Police set up cordons and spent about two hours tracking down the cars on different rural roads between Gisborne and Wairoa.
One of the Subarus was caught by a patrol on Tiniroto Rd between Gisborne and Frasertown.
Another car was caught after it unsuccessfully tried to block the road so police could not get to the car they were pursuing.
The third Subaru broke down, likely due to engine failure from speeding along the winding roads.
Police arrested two occupants in each car, all from the Gisborne area - two girls, both aged 15, and four males aged 16 to 19.
Mr Scott said the cars were stolen overnight from different locations around Gisborne.
Police were still looking for a fourth car believed to have been stolen by the same group.
Mr Scott said it appeared the cars were stolen to go on a joyride.
Police allege the offenders also took off from a petrol station without paying.
The dangerous driving was particularly worrying during the holiday period, Mr Scott said.
"The holiday traffic has been arriving during the day _ it certainly would have been of extreme concern (had it been) during the day, especially with the amount of people arriving into Gisborne at the moment.''
Mr Scott said the officers had done an excellent job, having worked overtime into the early hours of the morning.
"They just persisted with trying to locate the vehicles after they all spilt in different directions on various country roads. They managed to round them all up _ it was great work.''
Some of the teenagers will appear in Gisborne District Court tomorrow charged with unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and serious driving charges.
Others will be bailed until next week while police considered which charges to lay.
"We've got a mountain of work to go through,'' Mr Scott said.
