I really love the level design of Need For Speed II. It’s at the same time intentionally unrealistic, but still feels “realistic” at the same same - as opposed to the cartoony feeling of the likes of Mario Kart.
So, what more modern games reach that atmosphere? Burnout Paradise to some extent, but even that loses by far to the track scenery design of NFS II. I’ve seen all tracks on NFS II SE so many times that something more would be good to find!
The Forza horizon games are more unrealistic than the Forza motorsports games and might be what you’re looking for. Also the horizon games have great scenery although you see much less of the urban areas.