They have stepped it up, compare GT5
rologue's physics system to GT5's and you see that it's vastly improved, surely this one of the most important factors in a game like this, looking to sim racers for amazing 'in game' graphics is counter productive imo,
it just seems the vast majority of people on here are using the wrong aspects of either game as a deciding factor as to which is best, these are 'driving simulators', think about it.
Also sim racers in general have pretty average looking tracks anyway because in real life motor sports tracks are also pretty average looking, what's important is the layout of the track, and how your car feels on it, these aren't arcade racers, look at the top gear track for example, it's an amazing track but essentially it's just a course laid out on a rather bland air field strip, how amazing do we need that to look?