This run, I started with a Toyota Vitz because of the Gran Turismo meme. Even painted it pink and all. Many cars are viable in this game, I'm currently tearing through most rivals with a Subaru Impreza Wagon! The thing you must notice, however, is that the game heavily relies on upgrading and tuning your car. And, many upgrades don't initially do anything tangible to your car until you manually mess with them. Upgraded transmission, go in there and set shorter gear ratios. Upgraded suspension, go in there and mess with hardening the springs and dampeners, change wheel alignment and lower the ride height. You can touch up almost any setup section you can think of, it's really a car game for gear heads. But that's why I love it. I think it's even more in depth in that aspect than even Gran Turismo, even if it's not trying to be a super realistic sim. The whole Tokyo Xtreme Racer franchise is like that, although the highway racers are much more hardcore. TXR Zero is straight up unfair if you're playing sub optimally.