I have owned MANY R/c and the rustler is the only one I havent sold. Actually its the only car I have right now(nitro crt on the way though). I had an xl-5 about 2 years ago, and I got my vxl after christmas and I love it. If you have lipos its the greatest thing since sliced break. Faster than hell, its tough from the factory, and only takes like $40 to make it industructable.

All I got on it is rpm arms, and rpm bearing cariers, on it and I beat the heck out of it. Only thing I ever break now are shock shafts.

Just for the available parts factor..traxxas is the way to go..I have e-revo, nitro revo, emaxx, vxl rustler and vxl pede and any time I want a solid injection of all out rock throwing,wheel spinning, wheel standing fun I fire up the pede....zooming across the grass doing 60mph at the local prk people look at it awe...like wth is that thing...there the best entry level MT's on the market

Yeah, I have owned a few Traxxas vehicles over the years and combine them with RPM parts and they are Bomb-Proof :party:

For bashing there's no question that I'd go with a rustler. The AE would be my choice for racing personally... but when it comes to bashing there's nothing better than a rustler or stampede. The fact that they offer RTRs with the velinion system is handy as well. Not that a sidewinder 5700 system costs much, but hey, it's one less thing between you and the trails/streets.

-Jeff

I had a Rustler with a Sidewinder 5700 combo and 2s LiPo and I broke 2 steering blocks, a a-arm, a wheel, front bulkhead, and shock towers. I have since put the same system in a Stampede on 3s and haven't broken anything!

My VXL Rustler has stood up to a beating very well...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=p8i2Dk09K2s

Wow, I thought I was in the Traxxas forums. :na:

I'll put my vote in for the E-firestorm. One of the toughest trucks I've ever owned.

HPI plastic is a lot stronger than Traxxas plastic.

Definately Rustler. Pretty tough and makes a big difference to have replacement parts available locally. I hate ordering parts and waiting everytime I do break something. All of them break sooner or later and usually at the worst time.