uphill.
You can purchase Gran Turismo 7 by clicking here for the PS4 version and here for the PlayStation 5 and PS4 versions. Additionally, there’s the 25th Anniversary Edition available for PS5 and PS4.
Happy Racing!
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