Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has the largest cast in the history of the franchise. Racers from the length and breadth of the entire Mario universe in its starting roster and the diverse cast of unlockable racers earned by playing through the Grand Prix mode allow players an enormous variety of potential drivers for the equally diverse customizable kart and bike line-up.
Racers in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe are divided into five categories: Featherweight, Light, Medium, Heavy, and Cruiser. These weight classes are one of the key determining factors in kart and bike performance, influencing how you take and dish out contact with other racers, how well you drift, how powerful your Mini-Turbos are, and how well you recover from getting struck by items. As a general rule, lighter-weight racers tend to have great acceleration and cornering, but suffer from lower top speeds and a tendency to get pushed around with great ease by heavier racers. The heavier racers have the highest top speeds in the game, but have issues with cornering, and their acceleration is very poor. Of course, a heavy racer can easily shove aside any smaller and lighter opponent!
Your choice of racer definitely has an effect on how well you can race, but personal preferences figure in heavily for Grand Prix racing. However, when it comes to Time Trials, your choice of racers becomes narrower, as you attempt to optimize your chances at breaking speed records.
Mario
Weight Class: Medium
Mario sets the example for all Medium-class racers. While the stats say he doesn’t excel in any given category, it also means his weaknesses are not particularly harmful. Like all Medium-class racers, you can make up for his deficiencies quite easily with the right parts!
- Weight: 6
- Acceleration: 2
- Grip: 4
- Mini-Turbo: 2
- Speed (Land): 6
- Speed (Sea): 6
- Speed (Flying): 6
- Speed (Antigravity): 6
- Handling (Land): 4
- Handling (Sea): 4
- Handling (Flying): 4
- Handling (Antigravity): 4
Luigi
Weight Class: Medium
Luigi is just like his brother, a good middle-of-the-road racer that any player can learn to use effectively. His reputed cowardice doesn’t seem to faze him on the track!
- Weight: 6
- Acceleration: 2
- Grip: 5
- Mini-Turbo: 2
- Speed (Land): 6
- Speed (Sea): 6
- Speed (Flying): 6
- Speed (Antigravity): 6
- Handling (Land): 5
- Handling (Sea): 5
- Handling (Flying): 5
- Handling (Antigravity): 5
Peach
Weight Class: Light
Taking time out of her busy schedule of stomping Koopas and saving the Sprixie Kingdom, Peach roars back to the racetrack! She’s a bit faster than many other lightweight racers, but it takes her a bit longer to get up to speed.
- Weight: 4
- Acceleration: 3
- Grip: 3
- Mini-Turbo: 3
- Speed (Land): 5
- Speed (Sea): 5
- Speed (Flying): 5
- Speed (Antigravity): 5
- Handling (Land): 5
- Handling (Sea): 5
- Handling (Flying): 5
- Handling (Antigravity): 5
Daisy
Weight Class: Light
“HI, I’M DAISY!” The exuberant princess from another land is back on the track! She’s a match for Peach and Yoshi in terms of stats, but there’s probably no other racer on the track who’s as happy to be on the starting grid as she is.
- Weight: 4
- Acceleration: 3
- Grip: 3
- Mini-Turbo: 3
- Speed (Land): 5
- Speed (Sea): 5
- Speed (Flying): 5
- Speed (Antigravity): 5
- Handling (Land): 5
- Handling (Sea): 5
- Handling (Flying): 5
- Handling (Antigravity): 5
Yoshi
Weight Class: Light
Yoshi represents his island well in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as a member of the heavier group of lightweights. Fortunately for everyone else on the track, Yoshi doesn’t bring his egg arsenal to the races!
- Weight: 4
- Acceleration: 3
- Grip: 3
- Mini-Turbo: 3
- Speed (Land): 5
- Speed (Sea): 5
- Speed (Flying): 5
- Speed (Antigravity): 5
- Handling (Land): 5
- Handling (Sea): 5
- Handling (Flying): 5
- Handling (Antigravity): 5
Toad
Weight Class: Light
Being a loyal retainer to Princess Peach isn’t enough to stop Toad from being extremely competitive on the track. Small even for a lightweight, Toad can squeeze his way into and out of situations that would trip up larger racers!
- Weight: 3
- Acceleration: 4
- Grip: 4
- Mini-Turbo: 3
- Speed (Land): 3
- Speed (Sea): 3
- Speed (Flying): 3
- Speed (Antigravity): 3
- Handling (Land): 7
- Handling (Sea): 7
- Handling (Flying): 7
- Handling (Antigravity): 7
Toadette
Weight Class: Light
Toadette’s not about to let Toad win all the glory. Proud in pink, this spunky sister can race as hard as any other lightweight.
- Weight: 2
- Acceleration: 5
- Grip: 4
- Mini-Turbo: 4
- Speed (Land): 2
- Speed (Sea): 2
- Speed (Flying): 2
- Speed (Antigravity): 2
- Handling (Land): 7
- Handling (Sea): 7
- Handling (Flying): 7
- Handling (Antigravity): 7
Koopa Troopa
Weight Class: Light
The faithful and ever stompable frontline troopa represents his shelled brothers on the track—and if the Koopa’s lucky, maybe Bowser won’t be upset about it!
- Weight: 2
- Acceleration: 4
- Grip: 1
- Mini-Turbo: 4
- Speed (Land): 2
- Speed (Sea): 2
- Speed (Flying): 2
- Speed (Antigravity): 2
- Handling (Land): 8
- Handling (Sea): 8
- Handling (Flying): 8
- Handling (Antigravity): 8
Bowser
Weight Class: Cruiser
Could the king of all Koopas be anything less than the heaviest racer on the course? Of course not. Cruisers like Bowser easily punch aside any lighter racers without breaking a sweat, though they also have to contend with having a tough time in the corners, along with some abysmal acceleration.
- Weight: 10
- Acceleration: 0
- Grip: 6
- Mini-Turbo: 0
- Speed (Land): 10
- Speed (Sea): 10
- Speed (Flying): 10
- Speed (Antigravity): 10
- Handling (Land): 0
- Handling (Sea): 0
- Handling (Flying): 0
- Handling (Antigravity): 0
Donkey Kong
Weight Class: Heavy
The first member of the DK crew returns to the track after dealing with a pesky invasion of his home island by some cold-hearted northerners. Among the “light” Heavy racers, Donkey Kong isn’t the absolute fastest, but he’s not as slow to get up to speed, and is a little better in the corners.
- Weight: 8
- Acceleration: 1
- Grip: 10
- Mini-Turbo: 0
- Speed (Land): 9
- Speed (Sea): 9
- Speed (Flying): 9
- Speed (Antigravity): 9
- Handling (Land): 2
- Handling (Sea): 2
- Handling (Flying): 2
- Handling (Antigravity): 2
Wario
Weight Class: Cruiser
Wario’s desire for more gold and more treasure has brought him back to the track. One of the heaviest and fastest racers in the whole cast, expect to see many records set by players choosing Wario!
- Weight: 10
- Acceleration: 0
- Grip: 5
- Mini-Turbo: 0
- Speed (Land): 10
- Speed (Sea): 10
- Speed (Flying): 10
- Speed (Antigravity): 10
- Handling (Land): 1
- Handling (Sea): 1
- Handling (Flying): 1
- Handling (Antigravity): 1
Waluigi
Weight Class: Heavy
Too bad, Waluigi time.
- Weight: 8
- Acceleration: 1
- Grip: 10
- Mini-Turbo: 1
- Speed (Land): 9
- Speed (Sea): 9
- Speed (Flying): 9
- Speed (Antigravity): 9
- Handling (Land): 2
- Handling (Sea): 2
- Handling (Flying): 2
- Handling (Antigravity): 2
Rosalina
Weight Class: Heavy
This cosmic guardian is definitely made of star stuff, and isn’t afraid to cut loose on the track. Being a heavyweight, she can toss aside a surprising number of rival racers in pursuit of victory!
- Weight: 7
- Acceleration: 1
- Grip: 9
- Mini-Turbo: 2
- Speed (Land): 7
- Speed (Sea): 7
- Speed (Flying): 7
- Speed (Antigravity): 7
- Handling (Land): 3
- Handling (Sea): 3
- Handling (Flying): 3
- Handling (Antigravity): 3
Metal Mario
Weight Class: Heavy
As heavy as Wario, but not quite as fast, Metal Mario does enjoy some better handling in exchange for losing that speed.
- Weight: 10
- Acceleration: 1
- Grip: 8
- Mini-Turbo: 1
- Speed (Land): 8
- Speed (Sea): 8
- Speed (Flying): 8
- Speed (Antigravity): 8
- Handling (Land): 3
- Handling (Sea): 3
- Handling (Flying): 3
- Handling (Antigravity): 3
Pink Gold Peach
Weight Class: Heavy
Donning a metal look just like her beloved plumber, Pink Gold Peach outweighs most of the competition, and is plenty fast to boot!
- Weight: 10
- Acceleration: 1
- Grip: 8
- Mini-Turbo: 1
- Speed (Land): 8
- Speed (Sea): 8
- Speed (Flying): 8
- Speed (Antigravity): 8
- Handling (Land): 3
- Handling (Sea): 3
- Handling (Flying): 3
- Handling (Antigravity): 3
Lakitu
Weight Class: Light
Watch enough races, and you’ll eventually want to be in one. Lakitu joins the fray, and as you might expect he shows excellent ability in the air.
- Weight: 2
- Acceleration: 4
- Grip: 1
- Mini-Turbo: 4
- Speed (Land): 2
- Speed (Sea): 2
- Speed (Flying): 2
- Speed (Antigravity): 2
- Handling (Land): 8
- Handling (Sea): 8
- Handling (Flying): 8
- Handling (Antigravity): 8
Shy Guy
Weight Class: Light
Years have gone by, and still nobody knows what the Shy Guy looks like behind the mask. This tame, though somewhat shy, racing driver isn’t as willing to hide his skills on the track!
- Weight: 3
- Acceleration: 4
- Grip: 3
- Mini-Turbo: 3
- Speed (Land): 3
- Speed (Sea): 3
- Speed (Flying): 3
- Speed (Antigravity): 3
- Handling (Land): 7
- Handling (Sea): 7
- Handling (Flying): 7
- Handling (Antigravity): 7
Baby Mario
Weight Class: Featherweight
Ask not why Baby Mario is on the track at the same time as Mario—ask yourself if you can beat his super-high acceleration out of every turn. Featherweights like Baby Mario have a serious disadvantage getting caught in the middle of a pack, as they can be easy to push around.
- Weight: 1
- Acceleration: 5
- Grip: 2
- Mini-Turbo: 4
- Speed (Land): 1
- Speed (Sea): 1
- Speed (Flying): 1
- Speed (Antigravity): 1
- Handling (Land): 8
- Handling (Sea): 8
- Handling (Flying): 8
- Handling (Antigravity): 8
Baby Luigi
Weight Class: Featherweight
Baby Luigi shows no fear on the track, which makes one wonder why he becomes so easily frightened later in life...
- Weight: 1
- Acceleration: 5
- Grip: 2
- Mini-Turbo: 4
- Speed (Land): 1
- Speed (Sea): 1
- Speed (Flying): 1
- Speed (Antigravity): 1
- Handling (Land): 8
- Handling (Sea): 8
- Handling (Flying): 8
- Handling (Antigravity): 8
Baby Peach
Weight Class: Featherweight
The regal royal infant, Baby Peach showed interest in kart racing well before Bowser-led kidnappings became a part of her daily routine.
- Weight: 0
- Acceleration: 4
- Grip: 3
- Mini-Turbo: 5
- Speed (Land): 0
- Speed (Sea): 0
- Speed (Flying): 0
- Speed (Antigravity): 0
- Handling (Land): 10
- Handling (Sea): 10
- Handling (Flying): 10
- Handling (Antigravity): 10
Baby Daisy
Weight Class: Featherweight
The happiest baby on the course, Baby Daisy is still a tough customer despite her size disadvantages. She is also a fairly loud customer. Some things you just see coming in someone’s early years.
- Weight: 0
- Acceleration: 4
- Grip: 4
- Mini-Turbo: 5
- Speed (Land): 0
- Speed (Sea): 0
- Speed (Flying): 0
- Speed (Antigravity): 0
- Handling (Land): 10
- Handling (Sea): 10
- Handling (Flying): 10
- Handling (Antigravity): 10
Baby Rosalina
Weight Class: Featherweight
Protectors of the stars gotta start small...
- Weight: 0
- Acceleration: 5
- Grip: 4
- Mini-Turbo: 5
- Speed (Land): 0
- Speed (Sea): 0
- Speed (Flying): 0
- Speed (Antigravity): 0
- Handling (Land): 9
- Handling (Sea): 9
- Handling (Flying): 9
- Handling (Antigravity): 9
Larry
Weight Class: Light
Lightweight Larry is right at home on the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe circuit. Of all the Koopalings, Larry is quite the cheatsy devil, and an experienced schemer.
- Weight: 3
- Acceleration: 4
- Grip: 3
- Mini-Turbo: 3
- Speed (Land): 3
- Speed (Sea): 3
- Speed (Flying): 3
- Speed (Antigravity): 3
- Handling (Land): 7
- Handling (Sea): 7
- Handling (Flying): 7
- Handling (Antigravity): 7
Lemmy
Weight Class: Featherweight
The smallest and lightest Koopaling is also the craziest! Lemmy’s quick off the starting line, but is susceptible to getting shoved around by almost everyone else.
- Weight: 0
- Acceleration: 5
- Grip: 4
- Mini-Turbo: 5
- Speed (Land): 0
- Speed (Sea): 0
- Speed (Flying): 0
- Speed (Antigravity): 0
- Handling (Land): 9
- Handling (Sea): 9
- Handling (Flying): 9
- Handling (Antigravity): 9
Wendy
Weight Class: Light
Wendy doesn’t have her magic rings to help her on the course, but she doesn’t need them to be a dominating lightweight racer!
- Weight: 2
- Acceleration: 5
- Grip: 4
- Mini-Turbo: 4
- Speed (Land): 2
- Speed (Sea): 2
- Speed (Flying): 2
- Speed (Antigravity): 2
- Handling (Land): 7
- Handling (Sea): 7
- Handling (Flying): 7
- Handling (Antigravity): 7
Ludwig
Weight Class: Medium
Ludwig has followed his fellow Koopalings to the races, intending to compose his own victory anthem should he win... which as far as he’s concerned is the obvious outcome.
- Weight: 6
- Acceleration: 2
- Grip: 4
- Mini-Turbo: 2
- Speed (Land): 6
- Speed (Sea): 6
- Speed (Flying): 6
- Speed (Antigravity): 6
- Handling (Land): 4
- Handling (Sea): 4
- Handling (Flying): 4
- Handling (Antigravity): 4
Iggy
Weight Class: Medium
The crazed mechanical Koopaling genius returns with his brothers and sister! Iggy’s solidly in the Medium weight class, and is a good match for Mario and Luigi.
- Weight: 6
- Acceleration: 2
- Grip: 5
- Mini-Turbo: 2
- Speed (Land): 6
- Speed (Sea): 6
- Speed (Flying): 6
- Speed (Antigravity): 6
- Handling (Land): 5
- Handling (Sea): 5
- Handling (Flying): 5
- Handling (Antigravity): 5
Roy
Weight Class: Heavy
Roy’s always been the brawler of the Koopalings, and he’s not changed a bit in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Unafraid to wear pink and mix it up with other racers, Roy’s more than capable of fighting his way to the lead.
- Weight: 8
- Acceleration: 1
- Grip: 10
- Mini-Turbo: 1
- Speed (Land): 9
- Speed (Sea): 9
- Speed (Flying): 9
- Speed (Antigravity): 9
- Handling (Land): 2
- Handling (Sea): 2
- Handling (Flying): 2
- Handling (Antigravity): 2
Morton
Weight Class: Cruiser
Morton’s the biggest of all the Koopalings, and he’s not afraid to throw that weight around. One of the Cruisers in the game, Morton’s got serious Time Trial potential for those willing to practice wrangling him around the track.
- Weight: 10
- Acceleration: 0
- Grip: 6
- Mini-Turbo: 0
- Speed (Land): 10
- Speed (Sea): 10
- Speed (Flying): 10
- Speed (Antigravity): 10
- Handling (Land): 0
- Handling (Sea): 0
- Handling (Flying): 0
- Handling (Antigravity): 0
Mii
Weight Class: Variable (Medium stats listed)
Mii can fall within the Medium, Cruiser, or Featherweight classes, depending on which Mii you select. Each Mii alters it stats depending on its size. This means that a Mii can either be as light as one of the babies, or as heavy as a Bowser.
- Weight: 6
- Acceleration: 2
- Grip: 6
- Mini-Turbo: 2
- Speed (Land): 6
- Speed (Sea): 6
- Speed (Flying): 6
- Speed (Antigravity): 6
- Handling (Land): 4
- Handling (Sea): 4
- Handling (Flying): 4
- Handling (Antigravity): 4
Villager (Boy)
Weight Class: Medium
After years of cutting trees, the boy Villager is now looking to cut race times. Just take care not to reset the game in a fury, lest “You know who” decides to come and give you a talking to.
- Weight: 5
- Acceleration: 3
- Grip: 7
- Mini-Turbo: 3
- Speed (Land): 5
- Speed (Sea): 5
- Speed (Flying): 5
- Speed (Antigravity): 5
- Handling (Land): 5
- Handling (Sea): 5
- Handling (Flying): 5
- Handling (Antigravity): 5
Villager (Girl)
Weight Class: Light
From dragging furniture to drifting corners, the girl Villager has her game face on and is ready to take first place. She’s over catching bugs and digging for fossils. Now it’s all eyes on the finish line.
- Weight: 3
- Acceleration: 4
- Grip: 2
- Mini-Turbo: 3
- Speed (Land): 4
- Speed (Sea): 4
- Speed (Flying): 4
- Speed (Antigravity): 4
- Handling (Land): 6
- Handling (Sea): 6
- Handling (Flying): 6
- Handling (Antigravity): 6
Isabelle
Weight Class: Light
What does the hardest-working mayor’s assistant do when she takes a vacation? She leaves everyone in the dust, of course!
- Weight: 2
- Acceleration: 5
- Grip: 4
- Mini-Turbo: 4
- Speed (Land): 2
- Speed (Sea): 2
- Speed (Flying): 2
- Speed (Antigravity): 2
- Handling (Land): 7
- Handling (Sea): 7
- Handling (Flying): 7
- Handling (Antigravity): 7
Dry Bowser
Weight Class: Cruiser
Bowser has been dropped into lava so many times that he’s finally given up on the princess-nabbing business for a career in racing.
- Weight: 9
- Acceleration: 0
- Grip: 1
- Mini-Turbo: 0
- Speed (Land): 10
- Speed (Sea): 10
- Speed (Flying): 10
- Speed (Antigravity): 10
- Handling (Land): 1
- Handling (Sea): 1
- Handling (Flying): 1
- Handling (Antigravity): 1
Tanooki Mario
Weight Class: Medium
In his Tanooki Suit, Mario’s looking to go from turning into statues to turning into a blur.
- Weight: 5
- Acceleration: 3
- Grip: 7
- Mini-Turbo: 3
- Speed (Land): 5
- Speed (Sea): 5
- Speed (Flying): 5
- Speed (Antigravity): 5
- Handling (Land): 5
- Handling (Sea): 5
- Handling (Flying): 5
- Handling (Antigravity): 5
Cat Peach
Weight Class: Light
Peach comes in many flavors, but there might not be one quite as adorable as Cat Peach. Meeeoooowww.
- Weight: 3
- Acceleration: 4
- Grip: 2
- Mini-Turbo: 3
- Speed (Land): 4
- Speed (Sea): 4
- Speed (Flying): 4
- Speed (Antigravity): 4
- Handling (Land): 6
- Handling (Sea): 6
- Handling (Flying): 6
- Handling (Antigravity): 6
Link
Weight Class: Heavy
Epona’s fast, but Link got an itch for speed that his equine friend just couldn’t produce. And so begins the Racing Legend of Link.
- Weight: 7
- Acceleration: 1
- Grip: 9
- Mini-Turbo: 2
- Speed (Land): 7
- Speed (Sea): 7
- Speed (Flying): 7
- Speed (Antigravity): 7
- Handling (Land): 3
- Handling (Sea): 3
- Handling (Flying): 3
- Handling (Antigravity): 3
King Boo
Weight Class: Heavy
Here’s a little known fact: King Boo was once disqualified from a race for merely fazing through the course and heading directly to the finish line.
- Weight: 7
- Acceleration: 1
- Grip: 9
- Mini-Turbo: 2
- Speed (Land): 7
- Speed (Sea): 7
- Speed (Flying): 7
- Speed (Antigravity): 7
- Handling (Land): 3
- Handling (Sea): 3
- Handling (Flying): 3
- Handling (Antigravity): 3
Dry Bones
Weight Class: Light
What do you do when you’re left to roam the world as an immortal skeleton creature? Why, you race of course!
- Weight: 1
- Acceleration: 5
- Grip: 2
- Mini-Turbo: 4
- Speed (Land): 1
- Speed (Sea): 1
- Speed (Flying): 1
- Speed (Antigravity): 1
- Handling (Land): 8
- Handling (Sea): 8
- Handling (Flying): 8
- Handling (Antigravity): 8
Bowser Jr.
Weight Class: Light
Ever determined to mimic his father, Bowser Jr. has had aspirations of being a racer just like the Koopa King himself. Now that he’s old enough, he’s ready to leave opponents in the dust.
- Weight: 2
- Acceleration: 4
- Grip: 1
- Mini-Turbo: 4
- Speed (Land): 2
- Speed (Sea): 2
- Speed (Flying): 2
- Speed (Antigravity): 2
- Handling (Land): 8
- Handling (Sea): 8
- Handling (Flying): 8
- Handling (Antigravity): 8
Inkling Girl
Weight Class: Light
Ever sporty, Inkling Girl is looking for her next extreme challenge. Instead of leaving paint, she’s coating the course in drift lines, which is all fine by her standards.
- Weight: 3
- Acceleration: 4
- Grip: 2
- Mini-Turbo: 3
- Speed (Land): 4
- Speed (Sea): 4
- Speed (Flying): 4
- Speed (Antigravity): 4
- Handling (Land): 6
- Handling (Sea): 6
- Handling (Flying): 6
- Handling (Antigravity): 6
Inkling Boy
Weight Class: Medium
One day while painting his foes with a paint roller, Inkling Boy thought aloud, “There’s something to this rolling thing…” Shortly after, he hopped on a kart and the rest is history.
- Weight: 5
- Acceleration: 3
- Grip: 7
- Mini-Turbo: 3
- Speed (Land): 5
- Speed (Sea): 5
- Speed (Flying): 5
- Speed (Antigravity): 5
- Handling (Land): 5
- Handling (Sea): 5
- Handling (Flying): 5
- Handling (Antigravity): 5
Gold Mario
Weight Class: Heavy
Solid gold.
- Weight: 10
- Acceleration: 1
- Grip: 8
- Mini-Turbo: 1
- Speed (Land): 8
- Speed (Sea): 8
- Speed (Flying): 8
- Speed (Antigravity): 8
- Handling (Land): 3
- Handling (Sea): 3
- Handling (Flying): 3
- Handling (Antigravity): 3