Despite being aware of Rockstar's tricks to make the map feel huge, the map still feels like it is genuinely HUGE.

Got that yearly GTA:SA itch and been replaying it for a few days now with a few mods to polish stuff. And the map feels so expansive. It is probably due to its variance with three seperate cities and districts of different classes but it is unlike anything. Not even four and five's map comes close. I love just cruising around.