GTA 6 driving: GTA 4's weight, GTA 5's accessibility, tires that make you roll

We finally have a clear answer on GTA 6's driving: it's not GTA 4's "heavy to the point of frustrating," and it's not GTA 5's "light and floaty." It's both, split down the middle, and the physics were rebuilt from scratch.

Who said it

Rob Nelson, co-studio head of Rockstar North, in an interview at September's preview event (via TGG, relayed by GamesRadar, IGN, and others). That's first-party, from a developer, not a leak.

What "the best of both" actually means

Nelson's point: asked whether the cars would feel "heavy" like GTA 4, he said yes, but only "in the best way possible." In plain terms:

• You can clearly feel the car's weight, instead of GTA 5's toy-car feel.
• But it's not sluggish. It stays as approachable and pleasant to drive as GTA 5.

The short version: it keeps the part of GTA 4 people miss the most (the weight, the feel), without losing GTA 5's ease.

Rebuilt from scratch

The physics were redone for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Nelson says that gave the team far more control, letting them tune:

• Drivetrain
• Tires
• Suspension
• Steering

One concrete result: shot tires send you rolling

It was already visible in August's Extended Look: shoot out a tire and the car can slide, spin, and roll several times. That's a lot more dramatic than GTA 5, where a flat tire just makes you drift a little.

The cars also reportedly hit higher top speeds than GTA 5, with a more convincing sense of speed.

There's a race track too

GTA 6 adds a proper circuit near Port Gellhorn, with laps, timing, and live position tracking, so you can run real races.

What it means

GTA 6's driving isn't a reskin of GTA 5. It's trying to please two camps at once: players who miss GTA 4's feel, and players who found GTA 4 too heavy. If the balance lands, it could be the best-driving GTA yet.

Do you prefer GTA 4's weight or GTA 5's lightness? Tell us which one you want.