Vehicle locations

The developers packed more than fifty vehicles into the game, and most of them are land vehicles. A lot of them were made after real models, but in the game you don't get to read the real names of the rides – to avoid legal pitfalls. They can show up in several places in the game – I won't write down every location, just as many as might be enough for e.g. the export/import missions.

Land vehicles

1. Ambulance (ambulance)

   Quite fast for carrying patients, but a terribly roll-prone car, it easily tips over onto its other side and then slides along for a good while. You'll use it for the paramedic missions, but it's not recommended for escaping or for going from city to city.

   • Portland, in front of the hospital
   • Staunton Island, in front of the hospital, 2 pcs
   • Shoreside Vale, in front of the hospital, 2 pcs

2. Banshee

   The best accelerating car in the game, and the 3rd best overall. Small, quick, nimble, and you can get it from the very first minute of the game. It looks most like the Dodge Viper GTR.

   • Portland, Easy Credit car dealership
   • Staunton, Asuka's house, at the back pier
   • Staunton, Torrington, Kenji's casino, in the parking lot

3. Barracks OL

   This is the machine that carries the National Guard to the scene after you collect the 6th star. Not very fast, and pretty sluggish, but a sturdy lad, tough as nails. If your road leads through hot places, it can be a loyal companion.

   • Staunton, Rockford, at Phil's military base

4. BF Injection

   This is the buggy Joey used to build in the workshop back in the day, but it only shows up in one place: Portland, in the Hepburn Heights district, in the park where you get El Burro's phones, between seven in the evening and midnight, but only after you've completed Asuka's first mission (Sayonara Salvatore). A fairly fast machine, but it only really feels at home when you leave the asphalt.

   • see above

5. Blista

   This simple little machine is average in every respect. Ideal for getting around, say, if you're cruising from A to B nice and calmly. Relatively fast, and with handbrake tricks you can shake off your pursuers with it.

   • Staunton, Aspatria, in the parking lot in front of the stadium
   • Staunton, Newport, in front of Asuka's house
   • Shoreside Vale, airport, in the closed parking lot

6. Bobcat

   An open-bed pick-up, slow but easy to handle, mostly an off-road vehicle. If you jump up on its bed, you can shoot at your enemies to your heart's content. It's worth thinking about using it, since it worked for me for escaping too.

   • Portland, Harwood, in the parking lot of the Easy Credit car dealership
   • Staunton, Aspatria, in the parking lot in front of the stadium
   • Staunton, Rockford, in the hospital parking lot

7. Borgnine Taxi

   This is the machine that appears in Portland after 100 successful taxi rides. It accelerates quite well, a strong, reliable piece of kit, and hunting enemies with it is good fun…

   • Portland, Harwood, at the Borgnine Taxi depot

8. Bus

   Big, round, the older bus. Slow, not very handy, but a strong ride.

   • Mostly occurs in Staunton, in the Aspatria area, in the morning, around six-seven o'clock.

9. Cabbie

   The roundish taxi, it falls behind its angular mate in every respect. I don't recommend it for taxiing, but try it, maybe it'll work for you.

   • Portland, Trenton, at the Mean Street Taxi depot

10. Cartel Cruiser

    A Bobcat expanded with a few extras, it accelerates very well, handles well, it goes beyond its "predecessor". The Colombians drive around in it, which calls for caution, especially towards the end of the game….

    • Staunton, Fort Staunton, in the construction site area, 3 pcs
    • Shoreside Vale, Cedar Grove, in the cartel's villa, 2 pcs

11. Cheetah

    The silver medalist of the game, the 2nd best in acceleration, top speed and handling alike. Works for escaping and jumping.

    • Shoreside Vale, Cedar Grove, parked in front of one of the luxury villas

12. Coach

    This is the newer, shark-nosed bus. It doesn't differ much from its old, roundish predecessor.

    • Portland, Trenton, at the bus depot, 2 pcs

13. Diablo Stallion

    A thoroughly tuned-up version of the Stallion. Nice to look at, strong as a bull and fast – it was one of my favorite rides in GTA3.

    • Portland, the Hepburn Heights area is full of them

14. Enforcer

    A very tough, sturdy machine with average speed, a bit hard to turn. The SWAT guys arrive in these, at level four.

    • Staunton, Torrington, in the police station's backyard

15. Esperanto

    An extremely good cornering machine, with quite acceptable speed. Unfortunately it sways like some fancy carriage, and it has practically no brakes at all…

    • Portland, Chinatown, in the old school's parking lot
    • Staunton, Rockford, in the hospital parking lot

16. FBI Car

    A Kuruma, in black, fairly fast, and a reliable piece of kit. Its only problem is that it only shows up when you're running away with a five-star wanted level behind you. By the way, the Pay'n'Spray accepts this "emergency" vehicle, and the car is very much suited to patrol duty…

    • There aren't many tips, be brave, fight for it.

17. Fire Truck

    Big and sluggish, for the firefighter missions. Its advantage is its water cannon, with which you can knock cops off their feet, scot-free…

    • Portland, Harwood, Fire Station
    • Staunton, Aspatria, Fire Station
    • Shoreside Vale, Francis Int., Fire Station, airport

18. Flatbed

    Huge, sluggish, quite sturdy, a Barracks OL, only it has a radio. (Radio???)

    • Mostly tends to show up in Portland, in Chinatown, and in Staunton, in Aspatria, sometime in the morning hours.

19. Hoods Rumpo XL

    This is the Hoods gang's specially souped-up Rumpo. It accelerates quite well, and of course it's fast too, but it can sway as well…

    • Shoreside Vale, Wichita Gardens, there are lots of them in the Hoods' territory

20. Idaho

    An angular machine with a bold nose and a different roof. Surprisingly fast, the handbrake is good too, but you can pull off pretty funny stunts with its brakes. Not the worst vehicle, but I don't recommend it for escaping, in fact for any use at all.

    • Portland, Chinatown, in the old school's parking lot
    • Staunton, Aspatria, in the parking lot in front of the stadium

21. Infernus

    The supercar of the game, first in every respect (maybe only the Banshee beats it in acceleration), excellent in all its parameters, just avoid collisions… It resembles a Lamborghini Diablo the most…

    • Shoreside Vale, Francis Int., in the airport's closed parking lot

22. Kuruma

    A completely average family car, average in every respect, ideal if you just want to go from A to B (like the Blista).

    • Portland, Harwood, in the Easy Credit parking lot
    • Staunton, Rockford, in the hospital parking lot

23. Landstalker

    A vehicle typically designed for off-road. Accelerates well, its speed is average. I didn't use it many times, the ride didn't work out for me…

    • Staunton, Newport, in front of Asuka's house at the back pier
    • Shoreside Vale, Francis Int., in the airport's closed parking lot

24. Linerunner (truck)

    Good for smashing things up, but not suitable for anything else, slow, sluggish, clumsy, not recommended for escaping.

    • Portland, Callahan Point, in the parking lot of Greasy Joe's bistro

25. Mafia Sentinel

    An amazingly good ride, very fast, strong, and grateful in the corners too. Unfortunately in the second half of the game, getting hold of it is seriously challenging…

    • Portland, St. Marks, in front of Don Salvatore's villa, 2 pcs

26. Manana

    A slow, sluggish, ugly ride, so light that you can almost push it away on foot – in my opinion it got into the game for no reason…

    • Shoreside Vale, Francis Int., in the airport's closed parking lot

27. Moonbeam

    A quite well-handling little van, ideal for getting around and cruising when nothing else is at hand. Maybe the best of the vans.

    • Portland, Callahan Point, in the parking lot of Greasy Joe's bistro
    • Staunton, Bedford Point, in the Liberty Tree Office's inner parking lot

28. Mr. Whoopee (ice cream truck)

    A terribly bad ride, but because it is so "unfindable" and its rare features (its horn plays music, ice cream truck, unique paint job) it has grown into one of the curiosities of the game. To lure it out I actually only managed to find one tip:

    • During the firefighter missions one or two of them tend to show up (and it's also worth keeping an eye on the roads in Shoreside…)

29. Mr. Wongs

    A Mule, only with a unique paint job, the Chinese go crazy for this vehicle…

    • Portland, Chinatown, behind Mr. Wong's laundry

30. Mule

    A slow, clumsy beast, not worth using much. You have to prepare for the corners. I don't recommend it for everyday use…

    • Portland, Portland Harbor, the port, opposite the entrance
    • same place, only at the numbered garages

31. Panlantic

    Nothing special, the Colombians used this at the construction site, a Moonbeam with a different paint job.

    • Staunton, Fort Staunton, in the construction site area, 2 pcs

32. Patriot

    This is a Hummer, and one of my favorite vehicles. Despite its "hugeness" it's surprisingly nimble and handles well, and not least a loyal companion in smashing things up…

    • Portland, Staunton, in the Supa Save parking lot (race!)

33. Perennial

    Why do I feel like crying when I look at this vehicle? A horrible machine, for the poor, avoid it!

    • Portland, Harwood, in the Easy Credit parking lot
    • Portland, Portland View, parked after the police station, on the right side of the street

34. Police (police car)

    Identical to the taxi in every parameter. It has a siren, with which you can loosen up the traffic in front of you a bit…

    • they are parked at the police station in all three districts
    • Shoreside Vale, Francis Int., airport, at the back, at the helicopter landing pad

35. Pony

    A van, a tad worse than the Moonbeam, but somewhat better than the Rumpo. If you need to, go with it…

    • Portland, Harwood, at the junkyard (at the crusher)
    • Portland, Chinatown, in an alley

36. Rhino

    The good old tracked tank. If you want to move fast, turn its barrel backwards and fire off some big bangs with it. And if somebody touches you, he's past tense that very minute.

    • Same as what's written at the FBI car. If you're brave enough, you can get one.
    • Staunton, Rockford, at Phil's lot, only after finishing the main mission line

37. Rumpo

    A pretty bad van, bad road holding, a slow machine with weak brakes. The Moonbeam and the Pony are still better than it, I steered clear of this ride.

    • Portland, Harwood, at 8-Ball's lot
    • Staunton, Rockford, in the hospital parking lot

38. Securicar

    Quite a rarity, slow, but of course a strong lad.

    • On the roads of Staunton, along the Aspatria-Rockford line

39. Sentinel

    A pleasant machine, a sedan, fast, corners well. I recommend it, although its mafia mate is better than it, this machine can be many people's favorite because of how easy it is to get.

    • Portland, St. Marks, in the parking lot of Marco's bistro
    • Staunton, Torrington, in the parking lot of Kenji's casino

40. Stallion

    A great roadster, I can write roughly what I wrote about the Sentinel. Although its gang mate is better than it, this one is somewhat easier to get. A pretty nimble, well-handling machine.

    • Portland, Hepburn Heights, in the courtyard of the apartment building behind the park
    • Staunton, Aspatria, in the parking lot in front of the stadium

41. Stinger

    The fourth of the big four. But what a big one! A very handy, nimble ride, and the top speed is quite pleasant too. Excellent for picking up girls and for jumping.

    • Staunton, Bedford Point, in the Liberty Tree Office's inner parking lot
    • Shoreside Vale, Cedar Grove, in a yard of the row of villas above the serpentine

42. Stretch

    A luxury limousine, it's not worth looking for in Portland, since only Don Salvatore can afford it. In the other two districts it's common. A slow machine, for carrying the stars around.

    • In the more elegant parts of Shoreside Vale and Staunton

43. Taxi

    A reliable machine, identical to the police car in its parameters. Fast, handy, a fairly pleasant ride.

    • The city is full of them.

44. Toyz

    A Pony, with a different paint job, for special missions.

    • At the bomb missions (in a separate write-up).

45. Triad Fish Van

    An ugly, stinky fish truck, a Mule, a pitiful machine. I got into it once, burst into tears, then avoided it like fire.

    • Portland, Trenton, at the Triads' fish processing plant (delivery with the same kind of car), 4 pcs
    • Portland, occurs in the Chinatown area

46. Trashmaster (garbage truck)

    Great fun to drive – sluggish, slow, but it's a huge feeling to tear down the dangerous slopes in a garbage truck….

    • On the roads of Portland and Staunton, in the morning hours, occurs often, just circle around there with some huge vehicle (Barracks OL, Flatbed)

47. Yakuza Stinger

    This is the converted version of the Stinger, the Yakuza's gang car. Not faster than its original mate, in fact a bit more sluggish, because of the extra tuning built onto it.

    • Staunton, Newport, in front of Asuka's house
    • Staunton, Torrington, in the parking lot of Kenji's casino

48. Yankee

    A small truck. You can see its qualities at a glance, but it's still a significantly better small truck than the pitiful, wrecked Mule.

    • Portland, port, next to the magnet crane

49. Yardie Lobo

    A machine with average parameters. Its specialty: its hydraulics can be changed, so you can make the ride dance. It's worth practicing too, since in San Andreas this will be a big deal…

    • Staunton Island, occurs around Newport

Motorboats

50. Predator

    Patrol boat, with an on-board machine gun, average parameters.

    • Staunton, Newport, at Asuka's house

51. Reefer

    An average yacht, with not very bright acceleration. This is the boat Asuka used to get out of Portland.

    • Staunton, Newport, at Asuka's house, 2 pcs

52. Speeder

    If I may say so, this is among the boats what the Stinger is among the cars: it accelerates quite well, with pleasant handling, just be careful, because it gets damaged easily.

    • Shoreside Vale, Francis Int., under one of the runways

Aircraft

53. Dodo

    A terrible machine, and yet wonderful. It's very hard to get it flying, so we'll dedicate a separate chapter to that.

    • Shoreside Vale, Francis Int.