The 03 series of cars are still very cool and one of the easier cars to drive. I still have my R version with a ton of extra stuff for it and a almost new Integy saddlepack chassis plu my stock plastic tub I use to run the Tamiya TCS races with.
I currently run one of Tamiya's competition cars (EVO2) and just can't beleive how good this car works for me. It is super smooth and when I make small adjustments I really see a differance. Tamiya is really stepping up their race program.