Vehicles
A desrt Car & Car2 Reference
The Car is the backbone of A desrt progression—the first chassis most players restore before leaving the starter area. Car2 fills the same role as an alternate body with nearly identical systems. This page explains how both variants work, what parts they need, and how to grow from a garage project into a ruin-running machine.
When DarkCodes Studio designed A desrt as a Roblox survival sandbox inspired by The Long Drive, the Car became the default fantasy: a broken sedan in a dusty garage, waiting for an engine, radiator, battery, and a handful of doors. Starter components scatter across the garage floor, the house interior, and the basement on the right side of the house. Each piece is a physical object you pick up with F, drag with LMB, and weld with Z once aligned. Until hood, seats, headlights, exhaust, and the core trio of engine, radiator, and battery are mounted, the Car remains a static prop. After assembly, press R to crank the engine—see [Driving Controls](/controls/driving/) if the keybind fails.
Car versus Car2 in practice
Car2 is not a separate vehicle class so much as a parallel spawn players encounter when searching towns or recovering from a total wreck. Handling, top speed with the same engine, and fluid hookups behave like the standard Car. Differences show up in default mount positions: hood hinge angle, door width, or trunk space may vary, which affects how loose parts bounce during off-road segments. If you find a cleaner Car2 while your original Car is held together with spot welds, consider migrating parts rather than rebuilding from zero—drag the VAZ or Injection block across, transfer gascans from the old tank, and re-weld wheels last so alignment stays true.
Engine options and speed expectations
Most Cars leave the garage with a VAZ engine—the common tier rated around 150 km/h flat out, enough to outrun basic zombie packs on paved road. Injection engines are rare upgrades pushing roughly 180 km/h, ideal once you start chaining gas station stops. EngineD diesel blocks are very rare but hit about 210 km/h while requiring diesel from your [Fuel & Fluids](/items/fuel-fluids/) stockpile instead of gasoline. Turbine and Electric engines sit at rare and extremely rare tiers respectively; they are vanity-plus-performance swaps you bolt in when loot RNG smiles. Consult the [Engine Tier List](/tier-list/engines/) before cutting holes for incompatible mounts.
| Engine | Rarity | Approx. top speed | Fuel type |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAZ | Common | 150 km/h | Gasoline + oil + water |
| Injection | Rare | 180 km/h | Gasoline + oil + water |
| Electric | Extremely rare | Varies | Battery charge |
| EngineD | Very rare | 210 km/h | Diesel + oil + water |
| Turbine | Rare | High | Gasoline / special |
Fluids and container planning
A running Car consumes three liquids: gasoline in the tank, oil in the engine, and water in the radiator. Running dry on any line causes overheating, seizure, or sudden stall miles from help. Pack gascans (8 L each) for road legs, oilcans (5 L) after long drives, and bigcans (30 L) when crossing the deep desert between landmarks. The [Fluids & Fuel build page](/build/fluids-fuel/) shows pour order; keep at least one water container after combat near ruins because radiator loss is common when zombies clip the front end. Diesel swaps mean retagging your fuel stash—label bigcans mentally so you never mix fuels during a midnight refill.
Combat, looting, and longevity
Cars attract danger when you stop at ruins for hammers, knives, and shotguns. Exit with E, keep the engine off to save fuel, and park so a quick R start clears the exit path. Headlight glass breaks silently until night falls; replace headlights before long dusk drives. Exhaust and undercarriage parts snag on rocks—if RPM spikes but speed drops, stop and weld before the engine overheats. For step-by-step first repairs, pair this reference with [How to Fix a Car](/guides/fix-car/) and [Vehicle Maintenance](/vehicles/maintenance/). When the chassis is beyond patch welding, scout a Car2 or upgrade path toward a [Van](/vehicles/van/) instead of sinking scarce Injection parts into a bent frame.