For the King of the Mountain (KotM) races, I recommend creating a blueprint so you can select whichever car you prefer. Make sure you blueprint one with the weather to "Blizzard" and use the 1966 Ford F-100 Flareside Abatti Racing Trophy Truck so you can unlock the "Needs More Blizzard" and "It's Still Got It" achievements.
Leading up to 100 stars (before you get the Ford Gymkhana), I used the #2 Audi Sport Quattro S1. It's good for getting the challenge scores on KotM, and gets good speed and control for completing races quickly. For the danger signs, you might as well grab the 1975 Lancia Stratos HF Group 4 (since you need it for the What's "Safety" achievement) and equip it with a good off-road tune. Once you unlock and complete the Kingmaker event (at approx. 100 stars), you unlock the Ford Gymkhana 9 Focus RS RX, which is great for finishing drift zones and other challenges. For the speed traps on straights, with a good run, the Lancia Stratos mentioned above should do the trick. For the other speed zones, I went with the Gymkhana, again. For the Tight Bends Speed Zone, I got a good run from a North East position and ploughed through some trees, used my rewinds to get slow enough to get my nose through the gate. For the Sharp Descent speed zone, ride, don't slide. I tried several different vehicles for this, but the Gymkhana for the win, again.
Here are the vehicles that I used that you might prefer:
- #2 Audi Sport Quattro S1 (KotM and drift)
- Ford Gymkhana 9 Focus RS RX (speed and drift)
- Ford F-100 Flareside Abatti Racing Trophy Truck (drift and speed {+ weight} + also linked to "It's Still Got It!" achievement)
- Lancia Delta S4 Group B (personal, initial choice)
- Lancia Stratos HF Group 4 (danger zones + also linked to "What's Safety?" achievement)
- Nissan Titan Warrior Concept ("Snowdown" achievement)
- RJ Anderson #37 Polaris RZR-Rockstar Energy Pro 2 Truck ("Personally, I Prefer the Air" achievement)
- Subaru #199 WRX STI VT15R Rally Car ("Snowboating" achievement)
- Subaru Impreza 22B STI Horizon Edition w/ Drift Skills boost (drift and speed zones)
Idea from xPandorasRagex - For those having trouble with drift scores, try looking at your settings and ensure STABILITY CONTROL is OFF.
Another tip for drift scores is try to equip a high-class tune, since most vehicles with snow tires won't drift well in the lower classes.
KotM tip from MushaConvoy - If you're having a hard time with any KotM challenges, finding a co-op friend, you can take turns completing the challenge, while the other wins. As long as you don't get in last place and your partner wins, you'll get a team win. :D
Personally, I prefer Don Joewon Song's because he makes a living out of creating tunes for these games, so they're GOOD.
If you have any problems or edits that are needed, please comment or message me. Best of luck. If you negative vote, please leave a reason. Feel free to like my solution, if you feel it's helped you. Also, if you feel like sporting some TA designs, follow TrimSkink DSG as a creator. Represent!
Big thanks to xPandorasRagex and MushaConvoy for their improvements.