Kyosho Inferno MP9e TKI4 1/8 Electric 4WD Off-Road Buggy Kit

I said I'd buy this if anything else went wrong with my Tekno eb48.4 - see my review there. My buggies are losi 3,Tekno eb48.4 and this. How do they compare? In my view the MP9e is the best value for money for the following reasons:
Where metal is needed it's there - eg aluminium rear wheel hubs and front knuckles. More expensive than plastic but far better for durability and less bulk. The motor mount is another example, it's more solid, great heat sink, and cleverly engineered, no need to flip the buggy to tighten the second screw as it is with the Tekno.
The Tekno's biggest let down: soft poorly molded plastic. The plastic quality on the MP9e is very high and the type of plastic appears to vary depending on application, no one size fits all. The A Arms for example - the hinge pin falls through effortlessly, no reaming needed and the tolerances are very small. The plastic strength is up there with the losi which I've found to be so far virtually indestructible. All the ball inserts fit with little friction, the others bind but more so in the losi. The upper front arms with the inner hinge pins is a more elegant answer than ball attachment. The result of all this is suspension arms that fall freely even after a few runs on a dusty track.
The front/rear diff are smaller to reduce COG. A grub screw allows for insert of a gear pin but I also found it was a great way of bleeding the diff once tightened and reducing any potential positive pressure caused by overfilling the diff case. Kyosho please add one to the centre diff!!
The shocks, Tekno is smooth, these are smoother - no contest, the slippery coating works like a dream. The blue springs can be seen on pro driver's cars from other makes, testimony enough to their quality.
Hardened steel spur gear whereas the other do plastic. It's not too loud either. The bearings provided are quality NSK, metal shielded but I’ve had no issues after a few dust baths. The other two provide very cheap bearings you’ll throw after a few runs.
The cnc machined items had the odd minor chip here and there and might not look as nice as the Tekno but they're better: lighter, better engineered and therefore stronger. The D block for example - beautifully engineered for structural rigidity, screwed at 4 points, yet lighter than the tekno equivalent. The outdrives are another example of precision engineering, beautifully ground and very solid.
Whilst the wide body makes the buggy look heavy, it's the same or maybe a fraction lighter than the Tekno. It's far easier to get in and clean and work on than the tightly packed Tekno. The bigger body also offers a far bigger canvas to paint. The losi is probably the better proportioned of the three though the body is butt ugly.
No issue with ESC choices, plenty of room, the battery tray is surprisingly tight but still fits 2x2S though the straps could be longer. This is also my main gripe; the borrowed nitro chassis means a large plastic tray for both battery and ESC whereas other companies do an electric chassis allowing mounting direct to the chassis ie Losi.
Lots of tuning options / after market gear. It can be daunting but the standard kit and setup is great and ready for competition racing. However, if you like to tinker then the options are endless.
This is my Porsche 911 Turbo. The losi is my next favourite, it's good but a bit agricultural/basic, for $100 more the K Car is worth saving for. The Tekno, big following, but it's no where near in the same league as the MP9e and to a lesser degree the Losi, I think of it as a work in progress - the development mule. For $150 difference I'd save for the extra cash needed. These are all fast cars but the MP9e is another level of class, no compromise to reduce cost, years of experience and model evolutions rather than complete redesigns which is great if you want to keep your platform up to date without huge expense / replacement.
It is a challenging build. The instructions aren’t great but patience and maybe You Tube for the uninitiated and I think anyone could build this buggy. I only had issues with fitting the bumper which required a little trim and the shock mounts were a little tricky with alignment. Use quality tools and apply blue thread lock on all screws going into metal. If you're on the fence as to whether the extra cash is worth it then buy this buggy. Regret costs more than $150.

Buggy went together really nicely. Manual isn't quite as nice as a Tekno but the parts quality is awesome. Hard to go wrong with a Kyosho.

Got this kit 2 months ago, assembly is great, a bit tricky since the instructions is not very clear. Love this buggy ran it for the first time a couple days ago and it is very smooth, quiet, fast and handles the corners really good. Jumps very nicely. Only one disappointment for 700 dollars it be nice if wheels were included like the nitro version. I think I should have bought the nitro version since the electric conversion is only 100 dollars. At least I could easily switch back and forth unlike other brands they are mostly straight foward and unable to convert. Get a kyosho and don't look back!

Update (04-12-18) after running this for some time. I have swapped out the front shock that comes standard in the nitro and changing the steering caster from the nitro 13° it now has extremely improved handling and turning. The stock parts in the electric version in my opinion is good but not better. The new nitro 10th anniversary comes with same front end like the electric and in my opinion is not a good set up. The 2 mm difference in the shock (electric) high mount, be careful the dog bones slips out very easily and can cause some serious damage. I broke a dogbone, diff outter drive shaft and twisted the diff gear (internal) and scratched the hell out of shock tower and broken arm. It was not a very hard hit. Get this electric kit and get the standard nitro front end parts and you be flying.