Mario Kart Wii Vehicles FAQ. Submitted by scarlet_puppy in 2008 Updated in 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS: --------------------------------------------------------- 1) The Legal Stuff. 2) Introduction. 3) Key. 4) Vehicles. 4a) Light Karts. 4b) Light Bikes. 4c) Medium Karts. 4d) Medium Bikes. 4e) Heavy Karts. 4f) Heavy Bikes. 5) Do characters affect vehicle performance? 5a) Light Characters. 5b) Medium Characters. 5c) Heavy Characters. 6) Which combinations are best? 7) Credits --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) The Legal Stuff. You are welcome to use this guide for your own personal private use. Under no circumstances, however, is this guide allowed to appear on any website other than GameFAQs, nor is it allowed to distribute it publicly for profit. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and is a violation of copyright. OK, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get on with the actual FAQ. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) Introduction. Hello, and welcome to my FAQ on the vehicles of Mario Kart Wii. In this game, there are a wide variety of vehicles to choose from. Specifically, for each weight class (light, medium and heavy), there are six karts and six motorbikes. Which brings us to a brand new inclusion: bikes. As well as looking very cool, they are surprisingly more than simple clones of the karts. In general, bikes are lighter, making them easier to push around, but on the plus side you can perform a wheelie. This makes the bike go slightly faster, but while you’re doing it you can’t turn and you’re easier to push. On the plus side, you can cancel it at any point you want. The purpose of this FAQ is to help you decide which vehicle is right for you, and by extension to help you get more enjoyment out of what is in my opinion a very fun racing game. Without further ado, let’s begin. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Key. I would highly recommend that you read this section, because it will allow you to understand the way that I analyse the vehicles in the following section. To start with, here is what all of the attributes given to the vehicles mean. Speed: Pretty self-explanatory really. Basically it’s how fast the vehicle will go when it's driving at top speed. I don’t think I need to say why a good top speed is useful, because if you don't know, you shouldn't really be playing a racing game at all. Ultimately, this is probably the most important category of all once you get used to the game, though the other categories can still make a big difference. Weight: In a nutshell, how much the vehicle weighs. A heavy vehicle can knock other players around more easily, and others find it difficult to knock you around. This can be more important than you may think, as a light vehicle is easier to push off the edge of the track, and also they cannot push other people off edges. Acceleration: The amount of time it takes for the vehicle to reach top speed. The higher the rating, the less time it takes. Personally, I think that acceleration is underrated. Many people say that once you can use drift turbos and standstill trubos properly, it's almost worthless. However, some new players might not be able to handle these turbos so well. Also, when recovering with a standstill turbo, you have to stay in place for three seconds before you can drive again. If you get hit by an item right before the finish line (which isn't uncommon), acceleration is vital. All in all, acceleration has its uses, but admittedly it's not as important as speed. Handling: How good the vehicle is at turning. Vehicles with higher ratings turn tighter than others. As you can guess, good handling is a great help with sharp turns, and decent handling is essential if you don’t like drifting or if your vehicle has bad drift. Drifting: How good the vehicle is at drifting (if you don’t know what that is, it’s sort of like turning except you don’t lose speed). Decent drifting is necessary if you don’t like turning the traditional way. It's also better than regular turning since you don't lose speed by doing it. However, vehicles with mildly low drift ratings are better if you want to spam mini- turbos. Off-Road: How good a vehicle is at driving off-road. The higher the rating, the less speed a vehicle loses when driving off-road. All vehicles lose speed off-road, but vehicles with high off-road ratings don’t lose much speed. Overall, this is useful if you find that you can't always do turns correctly, or on certain tracks with lots of off-road sections. Plus it can help you make shortcuts that other vehicles could not do. Mini-Turbo: How much of a speed boost you get from doing a mini turbo while drifting. If you use automatic, then ignore this category, since you can't use mini- turbos. But if you use manual then speed boosts can help you out a lot, especially if your vehicle has poor acceleration. Drift Direction: This will be either inside or outside. This tells you which way the drift works. Personal Rating/10: Put simply, I rate this particular vehicle out of 10 based on how good I think the vehicle is as a whole. It's worth noting that how useful a vehicle is depends on skill level, preferences and all sorts of other things. This is just what I think of the vehicle; your opinion of it may be different. Note: The % rating for each category is rounded to two significant figures. I mean, who wants to read 47.6592134% or something? --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Vehicles. OK, so now that you know what’s going on, let’s move on to the actual vehicles. There are three types: light vehicles, medium vehicles and heavy vehicles. In addition, there are two type of vehicles: karts and bikes. Before we start, let me clear up some things: Differences between Karts and Bikes: - Bikes can perform a wheelie to slightly increase their speed for a few seconds. However, they cannot turn in this time and are vulnerable to being knocked around. - Karts are generally heavier. - Karts have two stages of drift boosts: blue and orange (orange lasts longer). Bikes only have the blue stage. - Bikes generally do better off-road and have tighter turning. Also, here is how light, medium and heavy vehicles are usually different: - Heavy vehicles have more weight (which should be pretty obvious, but I figured I should mention it anyway) - Heavy vehicles usually have a high top speed but poor acceleration. - Light vehicles generally have good acceleration but a low top speed. - Heavy vehicles often have good drifting and bad handling. - Light vehicles often have bad drifting and good handling. - Light vehicles do better off-road. - Medium vehicles are generally well balanced. This is not to say that ALL of them follow this pattern, just that most of them generally do. Though one thing's for sure: light vehicles ALWAYS weigh less than medium vehicles which always weigh less than heavy ones, though sometimes the difference between the two is pretty small. Each kart and bike has its own strengths and weaknesses, and although some are better than others, any of them can be useful when used correctly. Anyway, enough waffle, let's get to the statistics! 4a) Light Karts. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Standard Kart S Speed: 49% Weight: 33% Acceleration: 59% Handling: 59% Drifting: 63% Off-Road: 49% Mini-Turbo: 56% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: As the name suggests, this is one of those 'decent all-rounder' sort of karts. Not much stands out about it, but it has pretty good acceleration, handling and drifting, which as a whole makes it a decent choice for beginners, and also the vehicle doesn't sacrifice other attributes too much, as it has an average top speed and off-road abilities. In terms of light karts, it's weight is average, but that won't do much good against any medium or heavy vehicles you may encounter. All in all, this is a balanced kart that does OK in all attributes, but doesn't excel at anything in particular. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Booster Seat (Baby Booster) Speed: 30% Weight: 30% Acceleration: 69% Handling: 80% Drift: 44% Off-Road: 67% Mini-Turbo: 74% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: This is a great choice for beginners and a poor choice for experts. On the plus side, this kart has great acceleration and handling, making it very useful for those who haven't gotten used to the game, or on tracks with a lot of tight turns. However, this kart is definitely a bad choice for experts because of its slow speed and its very light weight. People who like drifting a lot also won't enjoy this kart too much. This won't be beating any time trial records any time soon, but it's a good choice if you want to get a hang of the game quickly. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mini Beast (Concerto) Speed: 67% Weight: 36% Acceleration: 33% Handling: 37% Drift: 80% Off-Road: 31% Mini-Turbo: 81% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: This kart is a lot different from most of the other light karts. For a start, it's much faster and has a much better drift than most of the other light karts, and it is also one of the heavier karts of the bunch. However, its acceleration is very poor, and if you are pounded by lots of items, this can be a big problem. However, this kart also has a great mini-turbo, which can help deal with this problem a fair bit. Beginners should steer clear of this kart, but experts can definitely use this one to its maximum potential. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheep Charger Speed: 39% Weight: 26% Acceleration: 80% Handling: 69% Drift: 73% Off-Road: 56% Mini-Turbo: 67% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: This is a kart of many extremes. For a start, it has fantastic acceleration, and it's also one of the few karts that has both good handling and drifting. However, it also has a couple of major flaws. As well as being the second lightest vehicle in the game (and the lightest kart), it is also not particularly fast either, although this can be slightly supplemented by its good mini-turbo. In conclusion, this kart is an excellent choice for new players, and as for experts, it depends on how much you rely on speed really. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tiny Titan (Rally Romper) Speed: 56% Weight: 41% Acceleration: 51% Handling: 51% Drift: 34% Off-Road: 81% Mini-Turbo: 49% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: For the most part, this kart is decently balanced, with around average acceleration, handling and slightly above average speed. However, this kart has two special attributes: for a start, the drift for this kart is not so good, which considering it's other attributes isn't really beneficial, and also its merely average handling may let you down. On the plus side, this is the best off-road vehicle in the entire game. All in all, this kart is very good for courses with a lot of off-road parts, and is otherwise decently balanced if you don't drift a lot. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Blue Falcon Speed: 74% Weight: 33% Acceleration: 41% Handling: 33% Drift: 51% Off-Road: 27% Mini-Turbo: 34% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: This kart is literally all about speed. If you want speed, then this kart will give you the best that light vehicles have to offer. However, its other categories are lacking a lot. It has subpar acceleration, terrible handling, and the worst off-road and mini-turbo of all the light vehicles. If you're all about how fast you go, then I imagine this is the kart for you. However, in my opinion, you should avoid it, since 90% of the time Concerto is a better choice (its good drift and mini-turbo allow you to negate acceleration much more). --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4b) Light Bikes. Standard Bike S Speed: 46% Weight: 21% Acceleration: 61% Handling: 61% Drift: 67% Off-Road: 53% Mini-Turbo: 59% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: Although this bike is fairly balanced overall, it isn't quite as balanced as Standard Kart S. Nonetheless, this vehicle is pretty good overall. It has solid acceleration, handling and drift capabilities, making it great for new players. Unfortunately, it isn't very fast and, like the other light bikes, it is also incredibly easy to push around. Still, if you're on tracks that have a lot of turns, this could be a nice option. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Bullet Bike Speed: 64% Weight: 26% Acceleration: 37% Handling: 41% Drift: 84% Off-Road: 33% Mini-Turbo: 84% Drift Direction: Inside Summary: This one is interesting. If you know how to use it, it's arguably the best light vehicle in the game. If you don't know how to use it, it's a nightmare. It's the second fastest light bike, and also it's one of the heavier ones (though it still doesn't stand a chance against heavy and medium vehicles). As well as that, it has the best drift and mini-turbo in the game. So what makes it so bad for beginners? Well, the acceleration and off-road ratings are the worst of the light bikes, and thus it takes a while to reach top speed, and if you go careering off the track, you're in a spot of bother. Nonetheless, once you master standstill turbos and drift boosts, this is one of the better vehicles in the game. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Bit Bike (Nanobike) Speed: 27% Weight: 19% Acceleration: 73% Handling: 83% Drift: 47% Off-Road: 70% Mini-Turbo: 79% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: This is the ultimate 'safety' vehicle. Its handling is the best in the game, and its acceleration and off-road skills are both pretty great too. However, if you're racing against pro characters in the game, it's probably one of the worst choices you could make. It's the slowest vehicle in the game, and the second lightest too. Both of these mean that when facing good players, if you use this you may soon be eating their dust. This bike does have a decent mini-turbo to go with it, but its drift rating doesn't really allow it to be used properly. This is another example of 'good for new players; bad for experienced ones', except that here it is more extreme. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Quacker Speed: 37% Weight: 16% Acceleration: 84% Handling: 73% Drift: 77% Off-Road: 59% Mini-Turbo: 70% Drift Direction: Inside Summary: This move has two glaring flaws. First of all, it's the second slowest vehicle in the game. Secondly, it's incredibly light. Seriously, this thing gets abused in traffic like there's no tomorrow. However, it does have some good points. It has the best acceleration in the game, and it has very good handling and drifting, which all in all make this the perfect bike for beginners out there. As for expert players, this bike is good for tracks that have lots of twists and turns to them, but if you do use this, be wary of any medium or heavy vehicles nearby. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Magikruiser Speed: 51% Weight: 26% Acceleration: 54% Handling: 54% Drift: 37% Off-Road: 84% Mini-Turbo: 51% Drift Direction: Inside Summary: In most attributes, this bike is pretty well balanced, I would say. It has average speed, acceleration and handling. What really makes this bike stand out is that it does better off-road than any other vehicle in the game. This is very useful on tracks like Sherbet Land and Shy Guy Beach, where there are lots of off-road bits. On tracks with less off-road parts, it's decent, but not spectacular. Still, if you're going to be driving on a course with lots of off-road sections, you should definitely pick this. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Jet Bubble (Bubble Bike) Speed: 59% Weight: 30% Acceleration: 49% Handling: 47% Drift: 54% Off-Road: 41% Mini-Turbo: 44% Drift Direction: Inside Summary: This bike is actually a lot like the Standard Bike S, but with some small differences. It's the heaviest light bike, but in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't mean much. This bike also has a pretty nice top speed, at the expense of some off-road and mini-turbos skills. Everything else is mostly average about this bike. If you like relative balance but also want some extra speed to go with it, this is the vehicle for you. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4c) Medium Karts Standard Kart M Speed: 54% Weight: 54% Acceleration: 49% Handling: 51% Drift: 54% Off-Road: 41% Mini-Turbo: 49% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: Pprobably the most balanced kart in the whole game. The only thing out of the ordinary with this kart is that its off-road rating could be better. However, to compensate, its weight, speed and drift are slightly above average. This is an ideal kart for beginners who don't like the feel of Standard Kart S or Standard Kart L. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Classic Dragster (Nostalgia 1) Speed: 43% Weight: 51% Acceleration: 73% Handling: 66% Drift: 66% Off-Road: 49% Mini-Turbo: 63% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: This is quite a nice kart overall. It has very good acceleration and a decent mini-turbo, and also it is potent at both drifting and handling, something which many karts do not do. However, as a scarifice for these attributes, it doesn't have a very fast top speed to go with it. Overall, this is another good kart for beginners, and also for anyone who doesn't mind going without some extra speed. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Wild Wing Speed: 70% Weight: 63% Acceleration: 23% Handling: 33% Drift: 74% Off-Road: 29% Mini-Turbo: 74% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: A word of warning: beginners should stay away from this kart like the plague. It has awful acceleration and off-road ability, and it has poor handling as well. But once you get the hang of drift turbos and standstill turbos, this kart is actually very good. It's got a great top speed, it's heavy and it has a nice drift and mini-turbo, which can help you with regards to acceleration. Practice makes perfect with this kart, and the rewards afterwards are definitely worth it. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Super Blooper (Turbo Blooper) Speed: 61% Weight: 49% Acceleration: 41% Handling: 44% Drift: 23% Off-Road: 67% Mini-Turbo: 41% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: I have to say, I don't really like this kart very much. On the plus side, it has a nice top speed and off-road ability, makign it very useful on courses with lots of off-road sections, but otherwise it isn't that great. It's the lightest of the medium karts, and also it has a terrible drift and below average handling, making it hard to use on tracks with lots of twists and turns. Its other attributes are also below average. This should only really be used on tracks like Sherbet Island, where its advantages really shine through. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Daytripper (Royal Racer) Speed: 40% Weight: 54% Acceleration: 61% Handling: 74% Drift: 39% Off-Road: 59% Mini-Turbo: 67% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: This is yet another kart aimed at newcomers to the game. It has good acceleration, off-road and handling abilities, which makes it an ideal choice for people who have trouble doing turns or get bombarded by lots of items. However, it's not very fast, and it doesn't have a very good drift, so it may not be well suited to people who aim to go as fast as they possibly can. Experts may want to choose something else, but for beginners it's another option open. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sprinter (B Dasher MK 2) Speed: 80% Weight: 57% Acceleration: 30% Handling: 27% Drift: 44% Off-Road: 24% Mini-Turbo: 27% Drift Direction: Outside Summary: As you could probably tell from the stats, this thing is a speed demon; easily one of the fastest vehicles in the game. It's also the second heaviest of the medium karts. Unfortunately, everything else about it is terrible. It has a very poor acceleration, mini-turbo and off-road rating, and it's handling and drifting skills are nothing to faint in delight over. This should definitely not be used by beginners, or on any tracks with lots of turns (Rainbow Road, anyone?), though on tracks with lots of straightways it might be worth a look because of its ridiculous speed. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4d) Medium Bikes. Standard Bike M Speed: 51% Weight: 43% Acceleration: 51% Handling: 54% Drift: 59% Off-Road: 44% Mini-Turbo: 53% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 52.2% Summary: It’s the same deal as with the other standard vehicles really. Its relatively good aspect of drifting is balanced out by relatively bad off-road ability. It all balances out roughly, and again is pretty good for beginners out there, and is a decent choice for more experienced racers as well. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mach Bike Speed: 67% Weight: 43% Acceleration: 27% Handling: 37% Drift: 77% Off-Road: 31% Mini-Turbo: 79% Drift Direction: Inside Average: 51.9% Summary: Another one of these, eh? I think you know the drill here: good speed, poor acceleration, and drifting over turning. However, what’s special about this is that the Mini-Turbo gives you even more reason to choose that over turning. Use this if you’re good at recovering with drift turbos. Overall, this is a lot like Wild Wing in bike form. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sugarscoot (Bon Bon) Speed: 37% Weight: 37% Acceleration: 67% Handling: 77% Drift: 41% Off-Road: 63% Mini-Turbo: 69% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 55.4% Summary: A sweet name for a sweet bike. It’s a lot like one of the light bikes, really. Its speed is bad, but not pathetic, and it’s the lightest medium vehicle, but it has great handling and good acceleration, and the drift rating is useful for spamming drift turbos. Use this if you don’t mind having a somewhat low speed. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Zip Zip (Rapide) Speed: 49% Weight: 40% Acceleration: 54% Handling: 63% Drift: 33% Off-Road: 79% Mini-Turbo: 54% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 50.8% Summary: It’s a bit like the standard bike with a better off-road rating. Its speed and acceleration are fairly average, but it also has good handling and does very well off-road. The only thing it’s bad at is drifting. This is good if you end up veering off of the roads a lot or you use turning over drifting. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Sneakster (Nitrocycle) Speed: 76% Weight: 47% Acceleration: 33% Handling: 31% Drift: 49% Off-Road: 27% Mini-Turbo: 31% Drift Direction: Inside Average: 45.3% Summary: It’s fast and heavy, but not good at anything else. Hmm, haven’t we seen this before? I think you can guess howw this one works. Only use this if your only priority is a good top speed, because its other categories are not very good overall. As a result, I would give this bike a miss. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dolphin Dasher Speed: 59% Weight: 51% Acceleration: 44% Handling: 49% Drift: 27% Off-Road: 70% Mini-Turbo: 44% Drift Direction: Inside Average: 46.6% Summary: A bit like Sneakster, except that it’s a little less rubbish because it takes some of the speed away and spreads it across the other categories. Apart from the rubbish drift and good off-road, it’s pretty well balanced. A good choice if you like speed over acceleration, but still want some degree of balance in other categories. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4e) Heavy Karts Speed: 59% Weight: 73% Acceleration: 44% Handling: 49% Drift: 49% Off-Road: 41% Mini-Turbo: 41% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 51.1% Summary: For a heavy kart, this is pretty well balanced. It has exactly the same drifting ability as handling, and the same goes for its off-road and mini- turbo ratings. So if you want a slightly less balanced kart with some extra bulk and speed to compensate, pick this. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Offroader Speed: 45% Weight: 80% Acceleration: 59% Handling: 67% Drift: 19% Off-Road: 53% Mini-Turbo: 54% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 51.4% Summary: Offroader is a kart of many extremes. It has the worst speed and drift of all the heavy vehicles, but it also has the best acceleration, handling and, of course, off-road ability. It’s a lot like a light kart, except it’s a heck of a lot heavier. Use this if you like good acceleration and handling over drifting. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Flame Flyer Speed: 76% Weight: 73% Acceleration: 17% Handling: 23% Drift: 59% Off-Road: 20% Mini-Turbo: 59% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 45.8% Summary: Beginners should avoid this like the plague. If, however, you have played Mario Kart for a while, I would say that this is a nice kart to use. It has a great top speed and pretty good drifting. The biggest problem is its appalling acceleration (worst in the game, in fact). If you want to use this, take advantage of every speed boost you can get, because you’ll need it with all the items being thrown at you. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Piranha Prowler Speed: 67% Weight: 83% Acceleration: 33% Handling: 40% Drift: 40% Off-Road: 33% Mini-Turbo: 31% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 46.8% Summary: Well, it’s the heaviest vehicle in the game, and once it gets going it’s pretty fast too. But unfortunately it has bad handling AND drifting, which is never a good thing. And nothing else about it is fantastic either. I wouldn’t recommend this kart, but you’re free to try it and see how it goes. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Jetsetter (Aero Glider) Speed: 86% Weight: 69% Acceleration: 24% Handling: 17% Drift: 31% Off-Road: 17% Mini-Turbo: 17% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 38.5% Summary: It’s like a very extreme version of the ‘fast and furious’ kart. It’s the fastest in the game, but everything else about it is absolute garbage. It's the lightest heavy kart, its drift and handling suck, and don't get me started on the other categories. Unlike other heavy karts, using turbos to negate acceleration doesn't work due to his handlign and drift. The risks are too great; you should probably avoid this kart. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Honeycoupe (Dragonetti) Speed: 64% Weight: 77% Acceleration: 31% Handling: 33% Drift: 70% Off-Road: 27% Mini-Turbo: 70% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 53% Summary: It’s nice to see a kart that’s a little less extreme. It seems like a typical heavy kart: good speed and drifting, bad acceleration and handling. If you’ve read the FAQ up to this point, you’ll know what to do. If you haven’t, then just keep using those mini turbos as much as you can and you should do fine with this kart. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 4f) Heavy Bikes Standard Bike L Speed: 54% Weight: 66% Acceleration: 47% Handling: 51% Drift: 51% Off-Road: 44% Mini-Turbo: 44% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 51% Summary: Better balanced than the Standard Kart L, that’s for sure. It’s the same as with the other balanced vehicles really. Use it if you’re a beginner who likes to have play as somebody big. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Flame Runner (Bowser Bike) Speed: 73% Weight: 66% Acceleration: 19% Handling: 27% Drift: 63% Off-Road: 23% Mini-Turbo: 63% Drift Direction: Inside Average: 48% Summary: Another one of these, huh? I’ve already explained what you have to do with this sort of vehicle four or five times; typing it out again would be pointless. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Wario Bike Speed: 43% Weight: 73% Acceleration: 63% Handling: 69% Drift: 23% Off-Road: 56% Mini-Turbo: 59% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 55% Summary: This is to the other heavy bikes as Super Mario Bros. 2 was to the rest of the series: a lot different, but still good. It seems to be more like a lighter weight kart in terms of the fact its speed is lower and acceleration higher than normal. Wait, haven’t we seen a heavy vehicle like this already? Oh yeah, it was Offroader. You know the drill. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Shooting Star (Twinkle Star) Speed: 60% Weight: 59% Acceleration: 33% Handling: 37% Drift: 74% Off-Road: 31% Mini-Turbo: 74% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 53% Summary: Haven’t we seen this before? It’s another, ‘Good speed and drifting, bad acceleration and handling’ vehicle. If you haven’t read it previously in the FAQ, then basically you should use it if you like drifting and using speed boosts (this helps limit the bad acceleration). --------------------------------------------------------------------- Spear (Torpedo) Speed: 83% Weight: 69% Acceleration: 27% Handling: 19% Drift: 33% Off-Road: 19% Mini-Turbo: 19% Drift Direction: Inside Average: 38% Summary: Put simply, this is so much like Jetsetter that it’s freaky. And that’s not a good thing. Having brilliant speed is always good, but when you’re rubbish at almost everything else it doesn’t seem to be as helpful. Avoid this bike unless you're obsessed with speed. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Phantom Speed: 51% Weight: 61% Acceleration: 51% Handling: 59% Drift: 17% Off-Road: 70% Mini-Turbo: 49% Drift Direction: Outside Average: 51% Summary: For the most part it’s a lot like Standard Bike L. But there are two notable things about this vehicle. First is that its drifting is atrocious. The second is that its off-road ability far outshines every other heavy vehicle. Overall, use this if you don’t mind not drifting and you end up off the road a lot. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Do characters affect vehicle performance? Now there’s a short answer and a long answer to this question. Short answer: Yes they do. Long answer: Although the characters are mostly the same, there are some minor differences that stop them from being exactly the same as each other. Now, to be completely honest, the variations don't make a whole lot of difference overall, unless the race is really neck and neck. The stats do have some effect, but if you're good you can win with any character. So you’ll probably want to know how they’re different, right? Well, OK, here we go! 5a) Light characters. Name: Baby Mario Bonuses: Weight +11% Handling +7% Does well with: Bit Bike, Quacker, Baby Booster, Cheep Charger Analysis: Well, the weight can help you a lot with other light characters, but with medium and heavy characters they’ll simply knock you over anyway. The handling bonus is the best of all the light characters too. Overall, this is probably a good character to pick if you’re a beginner, but not so much if you're more experienced. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Baby Luigi Bonuses: Speed +6% Weight +11% Does well with: Blue Falcon, Mini Beast, Bullet Bike, Jet Bubble Analysis: Like Baby Mario he adds a bit of extra bulk to the vehicles. However, Baby Luigi also makes you go slightly faster. This makes him a good choice if you decide to pick a kart or bike with a very low or very high top speed, since he can both add to it or supplement it, depending on the vehicle that you decide to choose. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Baby Peach Bonuses: Speed +4% Weight +7% Acceleration +4% Handling+4% Does well with: Standard Kart S, Standard Bike S, Tiny Titan, Magikruiser Analysis: Baby Peach is underrated, if you ask me. Few characters add bonuses to four categories, and it's also pretty varied. She gets boosts in both speed and acceleration, a slight increase in handling and she weighs slightly more. A nice choice for beginners and experts alike. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Baby Daisy Bonuses: Speed +6% Weight +7% Mini-Turbo +4% Does well with: Blue Falcon, Mini Beast, Bullet Bike, Bit Bike Analysis: Baby Daisy is a nice choice as well. The speed she gets is great, and the weight bonus can help with other light characters. However, another cool thing is that she gets a better mini-turbo, although this doesn’t mean much if you use automatic. Baby Daisy is worth using if you like to have a lot of extra speed to your vehicle, and if you use manual. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Toad Bonuses: Acceleration +7% Drift +7% Does well with: Booster Seat, Cheep Charger, Bullet Bike, Magikruiser Analysis: Well, he adds a fair bit to the acceleration (which in a game filled with items is always a plus). The drift he adds is also nice, especially on karts or bikes with low drift settings. Toad is worth trying if you’re worried that you’ll get hit by lots of items or you haven't gotten the hang of turbos in the game yet. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Toadette Bonuses: Speed +4% Off-Road + 8% Does well with: Tiny Titan, Magikruiser, Booster Seat Analysis: I think that Toadette is slightly overrated. Everyone seems to think she’s brilliant. The Off-Road that she adds is definitely notable, but once you get the hang of staying on the road it’s minimally essential, except on tracks with a lot of off-road areas. She does get a nice speed increase, but then so does Baby Peach. Use Toadette on tracks that have lots of off-road bits, or if you haven't gotten the hang of turning yet. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Koopa Troopa Bonuses: Handling +4% Mini-Turbo+ 8% Does well with: Mini Beast, Bullet Bike, Cheep Charger Analysis: If you use automatic, he’s not that great. If you use manual however, the extra boost this guy gets from drifts is definitely a great aid, and also his handling bonus isn’t to be shunned. I use him occasionally; he’s best on courses with lots of turns because it allows you to abuse the drift turbos more. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Mii (Small) Bonuses: Speed +4% Weight +4% Drift +4% Mini-Turbo +4% Does well with: Most of them, to be honest, but especially Mini Beast and Bullet Bike. Analysis: As well as being yourself amongst all the famous Mario characters, you get some nice stats increases to boot. The combination of drift and mini- turbo bonuses is always good, and means that on tracks with lots of corners you can abuse it as much as you want. Overall, the Mii is second only to Baby Peach when it comes to light characters. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 5b) Medium Characters Name: Mario Bonuses: Weight +7% Acceleration +4% Handling +4% Drift +4% Does well with: Standard Kart M, Standard Bike M, most of them to some extent. Analysis: Mario is not only good at rescuing Princess Peach, he’s also well skilled on the race course, which is just as well, since the game is named after him. He has bonuses in four categories, which is not common amongst the cast. Use him if you’re a beginner who wants some helpful extras. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Luigi Bonuses: Speed +3% Weight +7% Does well with: Sneakster, Dolphin Dasher, Sprinter, Wild Wing Analysis: Once again, Luigi is left in the shadows of his more famous brother Mario. His slight speed increase is nice, as is the weight added, but it isn’t enough to make up for the fact that he has little else going for him. Avoid Luigi; use Mario or someone else instead. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Peach Bonuses: Speed +3% Acceleration +7% Drift +7% Does well with: Classic Dragster, Daytripper, Wild Wing, Sugarscoot, Mach Bike (to some extent) Analysis: As well as a minor speed increase, Peach also gets a lot more acceleration and drifting ability too. Ultimately, this drift isn’t very useful if you prefer conventional turning though. Overall, Peach is a good character to pick because of her increases in speed and acceleration. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Daisy Bonuses: Speed +6% Handling +4% Mini-Turbo +4% Analysis: Daisy’s bonuses are surprisingly varied. She gets a lot of extra speed, but at the same time a small increase in handling skills. She also gets a mini-turbo bonus, which comes in handy if you choose manual over automatic. Daisy is for those of you who like to have some extra speed to your vehicle. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Yoshi Bonuses: Weight +4% Drift +4% Off-Road +7% Analysis: Yoshi is a bit like Toadette, except slightly better. His off-road is helpful for beginners, and his drift increase can be quite helpful. His weight doesn’t really make much difference though, really. Yoshi is overall an OK choice, but I generally prefer Daisy or Peach most of the time. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Birdo Bonuses: Weight +4% Off-Road +4% Mini-Turbo +7% Analysis: I really like the mini-turbo bonus Birdo gets. Otherwise, Birdo is quite similar to Yoshi really, what with the weight and off-road increases he gets. Birdo is pretty good; I would recommend him if you use mini-turbos a lot and at the same time like some extra off-road skill. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Diddy Kong Bonuses: Acceleration +4% Drift +4% Mini-Turbo +7% Analysis: He has the same mini-turbo increase as Birdo, and he also gets extra acceleration and drifting. The bonus acceleration can be helpful against item- friendly opponents, especially if you’re using a vehicle with low acceleration. The drift increase is also very nice, which essentially makes spamming mini-turbos on corners a piece of cake with the right vehicle. Overall, Diddy Kong is worth playing as; one of the better medium weight characters in my opinion. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Bowser Jr. Bonuses: Off-Road +4% Mini-Turbo +4% Analysis: Oh dear. Bowser Jr. is definitely the worst of all the medium characters. In fact, he gets far less bonuses to his stats than any other character in the entire game, let alone amongst the medium class. Although the bonuses he has can be a minor help, he has so few of them that it’s pathetic. In fact, he gets only half the bonuses the Mii gets. Avoid Bowser Jr. if you're looking for good stats. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Mii (Medium) Bonuses: Speed +3% Weight +4% Off-Road +4% Mini-Turbo +4% Analysis: This is a bit more like it. As well as getting increases in off-road and mini-turbos, the Mii also gets some extra weight, and it even gets a minor speed to help. However, although it is well balanced in its extra attributes, it still isn’t as good as some of the others. Still, it’s at least worth a try, and I use it because that’s the class my Mii comes under. :) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 5c) Heavy characters Name: Wario Bonuses: Weight +4% Off-Road +4% Mini-Turbo +8% Analysis: This is an interesting one. The off-road can be helpful if you’re a beginner or on an off-road course (though really I don’t think beginners should even be playing with many of the heavy vehicles). The extra weight that he gets makes little difference, because he’ll outweigh all light and medium vehicles anyway. The highlight of Wario is his immense mini-turbo bonus; one of the best in the game. Use him if you like to use mini-turbos a lot. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Waluigi Bonuses: Acceleration +7% Drift +7% Off-Road +4% Analysis: Waluigi is quite possibly the best heavy character in the game. He gets a decent off-road bonus, but that’s hardly the best of his attributes. He also gets a lot of extra acceleration, which is a great help, since many heavy vehicles have low acceleration. And it has extra drift abilities too, which is useful for spamming drift turbos on turns. Waluigi is definitely a great choice overall. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Donkey Kong Bonuses: Weight +4% Acceleration +3% Handling +3% Mini-Turbo +4% Analysis: Well, his increases in stats are quite minor, but they’re also very varied, and his acceleration and mini-turbo increases are very helpful for the ‘average’ heavy vehicle. The handling can also be useful, as can the extra weight. Donkey Kong might well be the right choice for you. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Bowser Bonuses: Speed +3% Weight +8% Drift +4% Analysis: Bowser is easily the heaviest character of them all, which is helpful against other heavy characters (it makes no difference to other characters since heavies can plough straight through them anyway). He also gets some extra speed and drift ratings, which seems to go hand in hand with what most of the heavy vehicles are like. Bowser is a definite yes if you like to be the heaviest of the crowd, in more ways than one. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: King Boo Bonuses: Handling +7% Off-Road +4% Analysis: Like quite a few other heavy characters, he gets a slight off-road increase. But his handling bonus is definitely what makes King Boo stand out. However, since most of the heavy vehicles rely on drifting rather than turning, this may be of limited usefulness. Only use him if you pick one of the better handling vehicles. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Rosalina Bonuses: Speed +3% Handling +3% Mini-Turbo +4% Analysis: With her extra speed and mini-turbo ability, Rosalina seems to be all about the speed. She also gets a mild handling increase as well, but as has already been discussed this may not help much. If you like speed and use manual rather than automatic, Rosalina could be a good choice. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Funky Kong Bonuses: Speed +6% Off-Road +4% Analysis: Funky Kong seems to get used a lot online, and with good reason. I mean, look at the extra speed he gets. Combine this with a really fast vehicle, and you’ll be the fastest guy on the track. And in case you missed a turn, he can help you to recover with his extra off-road rating. Definitely pick him if you like lots of speed. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Dry Bowser Bonuses: Off-Road +8% Mini-Turbo +8% Analysis: This is an interesting one. He gets a massive increase on off-road and mini-turbos, which is extremely helpful, since most heavy vehicles have low off-road ratings, and also he’s good for using mini-turbos on corners. Dry Bowser is one of the best of the lot, I would say. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Mii (Large) Bonuses: Speed +3% Acceleration +3% Handling +3% Drift +4% Analysis: The Mii gives you minor but varied increases in stats. You get extra speed, acceleration, handling and drift all in one, which isn’t bad at all. It’s a lot less extreme, and it’s good at the same time. You should consider trying out this Mii. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) Which combinations are best? OK, so we've gone through all the vehicles, and all the characters. But which combination is best in each category? I'll tell you now. Speed: Jetsetter + Funky Kong: When you add these two together, the total speed rating is a massive 91.8%. Now that's fast. Weight: Piranha Prowler + Bowser: These two will give you a weight rating of 90.4%, allowing you to outweigh anyone or anything else. Acceleration: Quacker + Toad: This deadly duo gives you a total acceleration rating of 91.5%, allowing you to get to top speed very quickly. Handling: Bit Bike + Baby Mario: These two combined give you a toal handling rating of exactly 90%. Hooray for precision! Drift: Bullet Bike + Toad: As well as being the character component of top acceleration, Toad when combined with Bullet Bike gives a drift rating of 91.4%. Off-Road: Magikruiser + Toadette: These partners in crime give an off-road rating of 91.8% overall. Mini-Turbo: Bullet Bike + Koopa Troopa: Finally, these two together give a total mini-turbo rating of 92.0%. 7) Credits. I extend a warm thanks to: MarioKartWiiStats.com- I got all the stats from there and converted them to percentages. They saved me a lot of time. Thank you. Nintendo- For making this game and all the cool characters. You- For taking the time to read this FAQ.