Best Starter Car in Forza Horizon 6
Why a balanced AWD hot-hatch beats a hypercar in your first 5 hours.
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The starter car you pick in the prologue is the one you'll do your first accolades, speed zones and PR stunts in. Japan's mixed road network — narrow city blocks, mountain switchbacks and rain-slick coastline — punishes anything with too much power and not enough grip.
Our top picks
| Car | Class | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Subaru WRX STI | A | AWD, balanced power, forgiving on damp Japanese surfaces. |
| Honda Civic Type R | A | Front-drive precision, compact footprint for narrow streets. |
| Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | A | Iconic JDM AWD; rewards aggressive trail-braking. |
| Toyota GR Yaris | B/A | Tiny, AWD, perfect for tight touge passes. |
| Mazda MX-5 | C | Cheap, fun, ideal for early drift zone accolades. |
Avoid these (early)
- Hypercars in S2/X class — pointless until you have tuning skill and traction setups.
- RWD muscle — fun later, frustrating on Japan's wet city sections.
- Long-wheelbase GTs — they'll fight you in mountain hairpins.
Quick early upgrades
- Sport tires before anything else (cheap, huge grip jump).
- Anti-roll bars and springs (kills body roll in switchbacks).
- Skip turbo upgrades until you have a proper tune.