I played this game for easily 200-300 hours when I got my PS4 in 2013, came back now to compare it as a _start-of-gen_ game to the likes of Spider-Man Miles Morales.
Criterion has no match when working on a nfs project. The entire series was developed by ghost games the last cycle (PS4, XBO, PC) which was a downfall in quality.
Buy this game in complete edition, replace music with NFS4 tracks and you got classic NFS remastered. It's tge best compromise between High Stakes and Hot Pursuit
I conquered this game so hard. Got every DLC. GotGold on every event. Top of the list on every speed camera. I killed this game. Perfect runs all the time. Fucking cops up. level 4 turbo and ESF
Rivals is the best NFS game from the Ghost era, Gameplay, graphics and Soundtrack are amazing even if it doens't had too much customization (which in my opnion is not a problem)
For me last race is easy. Just don't stop, and don't let the cops surround you. Just watch Grand Tour records. It gave me motivation to drive faster and more careful :D