Personally, after only playing this for a little while, I think it's a LOT better than Driver 2 Advance. This one has a LOT better sense of speed, and even though the physics do seem a bit slippery, it's still pretty good. Of course, the lack of cop chasing and stuff like that is kinda... Sad... Also the lack of free drive (unless it's unlocked along with other stuff). But it seems so far like the map is a lot bigger than Driver 2, and a lot more varied. No more flat terrain and 90 degree corners only. So that's good.
The only other thing I don't like is the draw distance, which is pretty shoddy compared to most things, but pretty decent for GBA. But still.