Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas hit the streets🤪 over ten years ago in 2004. The game was much bigger than its predecessors, allowing players to explore three different cities and the rural areas between them. Set in𝔉 the 1990s, players could drive around town looking for rival gang members or just to grab a bite to eat while jamming to NWA, Eazy-E, and 2Pac. While Vice City drew obvious inspiration from films like Scarface, San Andreas took a page from the book of classics like Menace II Society, Colors, and New Jack City.
San Andreas was the perfect blend of narrative an🌳d gameplay. Not to mention it was the first time a GTA game 🌸added role-playing elements such as the need to eat food or workout to stay in shape. Whether your CJ rocked a fresh fade or looked like he woke 🌞up on the wrong side of a barn, one thing was certain, he committed crimes. After all, isn’t that what GTA is all about?
Everyone knows if you prefer to live on the wrong side of the justice, then you need a reliable car. Hell, not just reliable but fast enough to🧜 evade the long arm of the law after a drive-by. How do you tell the difference between the good cars and the ones that will land you in the slammer? Don’t worry! We did the work for you. Here are eight cars that deserve a spot in your garage and seven you should abandon.
15 Best: Banshee
The Banshee is a Grand Theft Auto staple. 🔯The Dodge Vi🎶per lookalike made its debut in GTA III and has been in every game since then. Wit⭕h a top speed of 124 mph, the mid-sized sports car is one of the fastest in the game, making it the perfect getaway vehicle during a high-speed chase.
That is if the player is skilled enough to handle it around corners. Simply slamming on the gas or braking incorrectly c🍰an cause the back of the car to skid from side to side. There are few modifications (colors, wheels, nitrous, and hydraulics) that can be made to the Banshee, and none of them address a driver lacking skill.
But don't worry.♌ Even if the car d👍oes spin out while on the run, at least you will look cool as it happens.
14 Worst: Perennial
The 4-door Perennial bears a striking resemblance to the Chevy Nova station wagon from the early ‘60s—with a just a touch of Fiat from the same era. It doesn’t look like the type of car you would use to paint the town red, and it certainly doesn﷽’t drive like one. While it handles okay, its slow acceleration and speed make it a pain to drive.
In addition, it is easy to oversteer in this front-wheel drive family car, which can cause it to rollover. Luckily, this car i⛦s actually quite hardy and unlikel𒅌y to blow up as a result. However, with so much slipping and sliding, it's only a matter of time before the damage takes it toll and forces you to find a better car.
13 Best: Bullet
The Bul⛦let is a bit of an anomaly. It resembles the Ford 🐓GT but debuted in the game over ten years before its release. Someone get Doc Brown on the phone; we have to go back to the future and fix this.
Back to the Future jokes aside, the Bullet is one of the best cars in the game if you can find it. It may actually be faster than a speeding bullet. Its acceleration, braking, and handling are also top notch, making it a fun car to take out for a joy ride, a crime-filled nighꦜt, or a race.
The only real drawback to this amazing speedster is the amount of damage it 🌳takes upon impact. However, even at high speeds, ﷽the lightweight Bullet doesn’t sacrifice controllability, making crashes a rarity.
12 Worst: Manana
Before it became the luxury coupe (or convertible) reminiscent of such gems as the ‘68 Cadillac Eldorado in more recent iterations of the franchise, it was a boxy, 2-door, undesirable thing found on the streets of San Andreas. It is not the car you want to hijack when you have two wanted stars and need to get away qu🅠ickly. In fact, you are better off trying to evade the cops on foot.
Okay, maybe the Manana isn’t that bad. After all, it corners well, right? Well, yes it does—because it is unbelievably slow. It only reaches a top speed of 74 mph! That’s not even enough 💖to get back to the future, let alone to win a race or avoid g🌠etting busted.
All of its other performance stats are mediocre at best. Sure it can be upgraded, but why waste your hard-earned dollars on such a pitiful specಞimen?
11 Best: Phoenix
Manufactured by Imponte, based on the now defunct Pontiac, in the game, the Phoenix is a 2-door monster packing that sweet American muscle. It doesn’t take a car enthusiast to see that its design was inspired by the ‘79–’81 Pontiac Firebird. Like the other bests on this list, the Phoenix is quick and handles excellently. It handles so well, in fact, that you can drive it off-road, where iཧt performs better than many of the SUVs in the game.
The other reason the Phoenix is so great is that it hasඣ a vast amount of customization options. Spoilers, vents, hydraulics, exhaust, nitrous, you name it, and Transfender will deliver. If you have the coin, you can even slap on a set of off-road tires for the next time you need to take a quick detour to the paint shop.
10 Worst: Blade
It isn’t San And🦹reas w♈ithout lowriders bouncing up and down the streets of the San Fierro Rifa’s turf. The two-door, open-top Blade is one of a handful or lowriders in San Andreas that are available to players. ♋Unfortunately, even though it looks cool—resembling the iconic ‘65 and ‘68 Chevrolet Impalas— it is one of ♔the worst in the game.
Don’t get me wrong, it accelerates fast enough and is quick for a lowrider. However, it is difficꩲult to handle at higher speeds due to its significant oversteer. Decisions to make a last minute turn result or even a slight nick result in an immediate loss of control. Oh, and don’t even think about turnin✱g off the road in desperation. You will find yourself busted beside an overturned car.
9 Best: Cheetah
The Cheetah is manufactured by Grotti, a luxury manufacturer based on Ferrari, so you know it not only performs wells but is stylish to boot. It is only natural that its design would resemble the sexy Ferrari 512TR Testarossa, which was produced from 1991–1994. Thi🌟s rear-wheel-drive beauty boasts a powerful V12 engine, which gives it a huge speed boost—reaching aꦓ top speed of 132 mph!
It also has superior braking and handling, and due to its low suspension, it corners easily at higher speeds. With the way it hugs the road as it moves, the Cheetah is unlikely to spin out of control or rollover. So next time you see oneꦇ spawn, jump in the passenger and prepare for a wild but smooth ride—unless yo⛦u are trying to pick up prostitutes. There just isn’t enough room for that.
8 Worst: Savanna
The Savanna is your standard four-door, convertible lowrider. Like the Blade, its design is based on the Chevrolet Impala but from a different year—1963! It certainly isn’t the worst car in the game, as its speed, acceleration, and braking are decent. The biggest problem with this lowrider is its poor cornering. Its bulky size and responsive brakes are a recipe for dis✤aster, resulting in a loss of control when making sudden turns.
This car is on🌠ly good for a handful of things: the lowrider challenge, drive-bys, and driving around your homies. Of course, even in a drive-by scenario, this ca🦹r might let you down. A shot to the rear license plate is all it takes to cause your car to explode and leave you stranded in enemy territory.
I hope you brought your running shoes.
7 Best: Infernus
The Infernus debuted in Grand Theft Auto III and has been in all but one game since then. Its design resembles the 1990–1995 Honda NSX and the Cizeta V16T (the Cizeta company’s sole car). This 2-door supercar is the fastest in the game, and due to its all🎶-wheel drive, it grips the road beautifully. There’s just one small problem—well actually four. Its small wheels make the car prone to un🐟dersteer. Watch out while braking at higher speeds, as the wheels tend to lock up.
Other than that minor hiccup, the Infernus won’t let you down. It is not only powerful but makes for a great stunt car, as well. If you think you can master this 𓂃beast of a car, hang around in the Paradiso district until one crosses your path.
6 Worst: Walton
Everyone loves old pickup trucks, right? Well, not this one. The Walton is a 2-door 🙈pickup that resembles a 1955 Chevrolet Task Force, or the truck collecting dust in your great uncle’s backyard. All yꦛou have to do is look at it to know that it will disappoint you.
This boring oldie is sluggi♓sh due to its weight and size, with acceleration and speed that are below average. If you are up for a challeng♐e, try taking it up a hill. Watching it struggle to chug up any steep incline is liable to make rip your hair out.
If you to spend all of your time on flat land or off-road, then maybe you could make do. As for the rest of us, we’ll leave this truck ba♌ck at the ranch where it belongs.