Film

Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Roma) took a break from his budding Hollywood career to capture lightning in a bottle with Y Tu Mamá También, a Spanish-language road drama set against political unrest in Mexico at the end of the 20th century. Julio and Tenoch (Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, respectively) play wide-eyed teenagers who hit the road in search of female flesh and a mysterious beach called Boca del Cielo (“Heaven’s Mouth”). They are accompanied by Luisa (Maribel Verdú), a sexy older woman with a dark secret. What follows is one of the most thought-provoking and erotic (and homoerotic) coming-of-age films ever made. Alex Mistlin

TV

You don’t have to leave London to find joy on the road. No, frankly! In Zen Motoring, Rapper Ogmios sees urban beauty in everyday moments on city streets as he walks around recording it all on a wonky dashcam. He then recounts his subtle observations in soothing, sleepy tones. “While they’re emptying their bins, I’m emptying my mind,” he says of the garbage collectors, pausing to appreciate their choreography. Later, he gets out of the car to save a pigeon by letting it cool on the dashboard. When an old man waves to him four times as he crosses the road, our zen driver almost cries. It’s a form of therapy. Hollie Richardson

Music

A good road trip needs a dramatic soundtrack, a soundtrack that rises and falls in all the right places. In addition to the breathtaking vocals, it should also encourage air guitar (for the passengers) and the tinkling of the piano at the wheel (for the driver). He needs tender moments to soothe the pain of the inevitable traffic jams and gigantic solos when the pitch opens up. Ticking every box is this gloriously overloaded 1977 epic from the late Marvin Lee Aday, AKA Meat Loaf. Let the title track propel you out of the driveway like, well, a bat out of hell, and the gorgeous Heaven Can Wait to ease your dip before the gas station. Pair it with the 75-minute follow-up to 1993 for maximum open-window freedom. Michael Cragg

Books

At 38, William Least Heat-Moon lost his job and his wife but “came up with the idea instead”. He decided to take a circular trip on the Blue Highways, the small roads of the United States, marked in blue in his old Rand McNally atlas. He put a cot in the back and began his slow 13,000 mile journey in early 1978. He was a man looking for a new life with no idea how to get there, but also someone able to persuade just about anyone, anywhere to share their story with him. The result – Blue Highways – is one of the strangest and best-written books about America. Sam Jordan

Game

The Forza Horizon titles are apparently racing games where you compete to earn money and become famous. But, in fact, you never have to race anyone, you can just drive. Forza Horizon 4 (PC, Xbox) lets you do it in a beautifully reproduced Britain. You can hop in a car in the Cotswolds and then drive it through the Pennines and into Scotland. The beautiful landscapes pass by, the weather changes, the sunlight reflects off the distant hills, the rain forms puddles on the tarmac in front of you. You become your own Kerouac, your own Thelma or Louise – and if the trip goes wrong, you start over. This road trip is truly endless. Keith Stuart