I can’t say for sure what the right answer is to your question, but I can tell you what isn’t—the Redcat Ground Pounder. I picked one up cheap a while back, and it’s been sitting broken on the shelf ever since.

The durability just isn’t there: axle housings are prone to cracking, the ring and pinion require excessive shimming to run right, and the stock spur gear really needs upgrading straight out of the box. On top of that, the suspension is overly stiff, making the handling pretty frustrating.

The radio system is actually pretty neat—it offers front steer, rear steer, 4-wheel steer, and crab walk modes—but that’s about where the positives end. If you want to make it reliable, you’ll basically need to replace most of the drivetrain. Sure, there are aftermarket axle braces and upgrade kits available, but by the time you’ve invested in all of that, you might as well have gone with a better platform to begin with.