What makes an RC car 'good'?

It seems like a basic question, and it’s one that I get asked a lot. Whether or not you like a car is entirely subjective, but when asked if a car is “good”, the question I answer is “Is this car good at what it is supposed to be good at”.

Crawlers crawl, drifters drift, and buggies…jump. A crawler is never going to make an impressive speed run, and a 1/5 scale Baja is probably never going to scale a rock. I’d like to see both of those things happen though. What it comes down to is, what do you want your RC car to do?

Want speed? A 1/8^th scale Truggy like Arrma’s brilliant Talion will do just that. And with the announcement of the Limitless and Infraction all-road speed cars, Arrma should be the first brand to check out if you have the need for speed.

Scale crawler? An Axial Honcho or Traxxas TRX-4 both have scale looks with a crazy amount of optional accessories and are competent off-roaders. With factory body options for Land Rover, Mercedes, Ford, and Chevrolet and aftermarket options for Toyota, Jeep and others – there’s a scale model for every die-hard fan of any brand. 

Just something cheap to bash around and learn on? Any of the HSP 2-wheel-drive range will happily fill that position. All based around the same chassis, there’s a monster truck, a stadium truck, a trophy truck, and a buggy. All are surprisingly fast and tough, and easy to repair when something does eventually break.

Complaining that a crawler is too slow or a drifter can’t handle gravel is like saying a sandwich is terrible at being a shoe. It was just never supposed to be.

But a good car? A good car is one that does what it is supposed to do and does it well.