Best remote control cars 2024: rapid racers, robust off-roaders and beyond

The best remote control cars are pretty impressive and have come a long way over the years, plus they make a great toy for both kids and adults alike. Whether you like to race or are interested in the intricate mechanics of a remote control car, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

Now, remote control cars don’t always come cheap, and since some of them are so intricate in their detailing, it’s important to consider how you will be using your RC car and whether the parts are reparable should you get into any collisions, otherwise, it may cost you a fortune to maintain (just like a real car).

Not all spares for RC’s are readily available, but for those that are, the maintenance and upgrading of remote control cars is all part of the fun – like a mini version of Pimp My Ride – you can add new tyres, suspension, a larger engine and so much more to truly customise your remote control vehicle.

Of course, if you’re more about doing stunts, then make sure, just like with a real car, you opt for something with the right features to handle that, such as good suspension. The bigger 4-wheel drives are much more likely to withstand jumps and bumps than smaller cars.

Now, we did say remote control cars don’t come cheap, but that doesn’t mean expensive means better. There’s plenty out there to suit your budget, and we’ve included a variety of options in this list.

Best remote control cars 2024 ranking

Although its design isn't perhaps the most detailed - there's certainly a lot of raw plastic on display – you'll hardly be able to focus on its looks given how fast Wltoys' celebrated buggy can go. Taking full advantage of an RC390 brushed motor, more commonly found on heavier 1/10 scale vehicles, this thing absolutely rips along, and comes ready to run. All four wheels get decent shock absorbers, so the A959 is just as comfortable in your kitchen as it is careening up bumpy hills.

We'd recommend picking up a second 7.4V battery just to give you a little extra run time, and keep an eye on its drive train; some owners have found the plastic gearing didn't play too nicely with the torque of that motor. Thankfully, there are plenty of spares (including metal gears) floating around on the market.

Rock crawlers are a great way to have fun with an RC car if you're more interested in realism and control than going as fast as possible – and Traxxas' officially-licensed Land Rover is one of the very best out there. 

It's so packed with features: Traxxas' portal axles give it huge ground clearance and eliminate torque twist, it's completely waterproof so you can go crazy in the mud or water, the servos are an all-metal design, and the whole chassis is joined together with a rigid steel ladder frame. 

You get precision control, too, with everything from cruise control to gearing to diff locks available on the handset. There is a fairly large barrier of entry in the form of its price, but given that you can likely get two hours' one-tenth scale trail bashing out of a single battery charge, we think it's worth the investment. Check out our guide to the Traxxas TRX-4 vs FTX FTX5570 Outlaw to see how it compares to much cheaper option.

If all you want is a car for interested kids to trundle around the floor, CMJ's cut-price range of 1:24 replicas is the way to go. They're fast enough for indoor use, they seem to last a long while on their AA batteries, and they're no great loss should someone decide to use the stairs as a racetrack. 

There's a wide selection of car models on offer beyond this neat little Vantage, but we've picked this solely because it's the most affordable of the bunch; the whole range runs on 2.4GHz controllers with around 25 metres range, which means you can easily get multiple examples racing at once without fiddling with radio channels.

The Hornet is fast approaching its 40th birthday, and it has hung around in the market for so long by virtue of its brilliance: this is a true classic in the RC world, and the perfect platform for getting started with the more hands-on aspect of RC cars. It's durable, with an ABS resin frame and a sealed gearbox, and it can take bumps and stunts with style, packing oil-filled dampers on its rear axle suspension. 

Note that there's a certain amount of building involved, and this is just the wheels, chassis, motor and speed controller so you'll need to add your own radio, servos and battery to complete the kit. Once you have, though? Make sure you've got some space to let it run.

We couldn't not mention Traxxas' RC hypercar in this guide, because that statistic above isn't a typo – this can reach 160kph (100mph) in five seconds from standing, at one point in time giving it the world record top speed for an RC car. You'll need to find a wide, smooth surface to hit that sort of speed because to generate the relevant downforce this has minimal ground clearance, though the company has also built in traction control to help with cornering and overall control, and it can handle rougher paths too if you're slightly more conservative. 

This is a huge investment, and it's not made for rough-and-ready jumps and stunts, but this is the fastest RC car you can buy – just make sure you have plenty of batteries to power its Big Block motor.

Using Lego's Control+ app, you can take full advantage of the 3-axis gyro in the Smart Hub here (as well as the pair of XL motors and single large motor) which means you can keep constant tabs on the X-treme Off-Roader's angle of incline and tilt. If you're taking it to more extreme climes (or on more extreme climbs) that could be invaluable information, though this is more a build-a-course-in-your-lounge type off-roader than one to fling outside in the mud.

Again, the value is strong considering the number of otherwise-expensive components you get in the package, and the X-treme Off-Roader's massive side-to-side suspension is a neat touch. There's no secondary build included, but there's nothing to stop you from employing a little creativity – we're sure its chunky tyres will prove inspiring.

Rock crawling doesn't have to be expensive, but we'd recommend steering away from super-cheap cars and starting at the mid-range if you want something that'll work hard. FTX's 1:10 buggy is a top choice if you can't quite afford Traxxas prices: it's fast enough to bomb along flat surfaces, yet offers fine enough control and big enough torque that you'll be able to hit the hills in style.

This particular model comes ready to run, with only a few AA batteries required, and includes a waterproof steering servo – but while it'll take a few splashes, the chassis shouldn't be submerged.