Unholykrumpet, if that's what you enjoy, I suggest NSF: Shift then as your next game as it allows you to play both the simulation style and that "run people off the road" fun that Split/Second and Burnout have.
My feeling on the whole matter is wondering if anyone can get both factors of those games into one. I understand what EA's talking about in how games like Gran Tourismo and Forza Motorsports seem "sterile". Gameplay wise they ARE the ultimate in ultra-realistic driving games that put years and years into making sure every car looks immaculate, that they all drive differently in some degree and look beautiful... But the driving just feels so... "floaty". When I'm in the driver's view of the car, everything is almost perfectly still, I can feel my controller shaking and vibrating with every slide and rough pavement yet it shows nothing on screen, as if the in-game driver was just sitting in some very well designed arcade cabinet.
On the other hand, Shift seems to be the exact opposite, at least to my friend who has been playing Sim-Racing games for most of his life. There's tremendous steering lag, even when you turn the intentional lag off completely, any amount of traction control will kill any speed through corners, the tires screech with every turn when in real life they'll only do that when you lose grip in them, the driving line to help you find the right corners is broken, I could go on. But I can forgive all that because when you're in the driver's seat, you feel like your RACING! In Forza, your announcer and aid sounds more like a butler than a pit manager, dealing out races to you as if asking for your choice of tea and biscuits. In NSF: Shift, the guy sounds like he's had years of experience, giving you encouragement, telling you what every upgrade's going to do to your vehicle (the only real break in realism in that regard is that unlike the demo, your pit manager doesn't give you a break-down of the track's layout). And that's before you even hit the gas! When you're in Shift, the car shakes and vibrates, as you speed up your vision dims as everything around you goes out of focus except for the road in front of you. When you get hit by someone or take a turn wrong and hit a barrier, your car lurches forward, your vision goes out and turns blurry, feeling every like you got hit by an elephant. Shift just has that feeling of driving that "The Ultimate Driving Simulation" doesn't have, period!
... Still, I'd rather play GT5 then Shift anyways. Stupid game telling me a fully upgraded Nissan Skyline can't run against a Murciélago... Rubbish.