A Mario Kart 8 Deluxe study has found the best combination of playable character and customizable vehicle build, with the most optimal option being Peach with a Teddy Buggy. The Mario Kart franchise has had a history of character tiers, where certain playable characters end up outclassing others in the game. These tiers are usually based on the most optimal character to hit the top speed, accelerate, and handle on the track. Heavyweight characters have traditionally been the most common choice for expert Mario Kart players, as seen with characters like Bowser in Super Mario Kart or Funky Kong and the Flame Runner in Mario Kart Wii.

Mario Kart 8, following Mario Kart 7's example, attempted to circumvent most of the common character and vehicle combination problems by having gamers select their own racer and customize their vehicle based on the parts earned in-game. It mostly worked, as Mario Kart 8 has a variety of parts and racers that can result in thousands of build options. While there have been some optimal picks for online multiplayer races and time trials, one study claims to have found the best racer and vehicle combination.

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Conducted by data scientist Antoine Mayerowitz, this study attempted to find Mario Kart 8's best characters and vehicles using the Pareto principle. The first is by narrowing the statistically similar characters and vehicle parts, with many of them being cosmetically different. With duplicates being omitted, the number of combinations goes down from 703,560 to 25,704. From there, Mayerowitz applies the Pareto principle, narrowing down the best for different playstyles that favor either acceleration or speed.

The Best Mario Kart 8 Combination

While Mario Kart 8's heavyweights like Bowser and Wario are the fastest in terms of top speed, they are hampered by their low acceleration. As a result, Mayerowitz tries to find the perfect character in the middle of this curve. As it turns out, the perfect character in this middle of Pareto's max utility curve is Cat Peach, who can be substituted for Female Villager, Inkling Girl, or Diddy Kong, overshadowing other racers like Koopa. From there, it is further narrowed down to 585 distinct builds with unique speed and acceleration properties, with 14 being classified as the "most efficient" when taking the mini turbo into acceleration. After all that, the study finds that Princess Peach with the Teddy Buggy bike, roller tiers, and the Cloud glider to be the most optimal combination.

This build is supported by how it is the most common one used by pro Mario Kart 8 players. That said, Peach might not be a gamer's preferred playable character, depending on what they favor in a race. Other optimal combinations did include heavyweight racers like Donkey Kong or Wario, but the data shows how the pattern revolves around the trade-offs when prioritizing a certain aspect and the most optimal choices between them.