"[4] Cash Box said "Sitting at the Wheel" was worth the long wait since the Moody Blues' previous US single, "The Voice," and that "bright, brassy keyboard flourishes give ELO-style orchestration and pumping bass rhythms a strong forward thrust.

"[7] Gazette critic Dick Hogan praised Hayward's "spirited" lead guitar and Moraz' "soaring synthesizer runs" and said that "vocally, the song borders on some of ELO's more recent tunes.

"[8] The Morning Call said that "'Sitting at the Wheel', with its speedy rhythm, catchy lyrics and honky tonk piano...is perfect for AM/FM radio drive time.

"[11] In the Kansas City Star, Tim McGraw complained of the song's commercialism, saying that it "has about as much thought as any number of the Electric Light Orchestra's pounding 12-bar rockers.

"[13] Jim Angell of the Tri-City Herald called it a "rather cliche rocker featuring Jackson Browne-like guitar work by Hayward.

"[17] Freakes acknowledged that it's "lively in a foot-stomping way" but said that it's "a curious hybrid of synth-pop (the reverb-heavy drum sound and Eurythmics style synth) and rock 'n' roll (Lodge's energetic echo-laden chorus and [Pat] Moraz' Fats Domino-inspired boogie-woogie piano).