I think everything but the physics are going to be good in shift 2. Unfourtunately this wont be enough to call it a sim.
Rember how they tried to call shift 1 a sim, lol.
While there is no way to prove you that I believe you will be surprised.
If you check previous posts in this thread you will see that Shift simulation engine was very advanced. It uses suspension geometry data and it has a very advanced tire model with tire temperature calculation and with the ability to adjust tire pressure. That's something that GT5 lacks, propably due to the lack of a serious (if any) tire model which doesn't even simulate tire temperatures and I don't believe they even take suspension geometry into consideration! 👎
Sure the end result in Shift 1 was a bit flawed but if you have read the early Shift 1 previews you would understand that probably that was the result of last minute changes (possibly forced by EA) and maybe some wrong data for the cars.
In Shift 2 judging by what the developers say (there is not much other info at this point) they are taking care of the flaws of the first game and they are building on their excellent engine. Check out
this article to see their physics HUD in action which measures many different data from the simulation including tire temperatures (this would take the guesswork out of the car setup) and what they are doing to make sure that every car behaves like it should (something that admittedly was not always right in the first game). If you are negative you can say that all this is "marketing speak" but I am seeing confident, excited developers that are proud on their work!
Also check out
this article to see how they tie tuning/upgrading/visual appearance in Shift 2. They mention that now it will be easy to test different tuning setups on the fly and save setups on different slots for different tracks! They would not bother to offer such a system if they were not sure about their physics engine.
Also I love the fact that they offer extensive upgrade options like upgradeable brakes, roll-cages, engine-swaps, silhouette racers which also have visual impact on the car. I am not into the car upgrading but I am excited for what I see in Shift 2 because they look they have a well thought out system that would make upgrading exciting and fun.
I mean, in GT5 you make a weight reduction, rigidity improvement and the car's cockpit remains the same. In my opinion it breaks the immersion. Also no upgradeable brakes. I guess that's why I am not into GT5's car upgrading but Shift 2 looks like it will nail car upgrading, tuning and physics (along with graphics and sound which were already amazing in the first game)!
Also they have said they will make the AI a bit less aggressive, they were a bit mad in the first game but still very fun - I liked how they would adjust their behavior depending on wether you were aggressive or not. Also they have an amazing car and track selection! Good job!
So the feeling I get from Shift 2 is that they made a list with each and every flaw from the first game and they fix each and everyone and then they add more features, tracks, cars and awesomeness! I am optimistic that Shift 2 will be an extremely
fun and exciting game and a
very realistic sim, in my opinion by far the
best sim in consoles. At least that's where all the information points to!

👍