Initially unveiled during a Logitech stream, where the G Pro Racing Wheel was announced, back in September of last year, the collaboration between the Swiss-American gaming peripheral manufacturer and Playseat is now upon us: the Trophy – Logitech G Edition.
An enhanced version of an existing product, this new venture comes in the form of a sleek and stylish grey and cyan colour scheme, with Logitech branding and “speed track” graphics. Let’s see if this is an ideal sim racing cockpit.
Refining the formula
The Playseat Trophy was initially released in January 2022, boasting a sturdy and direct drive-ready frame for your wheel base and pedals plus a ‘frameless Actifit’ seat. The basic design is structured to be compatible with all the major peripheral brands on the scene.
Back then, it was only available with a black frame with two seat colour options: red and black, or black and white.
One of Playseat’s straplines is that it’s compatible with all wheels, pedals, and consoles. In theory, then, if you’re either a casual console racer wanting the additional immersion of a realistic driving position through the use of wheel and pedals, or you’re a space-conscious elite sim racer with top-tier direct drive base and state-of-the-art load cell pedals, this rig is for you.
That’s all well and good, but that’s Playseat’s opinion, and of course, they’re going to say this. But you’re here because you want to hear what we have to say about it.
After all, the direct drive wheel base market has exploded since the Trophy hit the market, with greater choice and higher torque ratings available…
Initial impressions
When the Trophy – Logitech G Edition arrived, it came in a box about the size you would expect, however, what you may not expect is the weight. It’s surprisingly light for a fully-fledged direct drive-ready rig, at only 17kg, seat included.
When you compare this to competing rigs also capable of taming the higher output forces of a contemporary steering wheel base, this is definitely in the featherweight category – undoubtedly a massive USP of the Playseat Trophy.
Many of us aren’t in a position to have a dedicated ‘sim cave’ the likes of Dave Cam’s, and a majority of console users, for example, will be sliding this in front of the living room telly. For that purpose, this set-up is ideal.
In some of the marketing bumf we have been sent along with this rig, Playseat even showed that this could be hung on a wall using some hooks, and thanks to its layout and comparatively light weight, I don’t think that’s too much of a stretch.
This is easily unplugged, slid behind a sofa, in a cupboard, or hung out the way. So I suppose the ‘partner approval’ is another ticked box.
It was also very well packaged and everything arrived in perfect condition, and we love the dirty grey colour with the blue highlights. We think it looks very slick in the flesh.
Building blocks
Another major plus of this design is that there are only around 10 parts in total, meaning assembly took us only circa one hour, and it’s very straightforward.
I’ve built a fair few sim rigs in my time, however, even the softest of sim racing hands could easily assemble this rig in under two hours with time for tea breaks. There’s even a pair of white cotton gloves included.
The instructions were simple, easy to follow, and allowed for a pain-free process. It’s all images so no language barriers here, and there is a build demo video available which some will prefer to follow along with.
We did have one minor issue, however, with the instructions not quite matching the way in which the lumbar strap was attached. Playseat has assured us this will be rectified for the retail versions, so there should be no concerns here for you.
Sitting down
Once the build of the chassis was complete, it is time to sit down, and the first interesting point is that the seat, well, isn’t actually a seat.
Well, technically I suppose it is. You lower yourself into it and you’re no longer standing, but this is really just a single piece of sewn polyurethane leather, breathable fabric and Velcro, but wrapped around and integrated as part of the frame – very clever!
Before I built this I was sceptical about how sturdy this layout would be and whether it would be up to the task of the forces involved, however, it very much surprised me in a positive way.
It was more than a match for the heaviest settings of the Logitech G-Pro load cell pedals, for example, and didn’t budge an inch with movement and forces from all the direct drive wheels I tried.
In reality, we found the Trophy to be sturdier, with less backrest flex, than several other adjustable seats we have used in this price range.
It’s very comfortable, wide enough for most people in our estimations, has a lumbar support strap which we like and so does my spine, and of course, it has the Logitech branding embroidered in the headrest for all you fans out there – Rich, we’re talking to you.
Adjustability and wheel mounting
You have three options to adjust the cockpit to your preference:
- Wheel deck angle – with four hex bolts
- Pedal plate angle, height and distance from the seat – with four Logitech cyan hand nuts
- And the seat distance from the front section that contains the wheel and pedals – by loosening eight hex nuts allowing a telescopic section to extend
I’m a short king so I didn’t even blink before locking in at the shortest possible frame length, and once the wheel and pedal deck was moved to suit, I was good to go.
There is no instant adjustment by way of seat sliders or ratchets, however moving the pedals is only a matter of twiddling four hand-operated nuts, with channels allowing for easy adjustment.
A friend of mine, and Traxion.GG colleague, is a human/giraffe crossbreed. They jumped in and were comfortable enough to drive with my wheel and chassis length setting, and just moved the pedal plate to its furthest setting. Easy.
The seat angle is adjustable backwards via two telescopic side tubes, but we left it in its most upright position and felt no need to change it. You can also fully undo these and fold the seat forward onto the wheel for storage if you so choose, although we think it could be a little bit of a faff.
While the wheel deck height is not adjustable, sadly, it was a comfortable height for me and my taller colleague.
Made of stiff 5mm thick steel, the desk is pre-drilled with compatibility for all the major manufacturers, plus the holes for your Logitech gear are helpfully highlighted with white rings – a neat little touch.
We had no issue mounting our Fanatec CSL DD, however, there were only two holes pre-drilled compatible with the Thrustmaster T818’s angle-adjustable base plate, so you may need to drill two more there if that’s an issue for you.
If you have mega-long arms, or run a deep dish wheel, the deck is also reversible which would take the wheel further from you.
Driving
The driving experience with this rig is very pleasant. I am personally used to a SIM-LAB aluminium profile rig at home, or our Next Level Racing cockpit in the office and I felt no appreciable difference in stiffness while driving with this.
From watching the footage back of driving and seeing my colleagues have a play, the only visible flexing is an ever so sight up and down movement of the wheel deck arms, but it really is minimal and you certainly don’t feel it behind the wheel.
Even after driving for more than an hour at a time, I was very comfortable in this cockpit and would be happy to do long stints behind the wheel. There is plenty of back support, the driving position is ergonomic and the seat is breathable.
This is also one of the easiest rigs to get in and out of that I have used. The advantage of not having a traditional bucket seat and well-positioned steering arms means that you can either sit down sideways and rotate your legs into position, or straddle the whole rig and then slide down, which is what I found easiest.
The cockpit comes without and built-in ability to attach peripherals, however, there is an additional handbrake/gear shifter attachment which can be purchased separately for £50 (~$40).
Cost and availability
Retailing at £529 in the UK ($599 US), the direct competitors are the GT Omega Prime Lite (£509) and Titan (£455), the Next Level Racing GT-Elite Lite and the F-GT, as well as some lower-end aluminium profile rigs from a brand of your choice.
The quality of the product certainly warrants this price tag, as I think this is a premium-feeling item. Also, the aesthetics of this rig far surpass anything else in this price range and is one I would be proud to have in my home
It’s far less utilitarian than its aluminium profile rivals, and the smooth curves and round tubing are very easy on the eye.
Yet, the strengths of its sleek design are also its weakness in terms of versatility. With relatively limited peripheral customisability, no way to integrate monitors on this rig as a single unit, and the lack of modification options will limit the appeal for some.
Impressive sim racing companion
The Playseat Trophy – Logitech G Edition is truly a great sim racing cockpit and I have been impressed at every stage of this review.
It’s easy to build, lightweight, performs well with every direct drive wheel we could throw at it, and I think it looks bloody gorgeous – subjectively, of course.
The more dedicated hobbyist to the elite sim racer will rue the lack of infinite adjustability and customisability that other types of set-ups in a similar price range can offer. But, I suppose this rig fills a slightly different place in the market to any aluminium profile rig, this is a mostly one-stop product not designed with modding in mind.
If you’re looking for an easy, sleek, comfortable and sturdy ‘direct drive ready’ rig that you can slide away in a matter of moments, then this is the product for you.
This sim rig really shows what can happen when two of the biggest players in the sector join forces, and I for one hope this partnership means more great products in the future.
Full disclosure: This product was loaned by the manufacturer for review purposes. Here is our review policy.
