Vehicles

From bicycle to gyrocopter — costs, storage, and when to build which

Overview

Five vehicles exist, roughly in progression order: Bicycle → Minibike → Motorcycle → 4x4 Truck → Gyrocopter. All motorized vehicles run on gas; the bicycle needs no fuel at all. All five need the same two things to unlock — reading Vehicle Adventures magazines and the Grease Monkey perk — just progressively more of each for the better vehicles. There's no separate unlock path per vehicle.

The lineup

Vehicle	Crafting needs	Mod slots	Storage	Best for
Bicycle	2 Wheels, Bicycle Chassis, Handlebars, Mechanical Parts	2	Minimal	Free, fast early upgrade over walking — no fuel needed
Minibike	2 Wheels, Minibike Chassis, Handlebars, Engine, Lead Car Battery	3	27 slots	First real vehicle — big quality-of-life jump, single-seat
Motorcycle	2 Wheels, Motorcycle Chassis, Handlebars, Engine, Lead Car Battery	4	More than Minibike	Meaningfully faster and tougher than the Minibike; needs steel production for the handlebars recipe
4x4 Truck	4 Wheels, Truck Chassis, Truck Accessories, Engine, Lead Car Battery	5	81 slots — largest in the game	Multi-POI loot runs, group travel, base relocation. Guzzles fuel, weak to collisions
Gyrocopter	3 Wheels, Gyrocopter Chassis, Accessories, Engine, Lead Car Battery	5	Modest	The only flying vehicle — not actually the highest top-speed stat, but flying straight over terrain instead of navigating roads usually makes it the fastest point-to-point in practice

Note: Real top speed ranking (normal driving, not turbo): Bicycle < Minibike < Gyrocopter ≈ Motorcycle < 4x4 Truck. The Truck actually has the highest raw speed stat — the Gyrocopter's advantage is ignoring terrain and traffic, not outright velocity.

Fuel

Dismantle wrecked cars with a wrench — the best source, and also yields the Engines and Lead Car Batteries you need to build vehicles in the first place.
Oil barrels found in garages, gas stations, and construction sites.
Mine Oil Shale in the Desert and refine it into gas at a Chemistry Station once you're set up for it (see Crafting & Tools).

Tip: Keep a small fuel reserve in the vehicle itself, not just in your inventory — it's easy to park a loot-stuffed vehicle and forget to refuel it before your next trip.

Vehicle mods

Not every mod fits every vehicle — compatibility is real and confirmed from the game files, not uniform across the board:

Mod	Works on	Effect
Fuel Saver	Minibike, Motorcycle, 4x4 Truck, Gyrocopter	Reduces fuel consumption, scaling up to a 60% reduction at the top tier. The single best mod for long-distance driving.
Super Charger	Minibike, Motorcycle, 4x4 Truck, Gyrocopter	+12% acceleration, +18% top speed.
Reserve Fuel Tank	Minibike, Motorcycle, 4x4 Truck, Gyrocopter	Increases fuel capacity, scaling from +50% up to double capacity.
Expanded Seating	Minibike, Motorcycle, 4x4 Truck only	+2 passenger seats.
Storage	All 5 vehicles, including Bicycle	Increases cargo capacity. The only vehicle mod that can be installed twice on the same vehicle — none of the other five allow a second copy.
Off-Road Headlights	All 5 vehicles, including Bicycle	Genuinely brighter night driving lights, manually toggled (not always-on).

The Bicycle only takes Storage and Off-Road Headlights — no engine or fuel system means Fuel Saver, Super Charger, and Reserve Fuel Tank simply don't apply. The Gyrocopter can't take Expanded Seating at all — worth knowing before assuming a 2-seat gyrocopter is possible with the right mod.

Note: Fuel Saver and Reserve Fuel Tank solve different problems — Fuel Saver stretches what you have further, Reserve Fuel Tank means fewer refuels but doesn't reduce consumption per mile. Combine both if you have the mod slots for it.

Driving controls worth knowing

Core controls: W to accelerate, S to brake/reverse, Shift for a turbo boost (costs stamina on the Bicycle, fuel on everything else), Spacebar for the handbrake (also pitches the Gyrocopter upward), X to honk the horn, and Q to lock in cruise control at your current speed — press Q again, or hit brake/accelerate, to cancel it.

Left-click while driving toggles between mouse-steering and keyboard (A/D) steering. This isn't explained anywhere in-game and most players never find it — if the mouse-steering feels twitchy or you keep clipping obstacles, left-click switches you to direct A/D control instead.
Holding the right mouse button lets you look around without changing your heading. Useful for checking what's chasing you or scanning for resources on the move without the vehicle veering off course.
Steering mode, along with every other vehicle binding, can be freely rebound from the Controls tab in the options menu if the defaults don't feel right.

Choosing what to build

Early vehicles (Bicycle, Minibike) are usually worth crafting yourself — parts are easy to find. The Motorcycle and 4x4 are often pricier to buy from a trader than to gather materials for yourself. The Gyrocopter is almost always self-built since traders rarely stock it.