The overall color palette is far broader, brighter, and much prettier to gaze at. Sure, you still have totally unanimated crowds and sprite-based trees, but there is such an abundance of texture variation that's surprising. So, what was once a rather ugly looking game is now quite striking, and again, the changes are global. The cars show more detail, from the racing lines, to new antennae, to the lighting effects, such as exhaust pipe backfire and the constant sparks of dragging bumpers on the tarmac. Given that the framerate is still pretty solid, probably not ever above 30 fps, but somewhere consistently between 25-30, the cars roll across the screen with a generally smooth look and feel.
Slowdown still appears every so often, but never enough to affect gameplay directly.
And for those who love replays, the replays are better than before, with better, more focused angles to see your run. Another nice addition is the extra set of viewpoints including a hood view and a cockpit perspective, which shows the driver shifting gears and steering in realtime, just like in World Touring Car. The list of good things in Colin McRae just keeps going. In 2.0, players are given a whole new set of recorded sound effects that are simply brilliant. You can instantly hear the whir of the Ford Focus' turbo engine clicking into gear and whizzing to top RPMs.