CARS
Best Cars in NFS Underground 2 by Race Type
These picks are an edit of Fandom's stock stars, not a lap-time test and not a tune sheet. Full upgrades change the order. North American and European rosters are not the same, so a 'best' car you cannot buy on your disc is useless.
I refused to invent a parts list. The dyno words on the wiki — ECU, turbo, gearing, suspension, brake bias, tire grip — are the direction. The numbers below are the stock stars already printed on the car page.
By mode: selection criteria, not measured winners
Stock wiki numbers come from one source, Fandom. Neither high handling stars nor a high top-speed rating establishes the best upgraded car for a mode. The names below are editorial starting points to compare, not measured recommendations or community consensus.
| Mode | Why these | Cars |
|---|---|---|
| Drag | Compare acceleration, shifts, gearing and traction; stock top speed alone is not a race result. | 350Z, Evolution VIII, 3000GT, RX-7, GTO, Mustang |
| Drift | Consider controllable slides and your tune, not just the handling star. | Skyline, Audi TT, Evo, MX-5 and RX-8: editorial comparisons only, not sourced drift winners. |
| Street X | Tight-corner behavior and corner-exit acceleration matter more than a top-speed headline. | Evo, Skyline, TT, MX-5: compare rather than assume this order. |
| URL | Round consistency matters; compare braking and cornering as well as speed. | 3000GT, Skyline, Evo, 350Z: no lap-time ranking established. |
| SUV only | Compare within the SUV class, not against sports cars. | Escalade, H2 and Navigator; Fandom lists 125 mph stock for each (single source). |
How to read this
A starter car such as the MX-5 can be the right drift tool before URL 16 unlocks the Skyline. The Peugeot 106's handling star is high and the car is missing from North American discs. I am not publishing gear ratios. If a video gives a full tune, that tune belongs to the video, and the drift tier page says so.
Questions
Is the Skyline the best car?
Fandom gives it the highest stock handling star, 5.4. That single metric does not establish a best drift or fully upgraded race car. The same car list places the Impreza after the Skyline in URL unlock order.
What about a full tune?
Not listed. Stock stars are the only complete table I can cite for every car.
Keep going
Sources
Checked 2026-10-29. One source alone is labeled as such. Disagreements are left side by side.