Heusinkveld One Steering Wheel — Long-Term Review
The Heusinkveld ONE caused widespred division when it was released in late 2025. You either love or hate the look of it, but looks don’t give you the on track advantages that Heusinkveld claims you get from this wheel and needless to say, I was skeptical… I’m Laurence, welcome to the channel
1. Introduction
It comes as no surprise these days that Heusinkveld still has some of the best customer service in the business. That’s not my opinion, that’s a widely known fact at this point. They seem to be a company that does things with the interests of the sim racer at heart. Their pedals are so good that at last count, there were at least 5 other successful brands that have copied the technologies and designs that Heusinkveld pioneered. Their shifters and handbrake again follow a similar design philosophy and lead the way with innovative features and build quality. So we were all stunned to see them venture into the steering wheel market with the ONE.
Before we dive in, here are the key specs. The wheel weighs approximately 1024 grams with a diameter of 270mm at the hand positions. It’s constructed from fiber-reinforced composites which keeps it stiff while maintaining low inertia. It features 14 buttons with 24 interchangeable caps included, 4 push-rotary encoders, and 2 seven-way switches. On the back you get dual analog clutch paddles and 2-way push/pull shifter paddles that are length adjustable without tools. There are 9 RGB telemetry LEDs on the front panel that work with SimHub, plus an illuminated H-logo with adjustable brightness. The 2800 mAh battery provides weeks of driving or months of standby time. It uses an integrated 50.8mm threaded hub for mounting, with an optional 70mm adapter available. This is a wireless-only wheel for PC, using an included low-latency dongle. It’s not console-compatible.
2. First Impressions
I’ll be honest, it’s not that pretty. The buttons look kinda cheap and I was disappointed that the middle of the wheel wasn’t a proper screen. What you actually get is 9 RGB telemetry LEDs on the front panel that work with SimHub, plus an illuminated H-logo. I felt a little catfished into thinking it was more than it was. I love LEDs as much as the next person but the lack of backlit buttons also made me a little less enthusiastic. Sure, it’s great for VR users and you could argue that a real race driver knows where their buttons are located without looking, but I’m not a real race driver and never will be.
The grips are a nice grippy material and the shape of them feels good in my hands. They’re not too thick and they don’t feel too cheap. I’ll cover them in more detail in a later section. The buttons are customisable and there are no stickers involved. The wheel is a bit smaller than it looks in photos which has its advantages and disadvantages. It’s wireless-only, connecting to your PC via the included dongle. The 2800 mAh battery provides weeks of driving time or months on standby, depending on how bright you have you LEDs set.
3. Price
At €499 exluding taxes, or €610 including EU VAT, this wheel is competitively priced for a european product. While you do get functionality that you wouldn’t get with other wheels, it’s not necessarily worth the price for everyone. You get some extremely clever software with it which I’ll cover in detail in a while, and there’s no extra charge for the wireless dongle or clutch paddles. The wireless dongle is included in the box, which is a welcome touch. You probably require the steering wheel adapter though which is an extra €40. Then you still need whatever quick release your base uses. But even with all of these things attached, it’s got a very compact footprint and a nice lightweight design at just over 1 kilogram before quick release. The low inertia design means you get more FFB detail compared to heavier wheels.
4. Installation – Hardware
The installation was straightforward for some brands and a little more complex for others. For my VNM i needed to order some specific countersunk bolts to make it work properly. For Simagic and others, the included hardware does the trick nicely. As this is a steering wheel, there’s nothing else that needs installation other than the wireless dongle. I recommend plugging this directly into your PC as I did have some minor initial connection issues when using a powered USB hub.
5. Software
This was one of the unexpected surprises. Honestly, I’ve not really been a fan of the heusinkveld software. I still don’t fully understand why we need SmartControl and also another package called SmartControl Live. The software’s user experience has room for improvement but as we saw with the magshift, they’ve brought their incredibly configurable button assignment technology to the Heusinkveld ONE. What does that mean? It means that a single function can have a different action depending on how you press it. For example, a short press could be a button, a long press could be a toggle, and a double press could be a different function entirely. This is incredibly useful for sim racing where you need to perform complex actions quickly. You can also make the output of those buttons be a short input or a held input.
It’s a lot to get your head around and honestly, I didn’t feel the need for most of it. But it’s there if you want it. What I did use was they fn button, or Function button. This is effectively a button you can press which allows every other button or paddle on the wheel to become a new input when fn mode is active. You’ll know it’s active because there’s a dedicated LED indicator on the wheel. I found myself using fn for things that I didn’t necessarily need to be mapped to a button, but it was nice to have the option. Things like muting discord, adjusting game volume, etc. But it didn’t even stop there. The software allows you to assign media controls and basically anything a modern keyboard can do. Controlling my spotify playlist and adjusting my PC’s volume from this fn mode felt incredibly powerful. I hope that in the near future we see the ability to assign custom key combos to those buttons. And trust me when I say that other brands are going to copy this.
6. Buttons, Rotaries & 7-way hats
The eagle eyed amongst us will se that the buttons are surrounded by little plates and torx screws. Those plates come off and you have quite a few spare buttons that you can chop and change on the wheel. There are 14 buttons in total and you get 24 interchangeable caps included. I customised my wheel after a few days of use and it was quite easy, despite the buttons being very difficult to place perfectly so that they could be pressed. If one of them wanders even slightly, it won’t work. So there was trial and error and a bit of a delicate touch required, but it was very doable.
The buttons themselves are tactile and effective but also quite basic and unfulfilling. They don’t have any kind of feedback or haptic response, and they feel a bit cheap compared to many competitors but that doesn’t mean they’re not good to use. Their layout is such that you have a huge amount of functionality within reach at all times. There are no buttons on the back of the wheel and there is no option for extra paddles. I don’t think it’s that type of wheel though.
The 4 push-rotary encoders are made from a similar material to the grips. They’re nice to use and there’s a noticeable detent. Their size is good and there’s no chance of not knowing how many clicks you’ve moved them. You also don’t need to take your hands off the wheel to adjust them, which sets them apart from most competitors. Each one has a click down function which again is very handy.
The 2 seven-way hats are good. They’re the hardest to reach of all the inputs but they’re still well within reach. They have a great click for the directional inputs and are quite clear on rotation also. They’re simple but effective.
7. Shifters & Clutch Paddles
The shifters are small and out of the way. They’re still quite easy to reach and give a relatively loud click when activated. Their party piece is that you can actually use them as independent 2-way push/pull shifters, so pushing your up-shift away could double as a downshift, in theory.
You get dual analog clutch paddles which are adjustable in throw. Again a feature that’s not only not seen in this price range, but barely seen at all in sim racing. The paddles work well, however, setting them up is very unintuitive. I just want to simply be able to set them to a combined axis and adjust a slider to a given percentage so that I can set my bite point. This UI was over-designed by an engineer and not by a UX designer.
8. Grips
Make a shape with your hands and pretend to hold this wheel in a comfortable way, and you’re likely to end up making the exact shape of these grips. There are no grooves for fingers but the angles and curves are pretty spot on. It just feels well thought out and natural. The grips indent slightly which means that you have a lot of grip with both hands at all times. This leads to an intuitive and controlled experience even when the forces are high. On most track you’re taking more right handers than left handers or vice versa. So having both hands in full control of cornering gives a subconscious advantage when steering, in my opinion.
There’s plenty of space for your thumbs, even if you’ve been lifting cement blocks since you were a teenager. My small hands fit this wheel perfectly but I’m sure they cater for all sizes. I also used them with gloves and had an equally great experience.
9. Size
This is one of the strengths of the wheel but also a disadvantage. The wheel is quite small at 270mm. If you’re used to using a 330mm steering wheel, switching to this wheel feels like you’ve unlocked an extra 5Nm of torque. That might sound like an exaggeration but trust me on this one. This wheel is perfect for getting the most out of any wheelbase below 12Nm of torque. I’m convinced it would even feel nice on a Fanatec CSL DD.
No matter what your wheelbase, this is a super nice wheel to use. Personally, I’d love if it was a bit bigger but that might just be me. I’ll re-iterate that on a lower powered wheelbase, this size is bang on.
10. Final Thought
After many kilometres of driving, I can honestly say that this wheel is a joy to use. It’s designed for formula, GT, and endurance prototype cars, and it excels in those disciplines. The low inertia design really does preserve FFB detail compared to heavier wheels, and the lightweight construction makes it perfect for wheelbases under 12Nm. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, this wheel is definitely worth considering, especially at a very competitive price from a company what bends over backwards to ensure that customers are happy.
The wireless-only design with the included dongle works flawlessly. The 2800 mAh battery provides weeks of driving time, and there’s a battery indicator on screen that gives you plenty of warning before it dies. I’ve only charged this wheel once for this whole review and I’ve put a lot of use on it. The broad wheelbase compatibility via the hub and adapter system means it’ll work with pretty much any base you throw at it.
The number of inputs that are configurable, and how they are configurable, sets this apart from the competition and I’ll genuinely miss it as I move on to other steering wheel review. I feel like the rules of the game have been changed a little because Heusinkveld felt strongly that there was a gap in the market. Whether they’ve filled a gap or they’ve created a new niche, I’m not sure but I’m glad they’ve done it. This is true innovation and I love to see a company not compromising on their vision in order to create the product that they always wanted to bring to market. We see companies like Asetek doing similar but with that comes a major consideration; most Sim racers buy with their eyes and rate looks above functionality. This wheel isn’t exactly a supermodel, but much like that person in your class in school, there’s just something about them that makes you think about them a lot.
If this content informs you to be a better consumer, my mission is accomplished and I’d love if you subscribe to this channel. Should you decide to buy this product, I have included links in the description with discount codes which when used earn some money for this channel. There’s no obligation to do so but your support is appreciated immensely. Details about other companies with similar benefits are also listed. I’m Laurence, I stream every Tuesday and Thursday at 9pm UK/Irish time. Thanks again to Heusinkveld for making this review possible and to you for taking the time to watch, hit the thumbs up or comment with your experiences or opinions. I’m Laurence, and I’ll chat to ye later
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