The ESWAP XR PRO is the Best Racing Controller I Ever Bought, But it Takes Practice!

I dread to think how many thousands of hours I must have put into driving games in my life, but let’s just say, it’s most certainly enough to call myself an expert, a professional or some other nonsense. Which is funny because I’m a pretty terrible driver in real life. Alas, if my car had an Xbox controller, I’d likely do a lot better. I’m also a controller player in general, playing games with a keyboard and mouse has long caused much discomfort for me, so as a result, I have quite an extensive controller collection. I must have at least a dozen pads in my current rotation right now… well, let’s make that one more, as I just got the Thrustmaster ESWAP XR Pro Controller Forza Horizon 5 Edition, and it’s become a love/hate relationship.

What Thrustmaster Had to Say

“Rediscover Mexico with the groundbreaking ESWAP XR PRO CONTROLLER FORZA HORIZON 5 EDITION gamepad! Experience incredibly immersive racing with the gamepad, thanks to the brand-new RACING WHEEL MODULE. Master your trajectories and drifts, and stay in control on any type of terrain with the module’s 95° rotation angle and non-slip surface. Enjoy all the advantages of the ESWAP X PRO CONTROLLER thanks to the two cutting-edge next-generation (NXG) mini-sticks for enhanced precision, plus super-responsive clicks on the mechanical D-pad and buttons.”

Features

This really isn’t like other controllers, as it’s specifically a very modular design, allowing you to hot-swap the sticks, D-Pad and a new racing wheel modular at will. Plus, it also has programmable back buttons, an adjustable trigger and other cool features built-in. This is good, as for £179.99 it’s certainly not cheap, but it’s by far one of the most unique and interesting racing controllers I’ve owned since the PlayStation 1 era.

• FOR THE FANS: Customized gamepad with the colours of FORZA HORIZON 5, and officially licensed  for Xbox and FORZA HORIZON 5
• GAME-CHANGING IMMERSION: Racing wheel module with re-centring system, non-slip surface and 95° rotation angle for incredible control of turns and drifting
• RELOAD. RESTART. SUSTAIN: Modular gamepad with T-MOD technology that lets you swap and replace the mini-stick modules without any tools, as many times as you like
• BECOME AN ACE AT THE WHEEL: Next-generation S5 NXG mini-sticks with an extended lifespan of 2 million activations, plus enhanced precision with dead zone management
• EXTRAORDINARY RESPONSIVENESS: The mechanical buttons are 64% faster than standard membrane-based buttons, with a lifespan of 5 million activations and an activation distance reduced to 0.01 inches / 0.3 mm
• PLUG & PLAY: When the RACING WHEEL MODULE is inserted, the D-pad inputs are automatically assigned to the four rear buttons (recommended setup: RACING WHEEL MODULE replacing the D-pad)
• YOU DECIDE: Physical locking catches let you control the travel of the LT/RT triggers according to your own personal preferences
• YOUR GAMING STYLE: The 4 additional rear buttons can be remapped (or disabled) directly on the gamepad, or via the ThrustmapperX software
• AUDIO ADJUSTMENT: Volume control can be mapped directly to the gamepad
• PRESETS: 2 different gaming profiles saved in the gamepad’s internal memory
• OPTIMAL GAMING EXPERIENCE: The free ThrustmapperX software for Xbox and PC (Windows 10, 11) lets you configure all of the gamepad’s essential settings, accessible directly via the Xbox menu
• NEAR-ZERO LATENCY: Super-resistant, braided wired  for reduced latency and fast, stable data transmission
• EXTENSIVE COMPATIBILITY: Compatible with Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Windows
• INCLUDED IN THE BOX: 2 mini-sticks, D-pad and RACING WHEEL MODULE for your choice of configurations, plus a 1-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription

Launch Trailer