So on an impulse purchase I bought one yesterday. I played PGR3 and Burnout Revenge with it, and both games were ridiculously hard to handle. is this typical with steering wheels for gaming consoles?

It's always been my experience, I hate them. My friend will only use them though...apparently once you get use to them they give you a lot of control.

Yeah, it takes lots of practice. IMO controllers are better.