Electric Off Road RC Cars

Electric Off Road RC Cars

Electric is how most people come into off-road RC now, and with good reason. Charge a pack and drive - no engine to tune, no fuel to mix, no noise to annoy the neighbours. Modern brushless systems are also genuinely fast: a 6S basher will out-accelerate most nitro cars and needs a fraction of the maintenance.

The body types

• Buggies - light, quick and the easiest to drive well. A sensible first off-road car.
• Monster trucks - big tyres, long travel, built to be jumped and landed badly. The bashing default.
• Short course trucks - full-width bodies that take contact, which is why clubs race them.
• Truggies - buggy chassis, bigger wheels and bodywork. More forgiving on rough ground.
• Rock crawlers - slow, precise and technical. A different hobby to the rest of this page.

Brushed or brushless?

Brushed motors are cheaper, gentler and fitted to most entry-level ready-to-run cars - fine for learning, and the motor is a consumable. Brushless is more efficient, considerably faster and needs no brush changes, but it puts more strain on the drivetrain and asks more of the battery. If you are buying a first car for a child, brushed is the easier life. If you want speed, brushless.

2S, 3S, 4S or 6S?

The cell count sets the voltage and, broadly, the speed. 2S suits smaller cars, 3S is the mainstream 1/10 size, 4S is where brushless bashers live, and 6S is the Kraton and Talion end of things. Check what the speed controller is rated for before buying a bigger pack - running 6S through 4S electronics is an expensive mistake. See LiPo batteries.

Electric, nitro or petrol?

Electric is quieter, cleaner and quicker to get going. Nitro gives you an engine to tune and the noise and smell that go with it, at the cost of more maintenance. Petrol runs on pump fuel in the larger scales, with long run times and low running costs. None is better - they are different hobbies.

Spares

Off-road cars get broken, usually driveshafts, A-arms and shock ends. We hold spares for every brand we sell - see RC car spares - and we will tell you honestly if a model is poorly supported before you buy it.

Why buy from AT Models

We run these ourselves and only sell what we would drive. Free UK shipping on orders over £99, fully tracked delivery, 30-day money-back guarantee (terms apply), and a phone number that a person answers if you want advice before ordering.