never held a 4pl, but owned a 3pks and 2pl, held many 4pks ect. having done some laps with a spectrum i can tell you there is no comparing the quality and feel of the two. my 2pl though ancient now felt a lot better than the spectrum.

overall reliability of futaba was very high too. with my fasst 3pks i never had a runaway or lost signal. just absolutely, not even entering my mind reliable.

futaba does have more expensive rx's than spectrum, but if your dropping a $10 clone into a $500 rc car, you kinda deserve what you get lol.

for that difference in price, there is no question to me the 4pl is the one you should get.
in the same price range is airtronics mx3x. very simple radio compared to the 4pl but very fast if your a racer.

id say if your not looking for a high end radio, the Futaba 4pl and airtronics mt4 are probably the best radios at their price range. I have owned a mt4 and i can tell you its FRICKEN FANTASTIC.