I did play the NFS WM 2012 and I didn't like it at all. Your car would get completly wrecked after hitting a small pole. That was disappointing, they tried to make it ultra-realistic.
The police chase were both fun and full of tense moments, evading spikes at high heat levels were one of the difficult things to do.
The most difficult races would be the last ones on the black list
I don't know I always felt like they were not so difficult, but yes, after completing it more than 4-5 times they feel easier haha.