head to head
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.

Execution · Pure Mechanics
The 70s-cinema getaway driving game with famously demanding physics.

Execution · Pure Mechanics
Landmark FPS built on physics puzzles and tight gunplay.
Driver leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Half-Life 2 leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Driver leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Driver
Handbrake control and pursuit driving by feel
Half-Life 2
Gravity gun and shooting demand precision.
Half-Life 2 leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Driver
Police AI is mappable
Half-Life 2
Combine AI scripted, non-adaptive.
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Driver
Traffic adds mild unpredictability
Half-Life 2
Almost no randomness.
Driver leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Driver
City routes and mission tactics learnable
Half-Life 2
Linear progression with no builds.
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.