How driving works in GTA 6

Rockstar rebuilt GTA 6's driving from scratch to mix GTA 4's weight with GTA 5's ease of play. Each car handles according to its drivetrain, tires, suspension and steering. Roads are narrower and busier than in GTA 5, and an overturned car can't be rocked back onto its wheels.

Last checked 2026-10-21 by Meugui_ · every fact below is labeled with how we know it

  • Rockstar dev4
  • Seen in preview9

Handling: between GTA 4 and GTA 5

  • Driving physics were rebuilt from the ground up. Rockstar's stated aim is GTA 4's weight with GTA 5's accessibility.

    Seen in preview12

  • Each car handles differently depending on its drivetrain, tires, suspension, steering and power.

    Seen in preview1

  • Powerful rear-wheel-drive cars need a light foot on the throttle, and supercars become much harder to control off-road.

    Seen in preview12

  • TGG, who watched about three hours of the game, says top speeds are higher than in GTA 5.

    Seen in preview3

  • Rockstar's vehicle-handling team includes real race-car drivers.

    Rockstar dev4

Roads and traffic

  • Roads are narrower, closer to real-world widths, and there's more traffic. Rob Nelson says that asks more of your driving.

    Rockstar dev5

Damage and crashes

  • A damaged engine makes a car drive worse, and body deformation goes further than in GTA 5.

    Seen in preview6

  • You can't steer an overturned car back onto its wheels the way you could in GTA 5.

    Seen in preview6

  • Shooting a car's tires can make its driver lose control or flip it.

    Seen in preview1

  • Damage also lowers what a stolen car sells for. See how to sell cars.

    Rockstar dev5

Inside the car

  • You can swap between Jason and Lucia mid-chase, taking the wheel one moment and shooting from the passenger seat the next.

    Rockstar dev4

  • A vehicle menu opens the trunk, hood and doors one by one, and lowers a convertible's roof.

    Seen in preview1

  • There's no full first-person mode, so no first-person driving view.

    Seen in preview6

Not confirmed yet

  • Top speeds and acceleration of each car.
  • Whether a first-person driving camera comes later.

What we test on November 19

  • Top speed and 0-60 mph of every car, on its vehicle pagePending test
  • How each drivetrain behaves on our test roadPending test

Sources

  1. Vice, preview details
  2. Red Bull, gameplay details
  3. TGG, I Saw 3 Hours of GTA 6
  4. Dazed feature (via GamerFuzion)
  5. Famitsu, Rob Nelson interview
  6. Flow Games preview (via GTAVice)

Questions

Is GTA 6 driving like GTA 4 or GTA 5?

In between. Rockstar says it combines the weight of GTA 4's cars with the accessibility of GTA 5.

Can you drive in first person in GTA 6?

Not according to previews: GTA 6 has no full first-person mode.

Can you flip your car back over in GTA 6?

No. Previews say an overturned car can't be rocked back onto its wheels like in GTA 5.

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