There is a nice line-up of 4wd buggies out there. Seeing real growth in the class.
honestly any of the vehicles can do well, I would say if you have the chance, try seeing if anyone will let you wheel there vehicle for a bit to see what you like. You may find you like a shaft drive or you want to go to the X-5, or whatever.
I ran the Academy SB (waiting on the V2) and other than a few mods that are pretty simple to do, the vehicle ran really well and was very durable. The V2 should be even better as long as they work out the issues that were identified overseas. When it finally comes out, I will give it a shake down.
Right now, I say that the hot buggy price to performance appears to be the Kyosho ZX5. for around $300 shipped , you get a competition level buggy that includes a oneway system as well. Other that needed an alloy front hingepin brace, the vehicle appears to be fairly solid for a 4wd buggy.