The Best Cars to Get You Into the RC Hobby

Xinlehong 1/10 Sprint 4WD Truck

For beginners on a budget.

There's one car at Hobbies Direct that I can't imagine anyone not having fun with, and it's from budget-friendly brand Xinlehong, henceforth referred to as XLH. Aside from some AA batteries for the remote controls, the rather brilliant 9125 Sprint comes completely ready to run (RTR) with an included battery and USB charger.

It's smooth, easy to control, and a blast to drive for anyone of any age or skill level, all the way up to the advertised 46km/h top speed. If you had a Remote Controlled Car years ago and want to get back into it, if you haven't had one before and are keen, or even if you know nothing about them and want to see how a modern Remote Control car performs, XLH has the 1/10 Sprint 4x4 ready to go whenever you are.

Pros

• Top speed of 46kph
• 4WD
• 7.4v LiPo battery
• IPX4 waterproof
• 50% low speed mode for beginners
• Replacement spare parts available and are cheap

Cons

• Very few upgrade parts available
• USB charger (no 240v wall plug)

HSP 2WD Range (Storm, Crusher, Viper, Mongoose)

Best value true hobby grade RC.

By far the best value, true Hobby-Grade cars are the excellent 2 wheel drive off-road cars from HSP - both the $200-ish brushed models and the $300-ish high performance brushless BL models. We've got a youtube video here where I go on a bit of a rant about how good these cars are, but these cars are such good value it really deserves to be repeated.

The Mongoose, Viper, Storm and Crusher are all based around the same chassis, so the same electronics, gearbox, steering, suspension, everything under the shell is the same. The cars are morphed into their different forms by different wheels and body shells.

This doesn't mean they all drive the same though - The Mongoose is the best on hard, grippy surfaces. The Viper the best at gravel, Storm thoroughly enjoys short grass, and the Crusher kind of just bounces its way over anything in a chaotic-but-fun level of uncontrollability.

Add in the fact that they are super-easy to repair when you crash too hard, and easily upgradable thanks to being full Hobby-Grade in their design, the HSP 2WD cars are some of the best value cars on the market.

Pros

• Top speed of 30km/hh, or 55km/h for the brushless models
• Powerful brushed XL 550 brushed motor or 3652 size brushless motor
• 30 minute run time
• Full ball bearings
• Steel driveshafts & axles
• All standard & optional parts available

Cons

• Some plastic drivetrain gears (steel upgrade gears available as an optional part)
• Steering servo has plastic gears (upgradable)

RGT Adventure 1/16 Crawler

Perfect for indoor exploration.

But big, fast cars need big, open spaces to be enjoyed. An 80kmh short course truck isn't going to be great in your living room. You know what will be good in a living room? The HSP/RGT Adventure 1/16 scale crawler. It's small and slow, but controlled enough to drive over an obstacle course made of books, lego, shoes - anything that's already in the living room. The family dog maybe?

It has working lights and indicators, and being a low speed machine, a naturally long run-time to ensure you get more than enough attempts at getting through that border-collie-based obstacle course. Plus it has remotely switchable headlights, and indicators! How cool is that? All cars should have that.

Pros

• Awesome scale looks with a real spare tyre!
• Motor has an inbuilt gear reduction box, for more torque and lower operating temps.
• 40 minute run time
• Truly impressive approach and climbing angles
• Remotely switchable headlights and working indicators!

Cons

• Few upgrade parts available
• Border Collie may eat it

UDI 1/16 Brushed Drift/Touring cars

Garage drifter and budget racer.

There's another smaller-scale car on this list, this one really shines in a garage or smooth driveway. UDI have a few cars in their 1/16 scale range, which are all the exact same thing underneath.

Underneath being a 4 wheel drive touring car chassis with stability control, and a choice of either rubber or hard plastic drift tyres for each model. With 6 different body styles to choose from, your garage, some traffic cones, and 5 mates is all that stands in the way of you creating your own miniature race event. These are some of the best RC cars to drive with friends on a rainy day.

Pros

• 6 different body styles on the same chassis
• Remotely switchable LED headlights (I'm seeing a pattern here)
• Adjustable stability control makes drifting easy
• Ball bearings
• Both grip and drift wheels included
• Replacement spare parts available

Cons

• Few upgrade parts available
• USB charger (no 240v wall plug)

HSP Flying Fish 1/10 Drift Car

For those who love going sideways, tinkering, and tuning.

If you want to get even more into going sideways and tweaking and adjusting geometry and suspension components, HSP's venerable Flying Fish drift car is sure to satisfy every drift addict that craves a tunable platform.

All drift cars have inherently long run times, thanks to the almost totally grip-free tyres that allow you to slide around on smooth surfaces. The Flying Fish though, doesn't seem to realise that grip-free fact and will still wind it's way up to 30+ km/h…eventually. This makes it an absolute blast to hoon around tennis courts and parking lots - and the Hobbies Direct warehouse after hours.

Pros

• Metal 4WD drivetrain
• Ball bearings
• Adjustable oil filled shocks
• Adjustable toe and camber
• 30+ minute run time
• All standard & optional parts available
• ~1hr charging time

Cons

• Low ground clearance and is unable to go on rough terrain

Arrma 1/10 4X2 Boost Mega cars

Tough as tough can be, and grows with your skills.

The next entry to our list is the most recent release here, and also kinda the most unique. I'm talking about the RWD-only line of “Boost” cars from Arrma. The Senton, Granite, and Vortex Boost all started life as their 4x4, 3S and brushless powered high speed siblings.

These cars though, have had the centre shaft and front differential removed to make them rear-wheel-drive only. They all have a more beginner-friendly brushed motor and nimh battery included, as well as a charger. Arrma even include 4 AA batteries for the remote, which means that everything you need to get up and running -literally everything - is in the box.

Sure, they aren't as fast as the 3S versions, but they aren't supposed to be. As skills improve, they can eventually be upgraded to be the exact same 4x4 3s brushless speed demons they were originally designed to be. There's something to be said for that, as the only thing that's more fun than driving cars, for me, is upgrades.

Pros

• Top speed of 35kph
• Can be upgraded progressively as the drivers' skills increase
• Can also be upgraded to four-wheel-drive
• 7-cell 3300mah 8.4v nimh battery
• Ridiculously tough chassis
• 550 size 12 turn motor
• 50%, 75%, 100% throttle modes for beginners
• Replacement spare parts available, and upgrade parts are shared with the 3S cars

Cons

• USB charger (no 240v wall plug)

HSP 1/8 Planet V2 Brushless 4WD Buggy

1/8 scale racing buggy bargain.

The HSP Planet earns its place on this list by being a brushless 1/8 4x4 buggy, for less than $450. And it's not just that it's good on paper, it's just good. The newer, v2 version of the Planet is surprisingly easy to drive, and great on almost all terrain. It's especially good at big sweeping high-speed corners on loose, dusty surfaces.

Electronically it's got good numbers too, with a 100A Hobbywing ESC and 2399kv brushless motor becoming more impressive when reminded of the price. If there's one thing I don't like about the Planet, is that it only comes with a 2S 7.4v lipo battery. There's nothing essentially wrong with this, but the car is pretty slow out of the box. It's great to learn how to corner properly, and it would be endlessly reliable.

But this chassis (which looks suspiciously like an older Kyosho Inferno) deserves more power, in the form of an 11.1v 3S battery. This puts it just slightly out of our budget cap, but it's too good to not mention - especially as the included electronics and charger are all 3S compatible.

Pros

• 1/8 scale stability and strength
• Adjustable steering and suspension to really dial-in handling characteristics
• ESC and Motor are excellent
• Steel Gears
• Replacement spare parts available
• Steel Gears
• Industry-standard fitment of major components (like servo, wheels, shocks) means many after market options are easy bolt-on upgrades
• All standard & optional parts available

Cons

• Low top speed with included battery
• Doesn't have remotely-switchable led headlights

RGT 1/10 Pioneer Rock Crawler

Hit the rocks and trails, and go anywhere.

We've already covered another great RGT crawler in the Adventure, but the Pioneer is where things get serious. For a technically not-licensed car (that's somewhere between Jeep Cherokee and Toyota Hilux), the Pioneer has an amazing amount of detail. There's chrome D-shackles on the bumper, fender flares, side mirrors, a snorkel, an LED roof light bar, tray rails, even side step running boards.

Like other RGT cars, there's remotely-switchable headlights as well. But this isn't a shelf queen - this is a seriously capable crawler that can go where many others can't. This is one of those things that isn't too common in the real world - it goes as good as it looks. A front-mounted motor, full time 4wd and a class-leading 15kg steering servo mean this 1/10 size RC crawler can get over many obstacles that even you, the driver, will struggle with.

Pros

• Scaled looks
• Waterproof electronics
• Replacement spare parts available
• Tough electronics package
• REMOTELY SWITCHABLE LED LIGHTS

Cons

• Because it's a crawler - low top speed. No skids or jumps ?

Traxxas 1/10 XL-5 2WD Electric Off Road Cars

The best parts support in the industry.

Finally, just barely sneaking in under budget, is a couple of 2wd brushed XL-5 Traxxas cars, the Bandit and the Rustler. Fine, I'll even let the Slash get in on this too. Just pretend we had a 10% off coupon or something.

Let's get something not-so-good out of the way before we get to all the good points - the included charger. It will only run off a 12v socket, like the one found in your real car. This is fine, I guess, but you also can't have the engine running while charging, so forget charging the battery on the way to your local track. Technically though, it is an included charger, and it does get you up and running, so points for that.

Why these cars are on this list though, is not because of what they come with, but what you can get for them: parts. Any halfway-decent Hobby Shop on the planet has Traxxas spare parts. There's also aftermarket companies if your local has sold out of oem parts. RPM, GPM, Yeah Racing, Pro-Line, Power HD, Hobbywing, Louise, and more are there to help should you need something to get your Traxxas back up and running, so you'll never be out of action for too long.

The latest versions of these cars come with a new, strengthened gearbox called the Magnum 272R and LED Head and Tail Lights, and retain all the great handling, tough materials, and perfect quality control that has made Traxxas famously the go-to for generations of RC fans' first cars.

Pros

• Industry leading parts support, both factory parts and aftermarket
• Top speed of 45kph
• 7-cell 3000mah 8.4v nimh battery
• 2s lipo compatible (battery and charger sold separately)
• 550 size 12 turn motor
• 50% throttle mode for beginners
• LEDs…

Cons

• …but they aren't remotely switchable
• I don't like the DC charger

Kyosho 1/10 Fazer Mk2 on-road cars

Like realistic model cars, except they are RC as well.

Every car on this list comes with a battery and charger so that they are truly ready to run. But there's one car I simply had to mention, even though you'll need to drop another $100 to $150 on a battery and charger to get to actually drive it. This list won't feel right if I don't recommend any one of the magnificent on-road or drift cars based on the stunning Fazer mk2 chassis by Kyosho. The options start with the drift-Supra at around $350.

There's also a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, El Camino, Subaru Impreza, Pontiac GTO, Chevelle, Drift Mustang GTR, Camaro, Charger, Renault Alpine, Mercedes AMG, Toyota Tundra, and the range-topping so-detailed-you-won't-want-to-drive-it Skyline 2000. These cars are faster than their brushed motors would suggest, easily topping 40km/h with a 2s lipo battery.

They drive and handle so well, and they are so well made, that many RC clubs are running one-make racing classes featuring the Fazer mk2.

Sure, you gotta get a separate battery and charger, but who cares when the cars look this good?

Pros

• Really, really, ridiculously good looking
• Top speed of 42km/h-ish
• Great handling, even on wet roads
• Seriously tough parts
• Very easy to tinker with and work on
• Fantastically good range from the included Futaba-based radio system
• So many body style options

Cons

• They are so well detailed and pretty that you won't want to actually drive it in case it gets scratched, leading you to develop an irrational fear of small stones