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Forza Horizon 5 tips and best cars guide

  • from PLITCH
  • 09.01.2024

In Forza Horizon 5, you’re faced with an incredibly wide range of possibilities. The game world is huge, there are events everywhere and different things to experience. However, you should stick to a few pieces of advice, especially at the start. With our Forza Horizon 5 tips and guide for the best cars, you’re off to a great one.

1) Forza Horizon 5 tips for a good start

Explore the game world and collect XP

With the game world of Forza Horizon 5, developer Playground Games once again creates an authentic and huge environment where you can really live it up. Accordingly, there’s a lot to experience in the open world. Consequently, you should start by driving around and exploring virtual Mexico extensively, especially at the beginning.

On your journey, you’ll also discover villages, temples, and much more aside from the varied landscape. A positive side effect is that you’ll collect experience points for your actions. The more daring your driving maneuvers, the more XP you’ll earn. And there’s plenty to see – the game is packed with content.

Tip: As you explore the game world, you’ll find fast travel boards and XP boards. You can destroy both for an XP boost. At the same time, you can complete challenges, which will give you a number of advantages, as we’ll show you later.


Unlock skills for your favorite car

Just as you generate experience points in Forza Horizon 5 by driving around, the same applies to the vehicle you use. The car you use to move through the world generates experience points itself. So, you collect vehicle-specific ability points. These points, in turn, are stored for that specific car and unlock various perks in the “Car Mastery” skill tree.

Basically, you’ll get XP for almost every ride you take with your car. However, you’ll get a bit more experience points for the vehicle if you jump over small hills, drift, or drive around objects and plants.

Tip: A great place to get skill points is the desert. You’ll find it in the west of the virtual Forza Horizon 5 game world.

For this reason, it makes sense that you choose your favorite cars for the special types of races and stay true to them. This way, you can improve your skills and later keep up with other vehicles by tuning them.


Collect cars

As shown in the previous tip, you should only use one vehicle per race category in Forza Horizon 5 in order to quickly provide it with perks. However, it’s important that you expand your fleet anyway. The reason for this is that the game rewards you for collecting cars.

Once you have collected all the vehicles of a manufacturer, you’ll get goodies. You can spin a wheel and win credits and other things, as well as new cars.

But there is another reason why it’s worthwhile for you to add vehicles to your fleet: There are hidden vehicles in the skill trees. Accordingly, you first need the car with which you earn skill points to be able to unlock them afterward.


Fast cars don’t make races easier

Especially at the beginning of Forza Horizon 5 and the first races, it’s easy to assume that higher-class cars make the race easier. Basically, the cars are divided into different classes, whereby the classes S and X stand for the most powerful cars in Forza Horizon 5. Accordingly, it would be obvious if you use a class S car to make your life easier in a class D race.

While the idea is obvious, it doesn’t work in Forza Horizon 5. This is because the game adapts the AI opponents’ vehicles to the car you choose for the challenge. Consequently, if you roll up to the starting line with an S-Class car, you’ll meet other drivers who use similarly powerful cars. Consequently, the races won’t be easier, but even more challenging than they would be for you in a class D car.


Improve your fast travel

There’s no question that the driving behavior, the varied cars, and also the authentic environment make driving through virtual Mexico a pleasure. However, you may want to get from A to B quickly without having to drive halfway across the world map. In the beginning, however, you can only make very limited use of the fast travel function. Only purchased houses or festival outposts are available as destinations.

In addition, you’ll pay 10,000 credits per quick trip, which is a lot, especially in the beginning. To reduce the cost, you should always look out for the rectangular signs in purple with the words “Fast Travel” and a lightning bolt symbol on them. For each of these signs you bypass, your cost will be reduced by 200 credits. If you find all 50 signs, you’ll travel for free.

Ultimate fast travel is only possible when you can buy the Buenas Vistas house for 2,000,000 credits. From then on, every street is available to you as a fast travel destination, regardless of whether you have already discovered it or not.


Save Credits

Overall, however, you need to save credits in Forza Horizon 5 and not spend them frivolously. On the one hand, you unlock the house for the optimized fast travel as shown. In addition, a high number of credits allows you to buy the best-performing vehicles in the game. The performance of the Koenigsegg is enormous. However, it’ll cost you accordingly.

For 2,800,000 credits you can get the Koenigsegg Jesko or the One:1 and CCGT models. So, if you want to race one of these cars over the asphalt, you should pay attention to your spending habits.

Tip: You can also win the Koenigsegg Jesko for free. To do so, you have to play through the entire V10 story. In addition, you have to complete each chapter with 3 stars.


Pay attention to the color of the streets

When you open the map in Forza Horizon 5, the complete road network of virtual Mexico is displayed. At first glance, you can immediately see three dominant colors: Gray, white, and orange. Each of these colors, of course, has its own meaning:

  • Gray: roads not yet discovered
  • White: asphalted and paved roads
  • Orange: dirt roads

The color of the roads is therefore interesting for you to discover previously unknown areas.


2) Forza Horizon 5 best cars guide

Now you’re wondering which vehicle is the best for competing in street races, drifting, or being one step ahead of your opponents in off-road races? Don’t worry, our Forza Horizon 5 best cars guide got you covered.


Street racing

  • BMW X5 M

If you get the BMW X5 M via the VIP pass, it’ll be in your garage from the start. For sprint races, lap races, and street races, it provides you with a high level of grip and can also be optimally controlled. Furthermore, its technical rating is really good.

Belonging to racing class S2, it gets a smooth 10 points for starting, handling, and acceleration. Its braking capabilities with 9.4 points and speed with 8 points are also impressive. However, it’s not really suitable for off-road use.

  • Bugatti Divo

The Bugatti Divo moves in very similar spheres. It’s also classified in the S2 racing class and comes close to the BMW X5 M with 9.9 points for handling and 10 points for acceleration. However, it scores a relatively low 6.2 points for starting.

However, it makes up for it with its speed where it scores 1.6 points more than the BMW mentioned. With 3,000,000 credits, however, you’ll have to save a bit to be able to afford it.


Cross-country racing

  • 2020 Ford Performance Bronco R

You want to make yourself known off the beaten track? Then there’s no way around the 2020 Ford Performance Bronco R. Whether you want to surf sandy dunes, traverse overgrown jungles or flowing bodies of water; this 250,000-credit vehicle can excel in all off-road endeavors.

Classified in race class C, it scores 10 points in the offroad value. Braking and handling with 5.2 points and 4.8 points respectively are also decent. Only in acceleration is the Ford somewhat weaker with 3.2 points.


Dirt racing

  • Hoonigan Ford RS200 Evolution

Dirt races, on the other hand, are best taken on with the Hoonigan Ford RS200 Evolution. The car, which can be found in the S2 racing class, has stable traction, scores 9.5 points in acceleration, and 8.3 points in the off-road category. The vehicle’s speed (7.9 points) and handling (6.5 points) are also pretty good.


Drifts

  • Formula Drift Dodge Viper SRT10

For 300,000 credits you can buy the Formula Drift Dodge Viper SRT10, which belongs to the S1 racing class. It achieves a speed score of 7.3 points and can reach the average in the other categories. Only its off-road racing isn’t the best with 3.7 points. It’s hard to find a vehicle that’s as suitable for drifting as this one. In low rpm ranges, you’re already happy about the loss of traction. This is how collecting points becomes fun.

  • Formula Drift #34 Toyota Supra MKIV

Alternatively, in the S1 racing class, there’s the Formula Drift #34 Toyota Supra MKIV. Perfectly adapted to the challenges of drifts, it delivers the best performance among drift cars. With its speed score of 7.7 points, it’s still above the Viper and can also excel in the area of handling.

Only at the category “start” does the Toyota score worse with 3.7 points. You get the Formula Drift #34 Toyota Supra MKIV for 300,000 credits.


The fastest car: Koenigsegg Jesko

If you only need top speed, the Koenigsegg Jesko is the one for you. It only weighs 3130 lbs, and can go almost 93 mph – no other car comes close to it. As mentioned, you can buy the Jesko, which is classified in the S2 racing class, for 2,800,000 credits.


The best car for beginners: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR

For a reasonable 43,000 credits, you can buy the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR early in the game. The car, which is classified in racing class C, can score with four-wheel drive and average values in all areas. The handling is solid and challenges can also be mastered well. With it, you’ll still be able to compete in the S1 class if you’re well-tuned.


Always be in the fast lane with PLITCH

Forza Horizon 5 is an absolutely terrific racing game that throws you into an open world and offers you a fine and, above all, detailed gaming experience. It’s incredibly fun to get to know virtual Mexico, face the challenges, upgrade your favorite vehicle and expand your fleet. With our PLITCH Forza Horizon 5 tips and guide for the best cars, you shouldn’t have a hard time getting started despite the extensive game content.

But if you don’t have enough time to play or if you always lack the last meter to win a race, you can easily use our Forza Horizon 5 cheats and codes. Simply download PLITCH and limit the AI opponents’ gears. Even the toughest challenge will become a lot of fun.

If you want more Forza Horizon 5 tips and tricks for the game, check out our article about earning money in Forza Horizon 5.

Check out our YouTube channel for more info on PLITCH and our trainers!

Happy Gaming!