If you enjoy offroad driving, dirt racing, or simply exploring rough terrain in Forza Horizon 6, the 1985 Nissan Safari Turbo is absolutely worth adding to your garage. Even better, it’s completely free to obtain, which already makes it one of the best-value vehicles in the game.
At first glance, the Safari Turbo looks like a slow and outdated SUV compared to modern rally trucks and performance builds. But once you actually drive it on mountain trails, muddy roads, beaches, and rocky terrain, it becomes clear why so many players rate it as one of the strongest offroad vehicles in its class.
A Pure Offroad Specialist
The biggest reason players love the Safari Turbo is its incredible offroad capability. In stock form, it comes with an 8.3 Offroad rating, which is far higher than most vehicles in its category.
This thing climbs hills effortlessly, stays stable over rough surfaces, and handles deep mud better than many expensive rally builds. For free roam exploration alone, it’s one of the most fun vehicles in the game.
Driving it through forests or mountain roads feels very different from driving lightweight rally cars. The Safari Turbo feels heavy, planted, and surprisingly durable over difficult terrain.
If your favorite activities in Forza Horizon 6 include:
- Exploring hidden mountain paths
- Driving through rivers and mud
- Cross-country events
- Dirt racing
- Rally routes
- Offroad cruising with friends
then the Safari Turbo is definitely worth getting.
Its Weaknesses Are Very Obvious
Of course, the Safari Turbo is not perfect.
The stock performance stats make it clear that this vehicle was never designed for asphalt racing or high-speed competition.
Here are its base ratings:
| Stat | Rating |
|---|---|
| Offroad | 8.3 |
| Speed | 3.3 |
| Launch | 3.2 |
| Handling | 2.9 |
| Braking | 2.2 |
| Acceleration | 2.0 |
The biggest problems are acceleration and braking. On paved roads, the Safari Turbo feels slow and heavy compared to almost everything else around it.
Cornering on asphalt also feels clumsy in stock form. If you enter turns too aggressively, the body roll becomes noticeable very quickly.
Because of this, it’s not a vehicle you want to bring into competitive street races without modifications.
Community Tunes Change Everything
This is where the Safari Turbo becomes much more interesting.
Once players started experimenting with custom tuning setups, the vehicle developed a strong reputation in B-Class and C-Class dirt racing. Good community tunes improve suspension response, traction balance, gearing, and weight distribution enough to make the truck surprisingly competitive.
With the right setup, the Safari Turbo transforms from a slow exploration SUV into a powerful dirt racing machine.
A lot of experienced players specifically use it for:
- Rally adventures
- Dirt championships
- Cross-country seasonal events
- Technical mountain routes
- Low-class offroad rivals runs
Its natural stability over rough terrain gives it a major advantage on tracks where lighter cars bounce around too much.
One of the Best Free Cars in the Game
Another huge advantage is that you do not need to buy it from the Autoshow.
The Safari Turbo is available as a free Treasure Car hidden in the world map, which makes it even more rewarding to unlock.
To find it:
- Travel to the Ito region in the northeast area of the map.
- Head toward the mountain wind farm with the large turbines.
- Drive uphill near the drift zone entrance.
- The white Safari Turbo is parked beside one of the wind turbines.
Once discovered, it becomes available in your collection permanently.
For a free vehicle, the overall value is honestly excellent.
So, Is It Worth It?
Yes — especially if you enjoy offroad gameplay.
The 1985 Nissan Safari Turbo is not a fast all-around car, and it definitely struggles on normal road racing tracks in stock form. But that is not what this vehicle was built for.
What makes it special is how capable and enjoyable it feels on rough terrain. Combined with strong community tuning potential and the fact that it costs absolutely nothing to unlock, it easily becomes one of the most worthwhile offroad vehicles for casual exploration and dirt racing.