Latest Horizon 5 Update Brings “High Performance Dailies”

Forza Horizon 5’s “High Performance Dailies” update brings sporty-spec everyday cars, fresh race routes, and new rewards to the Festival Playlist.

TL;DR – What’s New?

• Four New Cars
  • 2022 Ford Focus ST
  • 2023 Toyota Camry TRD
  • 2023 Ford Fiesta ST
  • 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat
• Four New Race Routes
  • Cloverleaf Sprint
  • Rocosa Sprint
  • San Juan Sprint
  • Valle del Rio Sprint
• New Collectible – Business Suit Tank
• New Cosmetic – Artist Outfit
• Update Size – 11.6GB on Xbox Series X
• No Paid DLC Pack
• New Festival Playlist Challenges
• New Accolades for Race Routes
• General Performance and Stability Fixes

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FH5 fans are treated to a selection of “high performance” everyday cars in Series 37, although, excluding the 710 hp Durango grocery getter (before you’ve even touched the upgrades), the rest of the options are more “sporty” in our mind. However, we’re certainly not complaining about the variety!

The free update is now available for PC and Xbox players. At 11.6 GB on Xbox Series X, it’s more compact than FH5’s recent offerings and does not include paid DLC content, so your wallet can take a break.

New (Free) Cars Join The Roster

Over the next month, Horizon 5 will deliver four performance-oriented everyday rides.

These Festival Playlist Reward Cars might not be exotic supercars or drift-friendly in their stock form, but they each pack some punch. They could easily drift-ready with a rear-wheel-drive drivetrain upgrade, and the hatchbacks could offer the opportunity to unleash your inner Ryan Tuerck (okay, they might not be a GR Corolla, but still!)

2022 Ford Focus ST (August 15-22)

Kicking things off is the latest iteration of Ford’s hot hatch. The facelifted Focus ST might be more at home on British B-roads than Mexican highways, but it’s bringing its A-game to the Horizon Festival.

With its 2.3-liter turbocharged engine producing 276 horsepower, the sporty Focus can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.5 seconds in stock form.

This addition is bittersweet, though, as European fans of the game may already be aware that it marks the swan song of the Focus lineup, which is set to meet the same demise as its smaller Fiesta sibling, also included in the pack, with Ford set to discontinue it next year.

2023 Toyota Camry TRD (August 22-29)

Toyota’s TRD division worked its magic on the humble Camry. Although it might not be the addition that JDM fans hoped for, we can’t deny that it looks pretty cool, especially for a daily. We certainly wouldn’t be against parking it next to our drift car in the garage when we fancy something a little comfier for the trip to the grocery store.

With upgraded suspension, plenty of aero, and a 3.5-liter V6, this Camry is ready to surprise a few sports cars at the stoplight. With some upgrades under the hood (maybe even an engine swap?), it’s a potential sleeper in the making.

2023 Ford Fiesta ST (August 29 – September 05)

It’s worth noting that the official dates above appear to have the date wrong for this one. However, we expect the baby of the bunch, Ford’s Fiesta ST, to make its final bow in Forza Horizon 5 from August 29, in a fitting tribute to the hot hatch legend, which ceased production last year.

This pint-sized powerhouse packs 197 bhp from its 1.5-liter EcoBoost engine, promising an economical yet entertaining drive.

As a popular choice in the UK, it definitely would’ve been better suited to the tight and twisty English B-roads we got to enjoy in Horizon 4 since it’s known for its razor-sharp handling, but it’ll still be heaps of fun when carving up Mexico’s twisty roads.

2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat (September 05-12)

Rounding out the lineup is the odd one out of the bunch (not that we’re complaining) – the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat.

While some might be lucky enough to call it a daily, this three-row SUV’s monstrous 6.2-liter supercharged V8 throws fuel economy out the window.

With 710 horsepower on tap, it certainly meets the “high performance” expectations. It hits 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds, making it the (significantly) biggest offering of the bunch and the fastest by some margin.

New Race Routes

Despite the name, “High Performance Dailies” isn’t just about new cars; it also brings four new Sprint Road Race Routes, which will be permanently added to the game.

• Cloverleaf Sprint
• San Juan Sprint
• Rocosa Sprint
• Valle del Rio Sprint

Each new road has its own Accolade, rewarding you for posting a clean time. So you’ll need to keep it tidy to claim bragging rights. Each route will also feature in various Festival Playlist challenges, giving you more reasons to revisit them and perfect your racing lines.

They’ll be available from August 13th in Horizon Open and Horizon Rivals and appear on the world map from August 15th.

High Performance Dailies Festival Playlist

The Festival Playlist for this update offers both weekly and series-long rewards:

Weekly Rewards

Players can earn 20 points each week to unlock that week’s featured car, as covered above:

• Week 1 (Summer) – 2022 Ford Focus ST – 20 points
• Week 2 (Autumn) – 2023 Toyota Camry TRD – 20 points
• Week 3 (Winter) – 2023 Ford Fiesta ST – 20 points
• Week 4 (Spring) – 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat – 20 points

Series Rewards

• BMW M2 ’23 – Earn 80 points across the entire series
• Lucid Air – Earn 160 points across the entire series

Players accumulate points by completing various challenges and events throughout the four-week series. These challenges include races on the new Sprint routes and other activities typical to Forza Horizon 5’s Festival Playlists.

The Playlist refreshes weekly, offering new opportunities to earn points towards both the weekly car rewards and the overall series rewards.

Other High Performance Dailies Additions

New Collectibles and Cosmetics

• Business Suit Tank Collectible: Available during the Festival Playlist’s second week. Find and smash to add to your collection.

• Artist Outfit: New unlockable outfit for your character.

Accolades

• New Series Car Collector Accolade added.

Technical Improvements

• Various bug fixes and audio improvements.

Looking Ahead – Hidden Horizons

The official page teases the next Series update, “Hidden Horizons,” which is set to bring:

• A brand-new game mode
• New reward cars
• The Stadium Maze
• Return of Pathfinder

Stay tuned for more details on these upcoming features in the next few weeks.

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