You could have an animated car, but then it would be to repetitive. IMO the easier and smarter route to go is a.i. cars.

How would you go about building an a.i car though? First, think about what the human player thinks about when controlling a top-view car. He is usuall pressing the gas key and making sure he/she doesn't hit the curbs using the right and left keys. So base the a.i. algorithm on that assumption. Enable the a.i. to detect the curbs and thus letting it decide which direction to turn to avoid hitting the curbs.

Because a.i. calculate distances and math operations very quickly compared to the human brain, they will most likely drive perfectly. So take advantage of the fact that the a.i. is using the pc processor and don't be afraid to give it complex calculations.