I stopped reading at "...fuel-trucks and bowsers whizzing around...". Makes it sound like there's an SP game worthy of the name, all full of life and goodies and immersion.

There isn't. The game, when it doesn't crash or lock-up, is utterly sterile. The SP campaign isn't a campaign, it's a bunch of very shoddy single missions strung together. And strung together badly.

Maybe your review/preview goes on to mention that but, like I say, I stopped reading it when it began to give a very false impression.