Whether it’s watching movies with cool cars in them or playing car driving video games, gearheads can enjoy cars without even touching one. Some of these are more realistic than others, but they’re all great games for people who love cars. Here are the five best driving video games out there.

5. Grand Theft Auto 5 

The Grand Theft Auto (GTA) franchise is a notorious gaming franchise, as players can pretty much do almost anything that they want to do in the game. Many of those activities would be illegal in real life. But that doesn’t stop GTA 5 from being a great car driving game. 

With over 464 vehicles presently in the game, GTA 5 gives players a lot of options in terms of what vehicles they want to drive. They range from common cars that everyone knows about to supercars, all the way to vehicles most of us will never drive like a tank or an ice cream truck. 

Although most players will break the law in the game, you can play the game realistically. You can buy a car with money you’ve earned and then follow every traffic law and drive around the city like you’d do in real life. The world is your oyster in GTA 5.

4. Mario Kart 8 

The Mario Kart series of games are on the totally silly side of the spectrum when it comes to driving games. There’s not much realism going on, but instead, the game tries to make it as fun for the players as possible. 

There are plenty of obstacles that’ll either slow you down or speed you up, and often, players will be given power-ups that’ll give them an edge over everyone else. This makes Mario Kart a fun and dynamic game for people of all ages. 

3. Gran Turismo 6

On the more realistic side of the spectrum is the Gran Turismo, or GT, series of games. In the latest numbered installment, GT 6, there are almost 1,200 cars available for players to choose from. 

The GT series prioritizes the realism aspect of driving, so unlike the more fun and silly driving games, GT has a lot of physics based driving rules. For example, some cars will have some oversteer, and others will have some understeering. 

You can also drive in the first person, and if you’re a serious gamer, you can play GT with a gaming steering wheel instead of a controller. That said, you can always change the settings of GT to be less realistic if you want to. 

2. Need for Speed

The Need for Speed franchise is a beloved franchise because it combines a fun driving experience with a solid story. In fact, the Need for Speed franchise is so popular that Hollywood is making movies from it. 

Although the more recent games, like Need for Speed: Payback, haven’t been well reviewed, that doesn’t stop the entire franchise from being video game royalty. It also has relatively few cars available, but it does have an actual storyline that many other driving games don’t have.

1. Forza Motorsport 7

One of the best driving games out there is the Forza Motorsport series. Like the GT franchise, Forza prioritizes realism over everything else. Combine that with its impressive graphics and you have a beautiful and fun driving game. 

It also has over 700 cars available, which is more than enough for most players. Like the GT franchise, the game’s physics are also very realistic, so if you race around in Forza, then you’ll have almost as much fun as if you were driving those cars in person. 

Furthermore, Forza also has a lot of Top Gear related content available, so fans of the show will enjoy this franchise even more.