Out of the box, Factory Team Edition I would give it the following for raceability:

- Indoor conditions, 1/10 sized jumps, great -> insane traction: 9 / 10
- Outdoor conditions, 1/8 sized jumps, low traction or worse: 5/10
* NOTE: with aftermarket upgrades : 7.5/10

This is pure raceability, no maintenance (can be a pain), durability(actually really great), etc.

Me personally, despite a few quirks, I think AE made a good to great vehicle for the conditions the class originally was intended for as well as the conditions they appear to have focused on (higher traction, 1/10 jumps, etc)

But, the class have evolved in a lot of areas that heavier 1/8 based vehicles have benefits. Even a rep from AE at one point in a discussion pondered if they should have the SC10 4x4 as an indoor vehicle and maybe an RC8 based on as the large track outdoor vehicle, similar to the Tekno and Losi.

In the end, you just need to go in with an honest assessment of the vehicle and understand the limitations.

This is not something new or out of the ordinary, heck I and others do it with our teknos a well, just like the Losi guys or the Durango guys. Identify areas lacking, work with the community to fix / improve the vehicle and go from there.