Yamaha really seems to want to confuse us with this terminology. On my 2023 222XD, it is listed as having Yamaha Drive Control and DRiVE. The boat itself has throttle by wire, steering by wire, with the paddle system on the side of the steering wheel, and the speed control system that is engaged and set by hard button controls to the left of the steering wheel. The steering wheel itself outputs an electronic signal that feeds a hydraulic servo pump in front of the cockpit bulkhead that ultimately controls the steering of the jet buckets. When DRiVE mode is engaged, it re-maps the steering wheel so that a quarter turn of the wheel moves the buckets full scale. The paddles control throttle with the left paddle providing throttle at forward thrust and the right paddle providing reverse thrust when in DRiVE.
The brochure that you posted above suggests to me that it doesn't have the paddles and the electronic / hydraulic steering. The combination of Yamaha Drive Control and throttle by wire sounds like it has the electronic throttle control and the ability to engage no-wake modes, etc using the Yamaha Drive Control controller. Yamaha Drive Control is a term that they use across boats and waverunners for electronic throttle no-wake modes and the ability to hold and bump up or down speeds when going slowly.
I put around 70 hours on my boat this season in a variety of conditions and my opinion of DRiVE hasn't changed. There hasn't been a situation yet where I think it's helpful. It works as advertised, but for me, I much prefer using the throttle quadrant and having a normally mapped steering wheel.
As noted above, Yamaha drive control is really just Yamaha's marketing term for their cruise control modes, though it's certainly understandable how this gets confusing. With regards to the throttle by wire though, the buckets work the same as with your cable system. It's just electronically actuated instead of cable actuated. It's true that while in the cruise assist mode you have finite resolution, when using the throttle quadrant (or the paddles for that matter), it's the same amount of control as with a cable.
DriveX was also mentioned above. That's yet another entirely different kettle of fish. That uses paddles, but also side thrusters. Hard for me to imagine really needing that.
I love my 222XD, and like the general responsiveness and control of the electronic throttle and steering... But side thrusters on a boat of this size just seems unnecessary. I have to maneuver in tight quarters on a regular basis in all sorts of weather conditions and other than using single throttle mode, I don't use any of the other stuff.
