Vehicles (State of Decay 2)

Vehicles are the only means of transportation in State of Decay 2. They allow players to travel much faster and more safely to their destinations. There are more vehicle types in State of Decay 2 than its predecessor. Vehicle upgrades are a new feature that allow all vehicle types to improve durability, speed, and handling.

Characteristics

Unlike in the first installment of the series, there doesn't seem to be a set number of vehicles in any particular game world. Upon moving a vehicle from its original spawning point, another vehicle eventually replaces it after some time.

Fuel

Vehicles in State of Decay 2 consume fuel. Fuel consumption can be lessened by survivors who acquire the Driving quirk skill or by having an Auto Shop. Vehicles can be refueled using a gas cans. Gas cans will have a more significant effect on the fuel meter of a smaller vehicle rather than a large one (this results in vehicles with larger fuel tanks effectively consuming less fuel).

Speed & Control

Handling of vehicles follow expected conventions. Larger, heavier vehicles are slower and have large turn radii. Smaller, lighter vehicles are generally faster, and turn much easier.

Noise

Vehicles make various amounts of noise. Larger vehicles and economy vehicles don't typically make a lot of noise compared to sporty vehicles. Honking your vehicle’s horn can be used to lure zombies along or out of an infestation. This method is a greatly effective method in the distraction of a large infestation or plague heart zone during single or co-op play. Headlights can be turned on to vastly illuminate the area in front of you, or off should you require a more stealthy approach, something to consider if you require the extermination of a hostile enclave. Upgraded vehicles tend to create more noise across the board, but this has not actually been confirmed.

Durability

Larger, heavier and upgraded vehicles are able to plow through groups of zombies easier and much more effectively than smaller, lighter vehicles and those which have yet to be upgraded. They are considerably more durable and tend to survive more crashes along the way. All vehicles receive a significant boost in durability after receiving their upgrade.

Damage

Damage to vehicles is separated into areas, so smashing a zombie with your door won't damage your engine, hitting a zombie with your front won't damage the driver door, etc. Vehicles do not have health bars, the condition of the car is indicated by marks, dents, engine sound and overall shape of the vehicle. Vehicle damage can be seen on all parts of a vehicle. When a vehicle has its engine sufficiently damaged, it explodes, and when a car door is damaged enough, it will fly off.

There are no penalties to the back of your vehicle being damaged, so it can be a good idea to smash zombies with your trunk to avoid vehicle damage.

Repair

Toolkits and advanced toolkits are used to repair vehicles. The normal toolkit repairs the vehicle slowly and it may require multiple toolkits to fully repair the vehicle, while advanced toolkits repair vehicles to 100% condition with only one toolkit, and does so in about a second. The advanced toolkit can be especially useful when your vehicle is completely destroyed, as it repairs it back to full health immediately.

Toolkits can be created at workshops starting at level 2 as long as you have a survivor with the Mechanics skill. Automechanics allows crafting of advanced toolkits as well as normal ones, with the advanced toolkits costing more parts to make.

All vehicles can be restored to mint condition with toolkits.

Storage

Any item can be loaded into the trunk of a vehicle. When a vehicle is parked at home base, the player can transfer items from the trunk of the car into the supply locker or rucksacks into storage. The rucksack into storage auto deposit function didn't make a return from the first game.  As one would expect, a car does not have as many inventory spots as a pickup truck. Players may find vehicles like the Pilato or Cargo Van more useful for hauling a large amount of items rather than a car that can reach higher speeds. The main exception is the Brogan Trekker that can carry 8 inventory slots.

Vehicles & Zombies

Zombies can cling to a vehicle and damage it to the point where the car will shut down. The longer zombies stay on a car, the more damage they will inflict upon it. Zombies that cling on the doors, if left unchecked, will rip off the doors, grab survivors within reach and drag them out of the car. Players can open their doors to hit zombies, as well as sending zombies off by drifting or abruptly stopping the car or driving the zombies into an obstacle, which will most likely result in the death of the zombies.

The impact will kill zombies if the car is going fast enough and can cause damage to the vehicle.

Some Freaks also have their own special interactions with vehicles. Ramming a Juggernaut head-on will damage it quite a bit, and will usually completely stop the vehicle. Also, it will also severely damage your vehicle, often losing a door and causing the engine to smoke

Driving into a Bloater will cover the car in its ichor for some time, causing a sharp depletion of health for all survivors on board, and possibly causing them to get sick.

Ferals seem less likely to dodge in State of Decay 2 and will generally rush straight at the player's vehicle. They latch onto and can quickly do a lot of damage to a vehicle.

Comparison of Vehicles

There are some cars that are variants of the same base vehicle. When vehicles are upgraded, they upgrade into the same vehicle as the rest of their variants. For example, the survey car and brogan trekker both upgrade into the Hellion which only has 5 storage slots.

Name	Seats	Storage	Notes
Ambulance Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	9	A Type II ambulance based off the 2nd generation Chevrolet Express.
Bloodmobile Credits: Red Cross Blood	2	9	A Type II ambulance based off the 2nd generation Chevrolet Express.
Passenger Van Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	9	Based off the 2nd generation Chevrolet Express.
Cargo Van Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	15	Based off the 2nd generation Chevrolet Express.
Repair Van Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	12	Based off the 2nd generation Chevrolet Express.
Vandito Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	15	An upgraded vehicle based off the 2nd generation Chevrolet Express.
News Van Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	8	Based off the 2nd generation Chevrolet Express. Not present in final build of the game
Meatwagon	2	15	Based off the 2nd generation Chevrolet Express. Honking ejects meat from the rear doors.
Wizard Van	2	12	Based off the 2nd generation Chevrolet Express.
Royale Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	4	Based off the 2nd generation Ford Crown Victoria.
Taxi Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	4	Based off the 2nd generation Ford Crown Victoria. Appears in State of Decay as the Taxi.
Police Cruiser Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	4	Based off the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. Appears in State of Decay as the Police Cruiser.
Kaiser Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	4	Based off the 2nd generation Ford Crown Victoria
Pilato Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	8	Based off the 3rd generation Chevrolet Tahoe. Appears in State of Decay as the SUV.
Pilato CR Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	9	A military SUV based off the 3rd generation Chevrolet Tahoe. Appears in State of Decay as the Military SUV.
Ranger SUV Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	8	Based off the 3rd generation Chevrolet Tahoe. Added in the Juggernaut Upgrade of State of Decay 2
Smashwagon Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	10	An upgraded vehicle based off the 3rd generation Chevrolet Tahoe.
Miragra Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	4	Based off the 4th generation VW Jetta. Appears in State of Decay as the Modern Sedan.
Miragra NT Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	4	Based off the 4th generation VW Jetta and the 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX. Similar to the Modified Sedan from State of Decay. Judging from the sound, the Miragra NT is likely powered by a flat-four engine like the Subaru Impreza.
Wichita ES Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	7	An upgraded vehicle based off the 4th generation VW Jetta. It shares its engine sound with the Miragra NT.
Brogan Rapscallion Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	5	Based off the 6th generation Honda Civic and 5th generation VW Golf.
Brogan Sport Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	5	Based off the 6th generation Honda Civic and 5th generation VW Golf. Similar to the Rally Hatchback from State of Decay. The Brogan Sport appears to be turbocharged, judging from the engine sound and visible intercooler.
Brogan Trekker	4	8	Based off the 6th generation Honda Civic and 5th generation VW Golf.
Hellion Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	5	An upgraded vehicle based off the 6th generation Honda Civic and 5th generation VW Golf.
Pyrohawk	4	5	Based off the 6th generation Honda Civic and 5th generation VW Golf. Honking shoots off fireworks attached to the vehicle and consumes fuel.
Survey Car Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	5	Based off the 6th generation Honda Civic and 5th generation VW Golf. Similar to Google Maps street view cars.
Maximilian Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	4	Based off the 1973-1976 Ford Falcon. Similar to the Old-School Muscle from State of Decay. This vehicle and its upgraded counterpart, Mega Max, serve as a reference to Mad Max.
Megalodon Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	4	Based off the 1973-1976 Ford Falcon
Mega Max Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	4	An upgraded vehicle based off the 1973-1976 Ford Falcon. This vehicle and its non-upgraded counterpart, Maximilian, serve as a reference to Mad Max.
Legendre Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	4	Based off the 1967 Chevy Impala.
Impaler Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	4	An upgraded vehicle based off the 1967 Chevy Impala. The Impaler shares its name with another fictionalized Chevy Impala in Grand Theft Auto V.
Rhames V Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	6	7	Based off the 3rd generation GMC Sierra. Appears in State of Decay as the Modern Pickup. Its name is also a nod to Ving Rhames.
Utility Truck Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	6	8	Based off the 3rd generation GMC Sierra.
Viking Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	6	8	An upgraded vehicle based off the 3rd generation GMC Sierra.
Military Truck Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	6	8	A possibly fictional armored pickup truck with vague similarities to the Lenco BearCat. Somewhat similar to the Military Pickup from State of Decay. The Military Truck has a distinct turbo-diesel sound despite it being powered by gasoline.
Big Boss Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	6	9	An upgraded version of the Military Truck.
Burninator	6	6	Based off the 2nd generation Ford F-150 Raptor. Honking shoots flames from the running boards and consumes fuel. The name is possibly a reference to Homestar Runner.
Trumbull 4x4	6	6	Based off the 2nd generation Ford F-150 Raptor.
Vagabond Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	7	Based off the Jeep CJ-6 and Toyota FJ40.
Desperado Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	8	Based off the Jeep CJ-6 and Toyota FJ40, with some similarities to the Jeep Wrangler. It is likely a higher trim variant of the Vagabond.
Trail Beast Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	7	An upgraded vehicle based off the Jeep CJ-6, Toyota FJ40, with some similarities to the Jeep Trailcat.
Road Racer Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	3	Based off the 3rd generation Mazda MX-5 Miata.
Road Racer MX Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	3	Based off the 3rd generation Mazda MX-5 Miata3
Road Mangler Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	2	3	Based off the 3rd generation Mazda MX-5 Miata.
Norma Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	7	Based off the 1st generation Chevrolet C/K. Appears in State of Decay as the Old Pickup.
Zedbuster Credits - State of Decay 2 Wiki - Fandom	4	9	An upgraded vehicle based off the 1st generation Chevrolet C/K. The name is possibly a reference to Ghostbusters. It has a large supercharger sticking out of the hood, but it doesn't appear to be functional.
Mad Norma	4	6	Based off the 1st generation Chevrolet C/K. The name is possibly a reference to Mad Max. It has a large supercharger sticking out of the hood, but it doesn't appear to be functional.

Upgrades

Vehicles in State of Decay 2 can be upgraded, unlike the first game. There are light, medium, and heavy upgrade kits that can be applied to vehicles. These upgrade kits are typically paired with vehicle types, so light kits upgrade cars, medium kits upgrade trucks, and heavy kits upgrade vans, with some exceptions. While these upgrades can sometimes be found on wandering traders, the Auto Shop is required to build these upgrade kits. Upgrade kits can be created in another player's base and then taken back to your own game state to apply on your vehicles.

Light upgrades cost 15 scraps of circuitry, 70 parts, and 4 materials. Medium upgrades cost 10 scraps of circuitry, 85 parts, and 4 materials. Heavy upgrades cost 5 scraps of circuitry, 100 parts, and 4 materials.

Vehicles with the same base will upgrade into the same upgraded vehicle. All van types will upgrade into Vandito with 4 passenger slots and 15 inventory slots.

Objectively, not all upgraded vehicles are superior to their non-upgraded counterpart. In certain circumstances, you may prefer non-upgraded vehicles. Maximilian loses two inventory slots upon becoming Mega Max. Brogan Trekker loses three inventory slots once upgraded. The Utility Truck forgoes its plow once it becomes Viking. The Police Cruiser and Ambulance lose their sirens upon becoming Kaiser and Vandito, respectively.

Name	Seats	Storage	Notes
Vandito	4	15	Comes from Van (Heavy Kit)
Hellion	4	5	Comes from Brogan (Light Kit)
Smashwagon	4	10	Comes from Pilato (Heavy Kit)
Road Mangler	2	3	Comes from Road Racer (Light Kit)
Trail Beast	2	7	Comes from Vagabond and Desperado (Light Kit)
Viking	4	8	Comes from Rhames V and Utility Truck (Medium Kit)
Mega Max	2	4	Comes from Maximilian (Medium Kit)
Wichita ES	4	7	Comes from Miragra (Medium Kit)
Impaler	4	4	Comes from Legendre (Medium Kit)
Kaiser	4	4	Comes from Royale, Taxi, Police Cruiser (Heavy Kit)
Big Boss	6	9	Comes from Military Truck and adds ramming grill (Heavy Kit)
Zedbuster	4	9	Comes from Norma (Light Kit)

Trivia

• When entering a pick-up truck with a follower, they will almost always jump in the back of the truck instead of getting in the cabin, therefore putting themselves at risk of getting thrown out by a Zombie or Feral and barring use of the right car door. Whether it is a bug or the AI chooses the seat taking the less time to get in is unknown.