The Best Rocket League Cars

Rocket League is the perfect example of how games focused on competitive online modes should be.

We are used to playing soccer matches both in real life and virtual life, and due to their nature, games that include cars are focused on racing. So it’s refreshing for the industry to come across variants and approaches such as the one represented by Rocket League. The idea is engaging because of its simplicity: you have to put a ball in the opponent’s goal with a small car capable of driving at high speeds and performing incredible pirouettes to score the goals.

These cars are exceptional and can jump, accelerate at dizzying speeds and do all kinds of acrobatics that will allow us to score goals, jump, make acrobatic finishes in the air, perform miraculous saves under the goal line, and, in short, have loads of fun.

Now, of course, you are concerned about which car to use. There are trucks, racing cars, and even karts. Having a myriad of car models before you, you are challenged with the question: which is the best car in Rocket League?

In this guide, I will provide a thorough analysis of what I consider to be the best Rocket League cars in the game.

My Bottom-Line Up Front

Can you read this TL;DR of the article and get the general gist of what I chose as the best cars in the Rocket League? Sure.

But why would you do that when you can get a thorough explanation of the car’s strengths, weaknesses, in-game feel, and final verdict and decide which is the best yourself?

In case my oh-so-very persuasive paragraph didn’t work out, here’s a quick rundown of the best cars:

1. The Fennec
2. The Dominus
3. The Scarab
4. The Breakout
5. The Octane

Selection Criteria

If you didn’t already know, on July 5th, 2017, Psyonix standardized Rocket League cars to minimize handling differences and created five set hitboxes called Octane, Dominus, Plank, Breakout, and Hybrid.

Every car in Rocket League has one of these five hitboxes. So even though two cars may appear different, they can still have the same hitbox. So how can the best car be picked out in a game where all vehicles follow the same five basic structures?

In theory, the best car would be the one whose hitbox matched perfectly with its model. In practice, though, none of us can see the super tiny pixels between when the ball first makes contact with the car and when it rebounds off.

The reality is that we can only do our best to predict where the ball will go after it hits our car from our experience. Therefore, my top picks for the best Rocket League cars are based on the following criteria:

Current Popularity: It’s Not About Who You Are or Your Fancy Car

Listen up. I’m not saying I picked which car was best because loads of people were using it. I am just factoring in how relevant a car is in the current game. Do a large number of players use this car? Do this car’s attributes stay up to date and competitive with the other cars recently introduced in the game? Is the car available for acquisition today?

If the answer to these questions is yes, then the car’s likely to be on this list. If the answer to this question is no (hello, 2016’s Batmobile), then the car is probably left out of this list.

Rocket League and Hitboxes: A Better Love Story Than Twilight

Each Rocket League battle car has a different type of hitbox. There are six hitboxes: Octane, Dominus, Plank, Breakout, Hybrid, and Merc. The hitbox type determines the vehicle’s handling, tilt, or height attributes. Don’t forget that all Rocket League cars have the same speed and acceleration. However, their hitbox balances those three attributes to make each car more or less valuable to fulfill specific roles in a match.

When deciding which cars were the best in the game, I considered their hitboxes. I don’t mean “which has the best” only, but also how it balances into the car’s playstyle as a whole.

In-Game Feel: A Gray Area

So, it might be harder to be objective on this one, but it’s part of my selection criteria. With all its beautiful stats, a car might look good on paper, but how does it feel in the game? After all, we cannot rate the car based on data alone. We also need to see how it handles in an authentic Rocket League situation.

The Best Rocket League Cars in 2022

1. The Fennec

The Fennec is a car released in 2019 and is currently one of the most used cars in the game, especially in the highest ranks. It’s used by many pro players and is thought of as one of the best cars in the game.

Like the most widely used Rocket League car, the Fennec also uses the Octane hitbox. I’ll share more details about The Octane in this list. But, the Octane hitbox is well-balanced, with the length being its biggest weakness. That’s all you need to know.

How the Car Feels In-Game

The first word that came to my mind when using the Fennec was the word mechanics. I don’t think I’ve ever felt freer to execute mechanical plays. With the Fennec, you feel like you can do pretty much anything. It doesn’t feel clunky if you’re good enough with the car. It’s smooth, controlled, and very light as well. So, I rarely felt like I got stuck on bad landings or could not make quick recoveries.

Strengths

Right now, I believe that I see more Fennec than Octanes in my games. To tell you the truth, I’m not too fond of it. The Fennec is a tough car to defend against because of its superb mechanical ability. Don’t even get me started on kickoffs. You guys all know how long kickoffs are, right? They are not fun unless they’re going your way, but they’re especially not fun when you have to do them against high-level affect players. The recovery and the speed are just too much for me to handle sometimes.

Now, good recoveries are a skill that you need to learn, but controlling the Fennec is very smooth. Also, since it’s a small car, you can pull off wave dashes much more efficiently, and you’ll rarely be hitting your nose awkwardly on walls, for example. So overall, the fence allows you to recover quite fast.

One issue you may run into if you’re a lengthy strength guy is that the Fennec is a little lacking in that department. So, it might take some getting used to until you start hitting those nose areas consistently. But when you start hitting them, it will feel perfect.

Air dribbles are a go-to move, especially in guns. You can make the air ripple look real and bail on the ball fast with the fence if you want to go for those annoying aerial bumps or demos on the open net.

The shots are great too. Your shots won’t be weak or inaccurate; most of the time, you can pull off good shots even from awkward spots. I’m not sure if you are safe better than the Octane, though. I may be more used to shooting with the Octane, and that’s why I feel like the Fennec is not just as good, but the shots overall are still excellent and better than most cars out there.

If you want to be a team player and pass your opponents for chains, you’ll be happy to know that the Fennec can pull off accurate passes that even your teammates will probably not miss.

Weaknesses

Lastly, I’ll talk a bit about defense and how the Fennec performs on your field side. It controls smoothly, so clearing the ball off of a wall far away from your wall is easy. However, controlling the ball on the ground and making saves can sometimes be challenging. The Fennec can feel a bit bouncy, which can make you lose the accuracy and control of the car.

The Verdict

The Fennec is good at most things and has few negatives. The car is my number one choice for volleyball, and you can’t go wrong with it in other game modes either. It works well even on snow days, and you probably can’t have a higher compliment than that.

Best Layouts

2. Dominus

This vehicle came out in 2015, and since then, it has become a player favorite. Many players complained about acquiring it by paying money, but that changed after the game arrived in the Epic Games Store.

The Dominus is a legendary car for many, with a great history in the competitive and freestyle communities. In addition, it is one of the favorite cars for longtime players of the Rocket League. So, first off, let’s take a hard look at the facts and see how the Dominus compares in statistics to the other cars.

The Dominus looks pretty good on paper. It’s a long car with a little more height than the Breakout. Plus, it’s much broader. But, in terms of statistics, there’s nothing that pops out. The car is just solid.

How The Car Feels In-Game

My first impressions of the Dominus weren’t what I expected. I was missing a lot of balls that I had never missed before. It wasn’t working, and I couldn’t figure out why. I mean, on paper, the Dominus is a perfect car.

So what could be the problem? As it turns out, the Dominus is a flat car. So, to get powerful shots, you almost always have to hit it with the nose of your car. If you hit it with other parts of your car, the ball can roll off.

Strengths

Hitting the ball with the nose of Dominus is easier said than done, though, so it might be difficult to have perfect accuracy with it at the start. But when you get it down, the shots you can pull off will be unique.

It is straightforward to get good pinches with the Dominus. This has a lot to do with the nose. It is almost always done by hitting the ball against the wall with the nose of your car. This will give the ball the most power and send the ball flying to the other side of the field.

Another thing that seemed more effortless with the Dominus was deceiving people. It’s a big car, so I think people expect you to almost always hit the ball near it to support this claim. I noticed how people pre-jumped my regular attacks whenever I was on offense. This was very frustrating since scoring with the Dominus with a lack of accuracy and in close quarters was hard for me initially, and I didn’t seem to get through anyone in defense.

To combat this, I started deceiving people, which changed everything. In higher ranks, people don’t get deceived as quickly because they will aim their challenges in a way that even if you don’t hit the ball, they might still hit it and destroy your attack.

But with the Dominus, your movements look louder, so they scare the opponents more efficiently, and it is more likely that they won’t have the time to position themselves perfectly to block your shots. So, deception is something the Dominos also excels at.

Weaknesses

With the Dominus, you will always get a powerful pinch, but you might sometimes have some trouble with accuracy because the pins are just that powerful. However, it is still an excellent way to clear the ball, so you can breathe and get some boost.

Another criticism I seem to have is with flat car flip resets. I don’t particularly appreciate going for a flip with flat cars. I can get them, but so many times, I feel like I should have gotten the flip reset when I didn’t.

I might not get the flip resets with flat cars because I don’t use them that much. But another reason is the bottom of the car is more significant than it is with the Octane, for example. So, there’s a bigger chance that you won’t be hitting the sweet spot with a flat car compared to the Octane.

The Verdict

The Dominus is an exciting car. It’s not the best at first glance, but it does everything well. It’s not the longest car, but it has some length. It’s not the highest car, but it’s not the slimmest either. The Dominus is an average car based on statistics and technical attributes.

However, the Dominus has always been a car for people with flashy mechanics, such as free stylists and more mechanically oriented pro players. One reason for this is its overall size and the fact that it is not bad at any one thing. Also, it just looks so lovely.

Best Layouts

3. Scarab

How The Car Feels In-Game

Is it ugly? Is it cute? Is it even a round car when it actually shares the Dominus hitbox?

Although these questions remain unanswered, looking at this vehicle, you can tell it is a complete badass. When I first got it, one of the pros was that it actually feels fast to me. I know, I know. All cars have the same speed. But listen: this car starts going fast just by briefly hitting the boost button. It feels fast; on-screen, it just looks fast.

Strengths

High speed is definitely one of its pros. If you’re trying to get back down to your side of the field, which is a good thing with the size of the vehicle, you can make that happen in a matter of milliseconds, not without a few uncalled-for front flips, of course. But, with the help of the rocket booster, you will get down there in a finger snap.

Weaknesses

Well, that tremendous excellent speed is also a con. I say that because it’s good on defense, but so far as offense goes? Not so much. If you go with the rocket booster, you must be 100% accurate.

You can’t be 99% accurate because you have to control that speed. With all that speed, you’ll go past the ball, which gives the other team the advantage of knocking it back down to your field and making it go.

The Verdict

This little fellow of a car requires a strategy to ensure you get that 100% hit and good accuracy on that ball. Otherwise, it’s fun and jumpy, but it won’t work as a player.

Best Layout

My personal favorite for the Scarab is all black, but if you insist on a more detailed layout, here you go:

4. Breakout

The Breakout is one of the default cars in the game and one of the most underrated options within the game itself. It’s a great vehicle to start with because it’s an aerial car, especially to take your first steps. After that, it’s widely regarded as one of the best cars in the game because it has a competitive hitbox.

Let’s just get this bit out of the way: it’s flat. Flatter, even, than the Dominus itself. This, combined with the fact that it’s got a very prominent nose, makes it a favorite among freestylers. Once you can get past the awkward length and get comfortable with using the nose, you’ll be able to maneuver a potential goal-scoring machine.

How The Car Feels In-Game

I’ll be honest, it feels slightly slower than some other cars, maybe just slower than the Octane. But I remember liking the Breakout in the air. I always felt like it was just a good car for aerials.

Strengths

The Breakout is a flat car with a unique look to it. The Breakout’s hitbox is particularly special for a specific reason: It’s the longest hitbox in the game and very narrow and flat.

Of course, it’s delicious to reach those almost impossible-to-touch balls. But, on the other hand, they might flip you if you don’t pay attention.

Weaknesses

This car is not too viable for team games, as the Dominus is much more complete. However, this car is still used in freestyle and solo games, and even some professional players advocate it.

The Verdict

There aren’t too many cars with the Breakout hitbox: only six. That makes it unique and special. However, the other five cars aren’t here because of how this hitbox is balanced by the car’s dribbling ability, aerial fun, and overall field coverage. It’s just a beast when played right.

Best Layout

5. Octane

Get used to the Octane because you’ll see it a LOT. The best car in the game, no more, no less. Despite being one of the default cars in the game, it’s the most used by new players and veterans alike, and it’s such a versatile car that it’s impossible not to fall in love with it at first sight.

If you are still getting used to the game, it would be good to get used to using this one. It’s hard to find a better car than this one.

Strengths

The Octane is the shortest car and has a unique hitbox. It indeed is the most “balanced” and the one that feels best, but this is to each person’s taste. Some things feel good about the Octane, the main one being flicking the ball. Flat cars are often thought to be better at flicking the ball, but the Octane can pull off perfect flicks in strength and accuracy.

Shooting the ball from the ground or the air is also an absolute blast. It’s an accurate car that you can pull off anything you decide to do.

Weaknesses

An aspect that players might find hard on The Octane is flip resets. It’s easier to get a reset in flat cars, but tall cars like this one? Not so much.

If you are late to a challenge and must hit the ball with the right or left side of the car, you might not be able to contact the ball because of the car’s length. A longer car might be better for fast reaction and dribbling than the Octane.

The Verdict

So why does this specific car stands out as a clear favorite year after year and why do I claim it’s the best car in the game? To understand, we’ll need a little data, some psychology, and a lot of life bounce out of all the non-Octane stans.

Even though there are loads of cars in Rocket League, only five unique hitboxes exist. This isn’t to say that there are only five cars because it does matter how the car model and the hitbox compare. I was hoping you could notice that car models and hitboxes don’t always align perfectly. For example, even though the Octane is supposedly the best, it has a good amount of room where the hitbox and the car disagree.

Now, this is when psychology starts to get involved. As you play more and more, you learn how fast and in what direction the ball will rebound depending on how you hit it. This isn’t limited to the time you play the game; it also includes the time you watch Rocket League.

When I say the Octane is the best car, I mean it’s the best car for most players. But, in reality, I think that if you spend enough time getting to know any car, you could play your best with it.

Best Layout

FAQ

Question: How many cars are there in Rocket League?

Answer: If Rocket League stands out for something, it is for having an extensive catalog of different cars and varied aspects. As of right now, there are 113 vehicles in the game.

Question: How can I unlock more cars in Rocket League?

Answer: These starter cars might not be for you. To get some new ones, you just have to play the game in any game mode, online or offline. You will get new cars randomly when you finish matches.

Question: Why is Octane the best car in Rocket League?

Answer: The Octane was the most popular car before and after the update. The main reason is that it’s the first car everyone uses, and naturally, people stick to what they know. If the first car they used was the Tikku Me, that’s what they would be using right now. Also, when players watch pros, you see Octane; they instinctively want to use the same car.

Parting Words

Each car in Rocket League does have its place. Sometimes changing cars is a mental adjustment that will make you play better. Most of the time, though, I believe changing cars will mess with how you think your car will contact the ball.

At the end of the day, though, I get why some people use cars like the Batmobile or Dominus to perform specific mechanics. Sometimes just changing the car model or hitbox slightly can help you better understand how to hit the ball properly.

Read More: Rocket League Car Design Ideas: It’s Time to Nail Those Shots in Style

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Candela Maldonado

Candela, a localisation specialist for video games by trade, is also a tenured and passionate video game journalist with a keen interest in Indie gaming. She has a deep adoration for tough challenges like Cuphead, but equally, can lose herself in the frantic multiplayer frenzy that is Rocket League. She loves the variety that Indie gaming provides, making her a wonderful asset to the Indie Game Culture team.

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