How to Drift in GTA 5

Drifting has always been a huge part of racing in pop culture, be it movies or games. It is an integral part of street racing and was deeply ingrained in the public mind after the release of The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. GTA 5 did not fail to capitalise on the trend by making a huge part of their racing meta.

Racing games and even open-world games like GTA have gone out of their way to integrate drifting as part of their gameplay mechanics. What is a drift, you might ask?

In very simple terms, drifting is power-sliding through a turn without spinning out. Power-slide refers to a car going into a slide after being handbraked while turning at the same time.

How to Drift in GTA 5?

Drifting in GTA 5

A drift is visually very impressive and can often be the best part of a street race in GTA 5. However, do keep in mind that when playing a race online, you should always break early into a corner and not drift.

Drifting can often result in loss of speed and if not executed properly will often result in your car being spun out and facing the wrong direction and lose time.

But, if style is what you're going for when cruising around with friends in GTA Online or shooting up a storm by yourself solo in GTA 5, be sure to drift around and let everyone know about the flashiest driver in Los Santos.

Basic Tips on How to Drift:

1. Accelerate up to a decent speed when approaching a turn.
2. Ease into the turn by releasing the accelerate button, do not press the brake/reverse key as it will kill momentum.
3. Turn into the corner by pressing the correct direction.
4. Press the Handbrake key as soon as you initiate the turn and keep it pressed through the apex.
5. While the car is sliding, keep the opposite directional key pressed so as to stop the car from spinning. (Example: If you're turning left, once you've started sliding, keep the right key pressed to stop from spinning).
6. Straighten the car once out of the turn.