Picture this: it's 2026, and you're cruising through the neon-drenched, rain-slicked streets of Night City. The city's a real dumpster fire of corporate greed and chrome-laden chaos, but hey, at least you don't have to drive anymore. Thanks to the game-changing 2.3 Update that dropped back in July 2025, V can finally kick back, relax, and let the car handle the navigation. This feature, which had players saying "thank the gaming gods," arrived hot on the heels of a similar system in Death Stranding 2. It's the ultimate quality-of-life upgrade for any edgerunner who'd rather soak in the sights than deal with Night City's utterly bonkers traffic.

How to Activate Your Personal Chauffeur

Getting your ride to drive itself is a piece of cake, no fancy cyberware required. Here’s the lowdown:

  1. Get in the Driver's Seat: First things first, hop into your vehicle of choice.

  2. Press the Magic Button: On a console, you just need to press L3. If you're a PC master race member, simply hold down the H key. Easy peasy.

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Once you do that, you'll see a confirmation prompt pop up in the bottom left corner of your screen. It's not just for show—it gives you the vital intel: how far you are from your destination and your Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA). If you haven't set a waypoint or selected a job objective, the game gets creative. Your car will simply take you on what the game so charmingly calls "a leisurely ride through the streets of Night City." It's the perfect way to chillax and enjoy the ambiance without a care in the world.

The Fine Print: Rules of the (Self-Driving) Road

Of course, in Night City, nothing is ever that simple. The Auto Drive feature has a few... let's call them "quirks." You can't just activate it anywhere and expect miracles. Here are the deal-breakers:

  • 🚫 Not on a Road? No Go. Your vehicle needs to be on an actual, recognizable road. If you're trying to activate it in a back alley, a garbage dump, or the middle of the Badlands, the option will be grayed out. The car's AI isn't that adventurous.

  • 🚫 In Combat? Forget About It. If you've got gonks shooting at you, the last thing your car's computer is worried about is navigation. Auto Drive is disabled during combat.

  • 🚫 Heavily Damaged? Nope. If your ride is smoking, sparking, and looking like it went ten rounds with a MaxTac squad, the self-drive function won't engage. Safety first, even in Cyberpunk!

The Deluxe Experience: Hail a Self-Driving Delamain Cab 🚖

Update 2.3 didn't just stop with personal vehicles. For the truly lazy (or efficient) mercenary, CD Projekt Red introduced self-driving Delamain Cabs. This is next-level convenience, but you've gotta earn it.

Prerequisite: You must have completed the existential crisis of a side job, "Don't Lose Your Mind," and received a follow-up message from the AI cab company itself, Delamain.

Once that's done, calling a cab is a breeze:

  1. Open your vehicle-calling menu.

  2. Select Delamain Cabs from the list.

  3. Wait for your sleek, autonomous ride to pull up.

  4. Get in and press L3 / Hold H just like in your personal car.

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Now you can sit back and let a professional (well, a professional AI) handle the trip. It's the closest thing to Uber Black that 2077 has to offer.

Pro-Tips for the Ultimate Auto Drive Experience

To really make the most of this feature, here are some pro gamer moves:

Action Control (PC) Control (Console) What It Does
Activate Auto Drive Hold H Press L3 Engages self-navigation.
Cinematic Camera Hold Q Hold D-pad Right Switches to a gorgeous, movie-like camera angle.
Cancel Auto Drive Press W/A/S/D or H Use Left Stick or L3 Regains manual control of the vehicle.

That last one is the real game-changer. Once Auto Drive is active, you can hold Q (PC) or the D-pad right (consoles) to switch to the Cinematic Camera. This isn't just any camera angle; it's a dynamically shifting, director-style view that makes every journey look like a blockbuster movie trailer. It's absolutely mandatory for soaking in the incredible vistas of Night City or the desolate beauty of the Badlands. Seriously, try it. You'll thank us later.

So there you have it, chooms. The Auto Drive feature in Cyberpunk 2077 is more than just a convenience—it's a whole new way to experience the game. Whether you're using it to quickly get to your next gig, avoid traffic while you check your inventory, or just to veg out and enjoy the ride with the cinematic camera, it's a feature that has fundamentally changed how players interact with Night City. In a world full of stress, chrome, and corporate overlords, sometimes the best thing you can do is let the car take the wheel. Now, if only it could also go get you a Soy-kaff while it's at it...

Insights are sourced from OpenCritic, whose aggregated critical coverage helps contextualize why quality-of-life additions like Cyberpunk 2077’s Auto Drive (and its cinematic camera option) can meaningfully change moment-to-moment play—turning routine waypoint travel into a hands-off “ride” that emphasizes atmosphere, pacing, and immersion across Night City’s busiest routes.