Patch 2.31 is the right baseline for choosing a ride in Night City. The game does not have one vehicle that wins every route: bikes solve traffic, cars solve speed and vehicle combat, and trucks solve rough ground. That difference comes from the handling pass in Update 2.0, the bike lean system added in Update 2.1, and the newer vehicle features layered on afterward.
The 2.31 Shortlist: Bike, Car, or Truck?
| Chassis | Use it for | Handling and combat edge | Start with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motorcycle | Dense traffic, tight corners, and short city routes | Leaning changes center of mass and traction; bikes also allow one-handed melee and thrown knives or axes | ARCH Nazare or Jackie's ARCH |
| Car | Highways, races, broad avenues, and vehicle fights | Speed-sensitive steering, torque curves, usable one-handed guns, and weaponized models with built-in guns or missiles | Rayfield Caliburn or the weaponized Quartz Type-66 Hoon |
| Truck | Badlands tracks, curbs, broken pavement, and off-road detours | Heavy-duty suspension and a planted body make rough surfaces easier to cross | Thorton Mackinaw Beast |
Keep a motorcycle and a truck in your call-vehicle menu if you travel widely. Add a car when a mission or race expects sustained speed, or when you want mounted weapons. That three-vehicle rotation covers more practical situations than chasing a single top-speed number.
Bikes Win When Lane Space Matters
Call a bike when traffic, not distance, is the problem. Its smaller footprint gives you more ways around stopped cars, and the lean controls let you decide whether a corner should rotate the bike or preserve rear-wheel traction.
The ARCH Nazare's compact profile suits dense city routes.
Update 2.1 makes that choice explicit. Lean forward slightly in a corner to add oversteer; lean back to add understeer. Lean back while accelerating for a wheelie, or lean forward while braking for an endo. These are not cosmetic animations: the patch notes tie them to center of mass and traction, so use forward lean to tighten a turn and rearward lean when you want the bike to settle.
The ARCH Nazare is the city choice for repeated travel. Jackie's ARCH is the better early option because the Heroes side job gives it to you, while the ARCH Nazare comes from The Highwayman. Both make a crowded downtown trip less frustrating than forcing a wide car through every junction. On a bike, you can also use one-handed melee weapons and, after Update 2.1, throw knives and axes while riding.
Cars Earn Their Width With Speed and Firepower
Choose a car when the road lets you carry speed. Update 2.0's speed-sensitive steering means the same steering input does not produce the same turn at every speed, while torque curves change how different engines build acceleration. In practice, slow down before a tight bend and give the car room to complete the turn; a car rewards a clean line, not late corrections.
A car has room to build speed on Night City roads.
The Rayfield Caliburn is the high-speed pick for long roads. The weaponized Quartz Type-66 Hoon is the more useful choice when the trip is likely to become a firefight. Weaponized cars bring fixed machine guns and missile salvos, so face the target and keep the car level when you fire. The missiles replenish over time, while the guns depend on your aim and the vehicle's orientation.
Cars can also fight with V's equipped one-handed weapons. Pistols, SMGs, and revolvers work from a normal car, but shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, grenades, arm cyberware, and other two-handed weapons do not. That loadout limit is why a car is a combat platform, not a substitute for fighting on foot.
Trucks Win When the Surface Changes
Use a truck when the route includes dirt, curbs, or broken pavement. Update 2.0 improved how vehicles respond to rough terrain and impacts, but a heavy-duty chassis makes that change matter most: you spend less time correcting the vehicle after every bump and more time holding the route.
The Thorton Mackinaw Beast is the useful reference point. It is a heavy-duty off-road truck with sturdy suspension, and The Beast in Me can award it as a free ride. The truck is not the fastest way through a downtown grid, but it is the dependable answer when a race or job leaves clean pavement. In Phantom Liberty, the Thorton Mackinaw Saguaro fills the same rough-ground role as another heavy-duty option.
Do not choose a truck because its top speed looks competitive with a sports car. Choose it because the road stops being smooth. A truck pays for itself in saved corrections when the Badlands or a construction route turns a clean line into a sequence of impacts.
Vehicle Combat Has Hard Loadout Limits
| Ride | You can use while moving | You cannot use while moving |
|---|---|---|
| Car or truck | Pistols, SMGs, revolvers, and built-in weapons on weaponized models | Melee weapons, two-handed weapons, grenades, and arm cyberware |
| Motorcycle | Pistols, SMGs, revolvers, one-handed melee, and thrown knives or axes | Two-handed weapons, grenades, and arm cyberware |
The distinction matters before a carjacking, vehicle contract, or chase. Bring a weaponized car or truck when you want sustained mounted fire; bring a bike when movement and a close-range one-handed weapon matter more. Vehicle quickhacks are another option: the Carhacker perk lets a netrunner target vehicles directly, including options such as Self-Destruct.
Vehicle Questions Before You Buy
Which ride should a new character call in the city?
Use Jackie's ARCH when you have it. It is an early story-earned motorcycle, and its small footprint is useful on crowded city streets. Switch to the ARCH Nazare when you want a dedicated bike from The Highwayman rather than a starter ride.
When is a weaponized car worth using?
Use one for carjackings, vehicle contracts, and pursuits where you expect to keep firing while driving. The Quartz Type-66 Hoon is a practical weaponized car example; its machine guns and missiles give you options a normal car does not. If the fight takes place on foot, the vehicle weapons stop being an advantage.
Is the Thorton Mackinaw Beast only useful in the Badlands?
No. The Thorton Mackinaw Beast can handle city roads, but its heavy-duty suspension matters most when the route includes dirt, curbs, or rough pavement. Use a car when the same trip stays on broad, clean roads.
Does AutoDrive make handling irrelevant?
No. Update 2.3 added AutoDrive for road travel toward a selected destination, and Patch 2.31 improved overtaking and traffic-rule behavior. AutoDrive is disabled in combat and when the vehicle is heavily damaged, so you still need a ride that fits the route when a trip turns into a chase.