Since it raced onto our PlayStations in 1997, Gran Turismo has arguably set the bar for console-based racing excellence.
Showcasing an unprecedented level of realism for a '90s racer, the original Gran Turismo would be followed by a raft of sequels, each pushing the envelope further in terms of authenticity, visual splendour and gameplay. This evolution has culminated in Gran Turismo 7, the latest entry, which continues to thrill PS5 and PS4 owners.
Given that it's such a beloved franchise – and one that has even spawned its own movie – picking the best entry in the Gran Turismo series is tricky.
That's why we've enlisted your help to build our list; the ranking below is determined solely by user votes – and it's not set in stone, either. Your vote can help reshape this list, so if you feel an injustice has been done, make sure you make your voice heard!
Gran Turismo HD Concept (PS3)
Intended to be a sneak peek at a new entry entitled Gran Turismo HD, Gran Turismo HD Concept is short on content. Only ten cars are included across two game modes, and only a single circuit is playable – the Eiger Nordwand.
The preview ultimately went nowhere, and the next full game in the series became known as Gran Turismo 5, which would be preceded by its own prologue release.
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (PS3)
Released in Japan in 2007 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the series, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was designed to be an appetizer for the main game, as the title suggests.
It gave series fans their first taste of online play, as well as a taste of the kind of visual splendour the franchise could achieve on PS3. However, compared to a full-fat GT release, it lacks content, and there's little reason to seek it out when the 'proper' fifth game is available.
Gran Turismo (PSP)
After years upon years of rumours, the eventual arrival of Gran Turismo on PSP was met with a muted response, despite being a technological marvel. Polyphony Digital, perhaps expecting most fans would play the game in short bursts, stripped back this handheld instalment of its driving simulator – focusing purely on individual races, time trials, and drift challenges.
Without any real single player structure, many felt the release wasn’t worth the wait, although connectivity with Gran Turismo 5 made it a great way to expand your console garage on the go.
Gran Turismo Sport (PS4)
Sony's flagship racing series has had its ups and downs, but Gran Turismo Sport was an especially unusual step in the history of the franchise.
Primarily focusing on online multiplayer and esports, the game featured the same gorgeous visuals and impressive handling you'd expect, but without most of the content that fans love. Again, the game itself looks and plays great, and its online racing is rather innovative, encouraging good sportsmanship above all.
There's still a lot to like about Sport, but the meatier Gran Turismo 7 is arguably the stronger entry overall.
Gran Turismo 6 (PS3)
Boasting more cars and a higher level of realism when compared to its forerunners, Gran Turismo 6 is considered by many fans to be the zenith of the series, even today. V
ehicle customisation is improved, and partnerships with real-world racing organisations – including the Ayrton Senna Institute, the FIA and NASCAR – deliver a heightened sense of realism and faithfulness. Only the focus on microtransactions sullies this particular instalment.
Gran Turismo 5 (PS3)
With Gran Turismo 5 Prologue giving fans a taste of what the full game would be like, you could argue that the eventual arrival of Gran Turismo 5 lacked the impact it possibly should have had, but that doesn't mean it's not an exceptional racing game.
Incremental improvements to the visuals, sound, garage and driving model are all in evidence, although the inclusion of realistic damage was criticised as being more cosmetic than anything else. GT5 is the biggest-selling PlayStation 3 exclusive, with around 12 million copies sold – a solid indication of its quality.
Gran Turismo 4 (PS2)
721 cars, 51 tracks and a level of detail which simply hadn't been witnessed in a console-based racing game in 2004 – and yet, Gran Turismo 4 still feels like it's missing something.
That something is possibly online play, which was supposed to be included but was cut back following a lengthy delay. Compared to later releases, the damage system is almost laughable, while the AI-controlled cars lack intelligence.
Despite all of this, what you're looking at here is undoubtedly one of the finest racing games in PS2's huge software library, and one which remains a towering achievement for its time.
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (PS2)
When Sony started hyping up the PS2, it was a given that Gran Turismo would be instrumental to its next-generation plans – but Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec missed the console's launch and wouldn't arrive until 2001.
Despite this, its impact was dramatic; visually, it was leagues ahead of Gran Turismo 2, its immediate predecessor, and offered much more in terms of content, realism and playability. Naturally, the passage of time has dulled some of these advancements, but there are times when playing GT3 that you have to remind yourself it's a game from over 20 years ago.
Gran Turismo (PS1)
Back in 1997, it was hard to imagine a more realistic-looking racing game than Gran Turismo. Up until that point, racing simulators never got much of a spotlight with how popular more arcade-style games were, yet with the first GT even those without a penchant for cars found a lot to like with its responsive controls and mind-blowing graphics. As a result, it became one of the highest-rated and commercially successful PS1 games.
The Simulation Mode, where you had to earn driver’s licences to unlock events and championships, added dozens of hours of satisfying gameplay. Throw in 140 cars to unlock, and if Gran Turismo was the only game you had for PS1, you were set. The sequel is equally amazing, but the first game had the most impact, in our opinion.
Gran Turismo 7 (PS5)
Gran Turismo 7 is a game for everyone: the racing enthusiasts, the novices, and anyone in between. It celebrates car culture and history within the confines of a driving experience, explaining how the automobiles you race past the chequered flag fit into the wider world.
There's never been a game quite like it before: Gran Turismo 7 means more than just racing. It's something that matters; something that warrants appreciation and respect just as much as it hands it out itself.
Gran Turismo 2 (PS1)
Following up on the amazing success of Gran Turismo – a game which pushed the PS1 to its absolute limits, according to its creator – was never going to be easy.
However, Gran Turismo 2 delivered on its promise and then some. Everything from the visuals to the amount of content was given a boost, resulting a game which, for many, represents the absolute pinnacle of 32-bit console racing.
What does Gran Turismo mean in English?
Sony's racing series takes its name from the Italian term 'Gran Turismo', which means 'grand tour'. While this is often used to describe a tour around Europe for leisure purposes, it is often used in certain car models, with the letters 'GT' meaning 'grand tourer'.
What is the best selling Gran Turismo game?
The best-selling game in the Gran Turismo series is Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, which has sold 14,890,000 copies to date.
Who is the real-life person in Gran Turismo?
Sony's Gran Turismo movie – which is based on the video game series of the same name – is based on the life of Jann Mardenborough, a British driver who took part in the GT Academy program and became a professional racer.
Comments 8
Seattle Circuit in GT2 was my favorite track. When I visited Seattle I recognized the area because I played that track so much. It was pretty cool that I recognized an area 20 years after seeing it in a game.
Gt1 blew my then 16 year old mind. It was the only game I had when I got my first playstation and I sunk so many hours into that game! Also, playing a racing game with cars I could then go out and see driving around my city and into/out of old folks’ homes (damn demio!!!) was just awesome
@TeamBigRig I got to visit Seattle while GT2 was still contemporary (the Viaduct was still intact), but it is amazing how we can develop a sense of a place mentally without having been there, and further still, be able to retain that sense for decades!
Now we need to find the perfect mountain around which to build Deep Forest Raceway...
@NewBond That's cool you got to see the Viaduct! It was weird because I was like, "I feel like I've been here, it is familiar somehow". Let me know once you have Deep Forest Raceway made so I can drive it! Haha
No GT4 Prologue for 1, no 2002 Concept as well for 2 and GT7 high up WTF. GT2 sure but GT1 is dated and limited on content even if it was a important title.
GT7 is not for racing enthusiasts, the cars sure, maybe the physics (I hate them), tuning shop level gating, yeah that's great game design sigh, I always wanted GT5 to do that because it was missing something that annoying, what a load of garbage, the talking constantly, emptiness, a visual novel presentation from a AAA.
I enjoy Visual novels but like seriously. Who asked for dumbing it down for 'newcomers' when racing enthusiasts or car fans/GT players know all this stuff.
It's not a bad thing to offer it for newcomers but were they afraid of the GT5 Nascar cutscene character models alongside the pit crew. Like come on. Laziness. Make the conversations in a phone, make it contextual if that's what their going for and wanted to presented it better but they wanted to show the car and wanted to show the environments??? But no character models other than pit crew in races.... But won't show a phone or computer. If TOCA Pro Race Driver on PS2 let alone the Dirt series can have menus on a computer how lazy are Polyphony to make contextual sense to present emails, texts or video calls. Laziness and ugly design. If they want presentation offer it, not barely commit to it. I don't ask for cutscenes in my racing games but like come on. GT6 did it and it was fine enough, still just a text box, that works fine, many games do that and I don't mind it, it has it's tips/tutorial use cases and easy to skip too. But I mean it's still fair then open spaces with emptiness, cars and no one your talking to you being there. Whether we are 'using our phone' and looking over.... Maybe.
The dealership/brand central cutscene is hilarious. I could walk that in Project Gotham Racing 2, the same as the garages and see every single car in that game. No way even getting VR of that in GT7 which would be cool. Or a Car model viewer/Forza Vista type thing either.
No one is doing anything like that nowadays. Everything is menu based. Menus make sense but even still. Presentation. Ideas out of the box.
The fact Bizarre Creations did it alongside a menu, had Geometry Wars in it (3 & 4 expanded on it then separted to Live Arcade or GW3 by Lucid as some old BC devs besides those that went to Playground or wherever), just for people to explore it not use it as the only menu option is just awesome. Menus are good to be quick sure but to walk around it when Forza Vista was more limited and kind of nice of a car model viewer and voice over. Is just cool stuff.
Only MTX sullies GT6. Really? I mean even the game design changes made sense of stars and skipping events but S5 is a pain and some content is ok. I don't think much of 6 but MTX huh. I just don't find it as fun even besides it's more content then GT4 of side content offerings and variety being probably better yes just the handling model annoys me so much in GT5 & 6 besides the content.
GT3 has it's limits but still good, repetitive and bad AI, eh pro events dragged out that's just hours of repeating 10-20 lap races as many mini endurance races I get that, but it's limited content is fair enough. You can't beat it if you put your own challenges on it like GT4 but it's still fun enough.
GT4 is the best in the series even with it's limits it's quality of life mods and randomisers shows how infinitely replayable the base game is besides modding it. It has issues with rewards but they make sense for history purpose when you acquire them. It has some noticeable bugs but still.
GT Sport I get the lower level but still enjoyable enough and with it's offline patch is great now singleplayer wise even if 20mill nostalgia cup grind or the cheaper ones but even with no achievements it's possible to play and less online nonsense to deal with anymore. I jump on and off it. The AI in the later events aren't playable for me. From F1 to just certain others, endurance as well. I can tune all day many ways, and hold on and nothing.
GT7 is fine but to me is just GT5 & Sport + Forza Motorsport 6 levels of issues I have with the game. I respect GT Sport more than I do 7 by how it handles content, I don't care what cars/tracks even if GT Sport the lacking use of rally other than rally or the truck event was a joke I used those rally tracks for drifting achievement than anything else. The content drops are fine but the progression, to just little things suck in GT7, the quality of life is just so eh. Granted I haven't watched every update but even still. Gifts cars in Sport sucked as you can't sell them sadly but no idea GT7 even though selling was added in an update. The grind is a bit much.
People complain about Forza Motorsport 8's upgrade system, why is gating tuning shop upgrades a good idea? Like who asked for this GT5 level system but over expanded nonsense to other parts of the game as well and approves of it but doesn't give GT5 a pass in that area.
I think it's recency bias. It's got major issues.
If it's down to the cars then eh, oh their dream cars then no I can't agree with that, gameplay design over whatever dream cars and tracks people want any day. I don't mind the GT Sport tracks licensed or original but they still aren't great.
I feel the same with Forza Motorsport 1, so many tracks left behind and I find the licensed ones just so unfun to race on. But that's just me. Real tracks to race on digitally is cool but to me I just don't like the way they feel to drive on and the physics in most modern racing games I don't like. Grid Legends was the last one I tolerated enough without favouring older games racing feel even if not realistic still more fun or suitable for me to drive in the games.
GT Sport (I don't own 7 I may in the future but I have no interest in it right now or ever) didn't have as many GT5 & 6 Tyre physics/handling model (even with cars that are more flexible still) issues but it still has limits of it's own I find annoying.
I don't count the reuse of PS2/PSP car models of GT5/6 it didn't bother me. But at the same time. Old or new tracks 7 is limited, an eh cafe mode and music rally no one cares about other than the game installing. Nascar, Go Karts, Rally, the moon, Sierra Time Rally, are all better than music rally from GT5 & 6.
7 is the latest but not good enough in modern game design compared to even other racing games on the market let alone creativity of ideas. I have issues with many modern games in some genres. Yet can go back and go that has design that makes sense why does this game have this design but lacks in character movesets (Biomutant, Foamstars).
I don't care about multiplayer only the singleplayer. I never did GT5 & 6 online races either so I missed out but not fussed there.
As much as I don't like the hard difficulty of Ride 4 it's Forza region mode is cool. WRC 2023 Sega GT style or it's own car builder. Give me that not Forza's position select/upgrade limitation systems that Ratchet games can pull of but not a car game due to the way the games are of using the car/upgrades.
I never use upgrades in Forza games anyways.
GT7 is just not a good game.
I still remember that amazing week on the PS1 in the UK. Resident Evil 2, then the week after, Gran Turismo. What a time to be alive. Haha.
As I said in the other thread, I’ve absolutely loved each Gran Turismo in the era they were released. Everyone of them felt like a masterpiece. Sport was a bit of a misfire, with all the multiplayer focus, but 7 brought it back to the level it should be.
Amazing game, tons of content and that full PSVR2 mode is next level racing. Absolutely mind blowing.
Gran Turismo 7 is by far my favourite now.
I've only played the first five games, but I think 3 is the most fun to jump into and play.
Terrible list if I am honest. GT for PSP is still one of the all-time greatest handheld racing games, if not the all time best. GT6 was easily a better game than GT5, especially if you want to talk about how GT5 was before it's 2.0 update that basically fixed most of the game. GT4 and GT2 are all-time classics though, and GT7 has become the definitive next gen racing experience.
I'd rank them:
1. GT4 - the definitive PS2 GT game
2. GT2 - the definitive PS1 GT game
3. GT6 - the definitive PS3 GT game
In that order because it feels like the GT4 was sort of peak GT, with the most content. GT2 just stands out as an incredible achievement for the PS1 that pushed what we thought possible. GT6 because it's basically the overall culmination of all the games, before the next gen change for GT Sport and GT7, and the best way to play GT on a PS3. Then I'd say:
4. GT7
5. GT PSP
6. GT PS1
7. GT3
8. GT5
9. GT Sport
10. GT Concepts
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