Forza Horizon 6: Players have had enough of the Honda meta

Forza Horizon 6 (reviewed here in Notebookcheck’s benchmark test) has been praised for its vast open world set in Japan and its large vehicle roster. In online races, however, little of that variety seems to matter – and that is increasingly annoying some fans. On Reddit, one player recently voiced frustration with the current online meta. Based on his observations, Touge races in classes C through A are dominated mainly by two cars: the Honda Beat and the Honda City. “I just wanna see more variety in my races,” writes u/III-Ad1655.

The comments show that the thread creator is far from alone. Many players are annoyed by the repeated appearance of the same vehicles and setups in online races. The Honda Beat, in particular, has become a frequent target of criticism. u/Glittering_Ad4990, for example, recalls a lobby in which “half of the players” were driving a Honda Beat. u/Dragon3043 even describes the car as “the Boneshaker of FH6” – essentially the new symbol of an overpowered meta vehicle.

Many users see the cause of the problem not only in the cars themselves, but also in FH6’s tuning system (the Xbox version is currently available for $70 on Amazon). u/arusiaK points to all-wheel-drive conversions combined with drag tires. According to the user, such setups can partly offset the tires’ weaknesses while still leaving plenty of room for additional upgrades. This tuning combination also appears to help give the Honda Beat its dominance. However, not everyone sees the situation as a major problem. Some players view it as a typical feature of competitive multiplayer games. Their argument is simple: if one vehicle offers a clear advantage, players will naturally use it more often.

Alternative: Spec Racing – or no online races at all

Some Redditors say they only play the competitive Spec Racing mode in Forza Horizon 6, where all participants compete with preset vehicle specifications. In this mode, meta cars matter far less. However, that does not make Spec Racing entirely frustration-free. One issue repeatedly mentioned by the community is the lack of qualifying. Players who happen to start near the back of the grid first have to fight their way through aggressive drivers and possible ramming incidents. As a result, some players prefer to avoid online racing altogether. The most upvoted comment in the thread sums up that sentiment succinctly: “Ah it’s a good feeling to not take part in online races at all.”