You won’t be whipping around turns in Corvettes and Lamborghinis early on in Gran Turismo 7. Instead, you’re given a limited number of used cars to choose from — cars your parents probably picked you up from school in. While you’re free to upgrade these low-PP cars to give them a little more horsepower, there are several ways to unlock better cars early in Gran Turismo 7. What if we told you there’s a way to unlock some of the best cars in the game before you ever touch the World Circuit races?

Now, “the best cars” in a game like Gran Turismo 7 are left up to personal preference. For now, there’s no necessary “meta” car to use in World Circuits or online. Furthermore, different races come with certain restrictions, making the “best car” in the European campaign useless in the United States. To get the most out of the early game, players need a set of rides to switch between depending on where they’re racing. Here are the best starting cars in Gran Turismo 7 and how to unlock them.

To unlock the best starting cars in Gran Turismo 7, head to the license center and complete all five license stages. There are 50 time trials/lessons to complete, and all you have to do is get bronze on all 50 challenges. Any competent driver can bronze the first four license categories. However, the super license does prove more challenging, especially S-7, where you’ll drive the SP19 Super Formula/Honda ’19. They don’t teach you how to drive F1 cars up to this point, so you’re on your own. Know that they turn on a dime, so you’ll have to readjust your braking and turning techniques. Don’t overcompensate.

Completing the last three license lessons unlocks the following cars:

Now that you have these three cars, head over to menus and start tearing through them. As long as the races you play don’t have type requirements, you can use these three cars to smoke the competition. Unfortunately, some races restrict you to road cars, thus excluding these three race-tier cars.

The best way to unlock more road cars is to complete menus for Luca in the cafe. Menus make up the loose career mode in Gran Turismo 7, and they’re the key to unlocking new cars and features like multiplayer, Scapes, and the challenge tent. While menus don’t reward you with new cars per se, the rides you earn by completing them are pretty good to get you started. Furthermore, because menu cars come from different regions and span various models, classes, and drivetrains, you’ll always have the right vehicle to enter every event.

Here are some menu cars we’ve come to really enjoy and when you’ll unlock them.

The first car you get in Gran Turismo 7 will come from the used car dealership in the top right of the overworld map. Here, you can buy used cars on a budget. However, you’re limited to what Andy, the used car salesman, has in stock. Honestly, we never bought another car from the used car lot after our first one. There are so many cars to unlock by completing menus, licenses, and challenge tent events that dropping thousands of credits on a used car seems counterintuitive.

For our first car, we bought the Honda Fit Hybrid ’14. It got us through the first few preliminary races and the initial menu book. However, once we got our licenses, we never set foot in the Honda again.

The only advantage to the used car lot is that you can’t get these cars from Brand Central. The selection also rotates, so you can periodically check in to see what’s available. If you see a car you like but can’t afford, add it to your wishlist. When that car comes up again, you’ll see a notification in the used car lot saying, “There are cars available for purchase.” You’ll also see a red flag over the used lot in the overworld.

Brand Central is where you’ll buy the brand new car of your dreams. You’re free to explore brands from all over the world, but remember: New cars cost you some serious credits. We don’t recommend investing in Brand Central cars until you’ve upgraded a handful of menu reward cars in the tuning shop. That way, you have enough cars to race without investing all your credits into that Lamborghini you always wanted. That being said, here are two “affordable” cars from Brand Central that we’ve enjoyed driving:

While the Ferrari is expensive, we couldn’t help ourselves. Meanwhile, the Camaro was a solid option that, with a few upgrades in the Tuning Shop, we turned into a viable American racer.

You’ll notice invitations in Brand Central that grant you opportunities to buy unique cars when they become available. Sadly, these invitations spit in your face when those cars cost over 1 million credits. It’s best to ignore the invitations when you’re just starting out.

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