I 100% agree. Every element of the physics engine felt like it actually had weight to it. The driving physics were predictable, especially if you have any experience with sim driving/racing titles. It wasn’t a simulation, but the cause and effect aspects were as good as we’ll probably ever get in a game like GTA. Passenger cars drove like barges, sports cars were agile and snappy. It wasn’t some canned effect, it was actually down to approximations of a tire model and suspension dynamics.
GTA V feels like every car is the same baseline slot car with tweaked effects to try and provided some level of difference between vehicles. The inertia is bad. Accidents have minor consequences compared to GTA IV. The damage model in IV is vastly superior as well.