In the zombie shooter John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, vehicles play a key role: cars help you move quickly, clear hordes of zombies, and survive tough situations. In this guide, we’ll cover every vehicle, their strengths, and where to find them on the map.
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Where to Find Vehicles in Toxic Commando
In John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando, cars are the main way to get around the map, so it’s crucial to locate transport quickly and understand where it spawns. This section explains how to track down vehicles and what to keep in mind when planning your route.
How Vehicles Spawn on the Map
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As soon as you load into a location, open the map. Usually, two random vehicles out of the six available will be marked. Most of the time one of them is the Maverick, since it’s the only ride fitted with a winch. After checking the map, plot a route to the nearest vehicle and plan your mission accordingly.
Where to Find Gas (Fuel)
Cars let you safely cover huge distances, but they burn gas—the main resource for transport, which can be found in jerrycans scattered around the map. The downside is you can’t stock spare fuel in the trunk, so you’ll often have to drive between points of interest just to refuel. If you’re playing with bots, you don’t have to wait for them to hop in; drive a short distance away and they’ll automatically teleport to you.
Maverick
An off-roader with a winch, a mounted machine gun, and an active EMP Flash ability. The winch lets you power through mud and swamps, break open cars and doors that usually hide good loot, so grab this ride early to access those spots. EMP Flash is an active skill that deals a huge burst of damage to every zombie around. Use it to clear an area you just rolled into or to hold the final objective while the car acts as a stationary mine. Ammo for the MG comes in special crates.
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The Maverick is the best starter vehicle because it unlocks closed-off areas and speeds up map progression.
Indestructible
A pickup that spawns a free jerrycan every minute and carries a mine as its active skill. After planting the mine, it detonates on any enemy and releases three pulses in a medium radius, each pulse instantly killing common zombies. If you don’t need the fuel, you can light the cans on fire and toss them like grenades. Being a pickup, it also has a built-in winch.
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Thunder
Another pickup, this one with a flamethrower mounted in the bed. Unlike other fire weapons, you can use the flamethrower while driving, so the damage-over-time works exactly as intended. Drive into a crowd, napalm everything, pull out, come back later to loot the leftovers. Refill the flamethrower with gas from jerrycans—just remember the car itself refuels from the other side. It also comes with a winch.
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Ambulance
One of the most useful rides: its active skill heals, and every 60 seconds you can restock a med-kit charge for free by interacting with the crate in the left rear of the vehicle. This lets you skip constant healing between waves. The downside is that two players ride in the back and can only shoot zombies behind the car.
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Ridge
A sedan with nitro boost. It struggles in swamps and mud, but on roads it hits blistering speeds, letting you cross the map in seconds. Great for restocking ammo and supplies when you’re short on time.
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Banshee
A police sedan with the Self-Destruct Decoy active. Trigger it and a countdown starts: the car begins honking, drawing every zombie in, then explodes after a short delay, dealing massive damage. The car is destroyed in the process and can’t be repaired for free. Perfect for the final holdout when huge hordes surround you and you need a few extra seconds.
Truck Trap
Several story-specific vehicles exist, but only this one needs a mention. The Truck Trap is the only ride that lets you carry up to four jerrycans and four crates of turret ammo on its roof. Spare cans can later be used as grenades, and you can never have too much ammo.
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Which Vehicle to Choose
Maverick — for exploration and early game;
Indestructible — if you need resources and mines;
Thunder — for clearing hordes;
Ambulance — for healing and survival;
Ridge — for fast travel;
Banshee — for crowd control in the finale.
How to Repair Vehicles in Toxic Commando
If a vehicle takes damage, approach the hood and interact to start a free repair mini-game; finish it to restore 100 % health. If the car is destroyed (or blown up like the Banshee), you can fix it for 1 Gear—a rare resource you’ll want to conserve. You can gauge a vehicle’s condition by its visual state.
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When you’re overwhelmed and need a breather, hop into a car. It drastically cuts incoming damage, letting you heal and reload. Vehicles have huge durability, so they can soak up plenty of monster punishment.
How to Upgrade Vehicles in Toxic Commando
There’s no mechanical upgrading, but you can personalize each ride. In the hub, head to the garage or open the “Customization” tab with L. Here you can change headlight colors, add decals, repaint the body, and swap horn sounds. These tweaks are purely cosmetic, but you’ll earn currency during missions that can only be spent here.
