That’s because GTSport (rip I liked you) was mostly based on the multiplayer mode (No GT mode when the game was launched). In my opinion, that’s why we had the miles system. It was for non-important thing (Rims, safety cars, driving suit).
Remember, on GTSport, there was a BOP for every race online, no pp system so we hadn’t the need to upgrade cars
About the farming, every “modern” GT was like this and since GT6, you can have every cars with major skill issue and without paying with real money (Just need to farm)
On GT5 there was car packs and on the older games, licenses gave you cars you wasn’t able to buy (Ford Model T, Acura DN-X for example on GT4 but it was here since the first games)
Interesting to hear others opinions about these games, thanks. 
I actually bought the game (GT7) about a week ago and I’ve played it since, currently at 60 hours / 3470 km. Zero game crashes so far, which is a good thing I guess.
Controller steering seems to be controversial topic between GT / FM. I personally really like GT7’s steering after setting the steering sensitivity to my preference. Stock 0 setting is fine for me if using directional buttons but with sticks I prefer -2 setting, 0 is drivable but a bit too quick. For me steering rate and angle is more predictable in GT so I find hitting the apex easier in that game.
Stock cars felt nice in GT but after upgrading first few cars my first thought was this isn’t right. After tuning more cars using trial and error method my newer tunes seems fine and actually pretty enjoyable to drive. I had not tuned cars using natural frequency before so it was a bit different experience than GT6 or FM2023 I’m more familiar with.
I haven’t made any public race lobbies yet but free run track day was pretty much the first thing I did after I got lobbies unlocked. I really missed that feature on FM series. I have understood that FM4 had public lobbies and think that game would be fun to try one day but I guess it was on Xbox 360 (?) which I don’t have.
Overall I really like the new GT, I was a bit worried after reading many comments about the game but I guess it’s personal preference as usual. I think I give FM2023 some time and see how the game evolves in 2024 before making any conclusions about the game.
Well let me tell you my experience ! I made the mistake and purchased FM 8 (thank god it was on discount that day) and I had a lot of dissapointmets and issues. For starters my system isn’t weak and I have a lot of games that run flawlessly ! Ryzen 5800X3D 32GB RAM and 7900XTX. The game (FM8) stutters from time to time … I get like 0.5-1 sec freezes in 2024 !!! and during any kind of races. I set graphics to LOW or ULTRA it doesnt matter. Turned of RayTracing doesnt matter. What is this JOKE of a game in 2024 ??? Basically I DO NOT PLAY ANYMORE so problems are fixed.
How does gt7 run on your rig for comparison?
Well I just got a PS5+PSVR2 and I can tell you GT7 is miles ahead of this FM2023 game … Its sad at least they should offer VR for FM2023 or FM8 how you want to call it. Either way I’ve spend last few days just playing on PSVR2 GT7 even if graphics in VR are not top notch the game RUNS beautifull no stutters at all and the experience cannot be compared to any FM game.
Is GT7 multiplayer a wreckfest or opportunity for clean racing?
From the friends I’ve seen racing it’s pretty clean, you got some people who make bad moves and you see them get penalized.
Online (open) custom lobbies, are they still available in GT?
TBH never played gt7 online
Online racing classes? PP, division or both?
See answer above.
FM vs GT general physics. Understeery? Oversteery? Twitchy handling? Something else?
I feel the cars in gt7 are too tall like they handle like a tractor trailer going around the corner, that’s just the feeling it gives me. I feel forza is low to the ground and wide I feel comfortable with the handling of many cars. Updates ago you could adjust the ballast and make cars do wheelies but then they updated and ruined that… used to have black marks from tires in the game and they removed that.
Controller driving experience? The good, the bad and the ugly? Any steering settings in GT?
Dad hates the twitchy steering and runs staggered compound tires… again he pushes the stick forward and holds it there and steers that way. Like the front tires have too much grip for him and makes it difficult to hold a steady line. Once he staggers the tire compounds he can run a steady line like he’s painting lines on the track.
Wish Forza could have some of gt7s tracks really miss some of them. Gt has the looks, smooth gameplay, smarter ai, idk it just doesn’t feel fun to me. After getting used to Xbox controller I prefer it over the PlayStation controller feels more comfortable to me. Feels more like a chore forcing me to do license test for game progression . I didn’t start driving yesterday. Car customization is better w gt like adding side exhaust to cars and the sound of the car actually changes. Still can’t get the cams right. You install cams your engine idle and entire rpm range is going to sound different because of that cam. Wish one game in my lifetime would get this right… so what 4-10 different audio sound versions per car. Atleast we could have a choice…
You might aswell forget about keeping everything contained to a disk these days, there’s just not enough room for all of today’s content.
If gt ever makes a open world horizon style series look out world… 
game over