As a simulation game, V-Rally places a strong emphasis on replicating the behavior physics of real cars and generally requires more practice than arcade-style racers.

Former rally world champion Ari Vatanen worked on the game as a technical consultant,[1] giving the developers insight on how the cars should handle collisions and drifts.

After its release on the PlayStation console, V-Rally was ported to multiple platforms, including the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, and Microsoft Windows.

[2] The game places a strong emphasis on replicating the behavior physics of real cars and generally requires more practice than arcade-style racers.

[2] Aspects such as the weather conditions, the road surfaces, and the drive wheel configurations have a significant impact on the car handling.

[4] Before starting a race, players have the option to tweak their car setup with tighter suspensions, quicker gear ratios, understeer or oversteer sensitivity, and choice of manual or automatic transmission.

[5] Championship is similar to Arcade, but stages have no checkpoints and players are awarded points based on the rank they finish courses.

[8] The game's environments and cars are fully rendered in 3D, while the Gouraud shading method was used to give 3D objects a smoother surface.

[11] Former rally world champion Ari Vatanen gave the developers insight on how the cars should handle collisions and drifts.

[8] The game supports the NeGcon controller by Namco, allowing players to steer their car around curves in an analog manner.

Similarly, developers considered the possibility of adding a rear-view mirror to the HUD, but it was ultimately discarded due to the memory constraints of the PlayStation hardware.

[16][17] Later that September, the game's European distributor Ocean sold the North American publishing rights to Electronic Arts.

[18] A likely reason for the title change was to draw more attention to the American market,[18] as it was classified that rally racing was a much more popular sport in Europe than it was in America.

[21] In Europe, V-Rally received very positive reviews from critics, who compared it favorably to Sega Rally Championship, praising its large number of tracks and challenging yet rewarding gameplay.

They also considered V-Rally a more attractive game due to its better-looking graphics, which were highlighted for their details and long draw distance.

[19] Electronic Gaming Monthly editors agreed, describing the car physics and collision detection as wacky and unnatural.

[23] GamePro instead asserted that "game control is responsive, but requires patience and practice, so arcade drivers will easily be frustrated".

The reviewer concluded that V-Rally is more for hardcore rally enthusiasts than for the Need for Speed fanbase, but is a strong offering in that regard, citing its customization options, useful co-pilot voice, and detailed and smoothly scrolling graphics.

[3][7] GameRevolution enjoyed the fact that weather conditions impact the gameplay experience, stressing that "once you understand that you actually need to use your brakes and concentrate on the race, the realism proves to be a great asset",[7] while IGN felt that the game was highly rewarding and fun, and that it is best experienced when played on higher difficulty settings.