I don't think that's harsh. It seems pretty accurate given your other vehicles. Since this is my only truck, that works out pretty well for me. I agree that if I wanted a pure racer, I'd buy a 4wd buggy such as an 8ight-E, and the Savage may have the edge on the Revo for extreme terrain. If you've driven both, you'd know better than I do. I do wonder about the suspension travel and whether the Savage really has the upper hand. Traxxas has boasted about "more suspension travel than any monster truck" for years. If the crown now goes to the Savage, is that all that makes it a better off road truck? Ground clearance? How do the two trucks compare when the Revo is jacked up on the inner pushrod mounting points and LT rockers?

Many of the shortcomings you cite on the Revo stem from the nitro version; some of which have been improved on the E-Revo (as you already mentioned). Most drivetrain issues I've seen have been with the plastic driveshafts, not the new single speed tranny. Some say the new Summit driveshafts will be stronger still and would be a direct swap for the Revo shafts. I've also read about a few blown diffs, but nothing that leads me to believe that they're a major weak point. Then again, I'm pretty satisfied with the speed of 4s on this thing and I have a little more mechanical empathy than most. :) I can't speak of how easy it is to access the guts of the truck as I haven't broken anything yet!

The turning radius of the Savage concerns me, just as it did on the Revo before I installed the new steering stop and longer servo horns, included optional part. Then again, if I were to compare it to a truggy it may feel wide as well.