That is a great car to goof off with. Parts are easy to find since it is built using one of the longest running chassis ever, the Stampede.

For the same price, there are other cars but I'm not the one to ask about them. I mainly race, so I'm not sure what is the latest and greatest for bombing around the yard on a budget. Maybe someone else will chime in.

4wd is a benefit when you start putting really powerful motors in. 2wd is fine for what you plan to do. 4wd can be more of a hassle to maintain and usually costs a lot more.

Brushed motors can wear out kind of quickly, but they are cheap to replace. The Bigfoot 2 has a brushed motor that is good for about 20-25 mph. Brushless motors can be used for hundreds of battery charges before they wear out if they are kept clean and go 30 to 50 mph depending on the motor. You can look at installing a brushless motor (and speed control) later on if you want to go faster.

I'd hold off on extra batteries until you run it a few times. If you aren't happy with how long the stock battery lasts, there are options for higher capacity batteries that we can suggest.