Brand roundup
The best ARRMA RC cars
ARRMA builds one thing: vehicles designed to be crashed. This is the current range sorted by who each model actually suits, rather than by how fast it is.
By Ryder M. · Published September 29, 2026 · Last reviewed
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ARRMA has one design philosophy and applies it to everything: build it heavier than it needs to be, because it is going to be landed on. That makes the range the easiest in the hobby to shop by intent — every model is a basher, so the only real questions are how big, how fast and how much of it you want. Our pick is the Granite 223S.
Short version: Granite 223S is the one to buy first. Mojave Grom if the recipient is younger or you want a box with nothing missing from it. Kraton 6S only for someone who already owns something.
Best overall
ARRMA Granite 223S 4x4
Brushless power in a monster truck built to be crashed — the most common recommendation for a first serious basher.
Best complete in the box
ARRMA Mojave Grom 4x4
The small brushed desert truck the brand sells complete — battery and charger included, and calm enough for a beginner.
Best monster truck looks
ARRMA Big Rock 223S 4x4
The Granite's running gear under a lifted monster-truck body — the one that looks the part.
How the range is organized
Three numbers tell you most of what you need. Grom means the small version, usually 1/16 or 1/18 and aimed at younger or newer drivers. 223S means a 3S-capable brushless system with the brand's Smart telemetry. 6S means the large, expert-level machines that run on six-cell batteries. Everything else is body shape.
| Shape | What it means | Example here |
|---|---|---|
| Monster truck | Tall tires, high clearance, rolls in corners | Granite 223S, Big Rock 223S |
| Stadium truck | Lower, open wheels, built to jump | Vorteks 223S |
| Buggy | Lowest and most stable, best on smooth ground | Typhon Grom 223S |
| Desert truck | Long travel for fast, broken ground | Mojave Grom |
| Stunt truck | Short wheelbase, wheelie bar, made to flip | Outcast 4S |
The range, ranked
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ARRMA Granite 223S 4x4Brushless power in a monster truck built to be crashed — the most common recommendation for a first serious basher. | Best brushless starter | 8.8 | |
| 2 | ARRMA Mojave Grom 4x4The small brushed desert truck the brand sells complete — battery and charger included, and calm enough for a beginner. | ARRMA with nothing to add | 8.6 | |
| 3 | ARRMA Big Rock 223S 4x4The Granite's running gear under a lifted monster-truck body — the one that looks the part. | Monster truck looks | 8.5 | |
| 4 |  ARRMA Typhon Grom 223SA scaled-down Arrma buggy — the same toughness in a size and speed a younger driver can actually manage. | Smaller hands, real power | 8.6 | |
| 5 |  ARRMA Vorteks 223S 4x4Arrma's stadium truck: lower than the Big Rock, tougher than most things it will land on. | Jumping and landing | 8.6 | |
| 6 |  ARRMA Outcast 4S 4x4The stunt-truck idea at a manageable 1/10 size, with a rubber-tired wheelie bar fitted from the factory. | Stunts at 1/10 size | 8.5 | |
| 7 | ARRMA Kraton 6S 4x4A large 6S speed truck. Buy this for someone who already has an RC car and wants a bigger one. | Experienced adults | 8.0 |
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#1 · Best brushless starter
ARRMA Granite 223S 4x4
Brushless power in a monster truck built to be crashed — the most common recommendation for a first serious basher.
8.8/10our score for this use
Arrma designs for bashing: heavy-duty plastic, chunky driveshafts, and a reputation for surviving impacts that break lighter cars. The 223S is the current brushless version of its 1/10 monster truck and takes a 2S or 3S battery.
- Size:
- 1/10
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushless motor
What it does well
- Built heavy on purpose — the brand's whole identity is surviving bad landings
- Brushless power with a 3S option, so it has room to grow with the driver
- Supported through Horizon Hobby, so parts and service have a real distribution network
What it does badly
- The weight that makes it tough also makes it hard on whatever it hits
- Battery and charger are extra on most versions
- Too fast for a young child without adult supervision
Specifications from ARRMA's current releases.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#2 · ARRMA with nothing to add
ARRMA Mojave Grom 4x4
The small brushed desert truck the brand sells complete — battery and charger included, and calm enough for a beginner.
8.6/10our score for this use
A desert truck is a long-travel, high-clearance racer built for open, broken ground. The Grom is the small version: a brushed MEGA 380 motor, dBoots Fortress tires, a stated 20+ mph, and a battery and charger in the box, which is unusual for this brand.
- Size:
- 1/16
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushed motor
What it does well
- Battery and charger included — one of the few ARRMA boxes where the sticker is the real price
- 20+ mph is quick without being frightening, which is the right speed for a first hobby-grade car
- Long-travel suspension and 23mm of ride height handle a rough yard easily
What it does badly
- Brushed power means it will feel slow next to the 223S brushless versions within a year
- Small scale limits it in long grass and deep gravel
- Costs more than a budget-brand car of the same size
Specifications from the ARRMA Mojave Grom product page.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#3 · Monster truck looks
ARRMA Big Rock 223S 4x4
The Granite's running gear under a lifted monster-truck body — the one that looks the part.
8.5/10our score for this use
Same mechanical family as the Granite with a taller stance and a monster-truck body. It trades a little cornering composure for ground clearance and for looking exactly like what a child pictures when they say monster truck.
- Size:
- 1/10
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushless motor
What it does well
- The most visually impressive truck in this price band on Christmas morning
- Clears rough ground the lower trucks bottom out on
- Shares parts with the rest of Arrma's 1/10 4x4 range
What it does badly
- The tall body rolls in corners — expect a lot of flipping early on
- Heavier again than the Granite, so impacts hit harder
- No battery or charger included on most versions
Specifications from ARRMA's current releases.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#4 · Smaller hands, real power
ARRMA Typhon Grom 223S
A scaled-down Arrma buggy — the same toughness in a size and speed a younger driver can actually manage.
8.6/10our score for this use
The Grom is a small-scale version of Arrma's Typhon buggy, made deliberately for younger and newer drivers: lower, lighter, cheaper, and still built on the brand's bash-it-and-see philosophy.
- Size:
- 1/18
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushless motor
What it does well
- Arrma durability in a size that does not overwhelm a ten-year-old
- Low buggy shape means far fewer rollovers than the monster trucks
- Cheaper than the full-size Arrma models while keeping the parts support
What it does badly
- Still brushless and still fast — supervision matters for the first few runs
- Small wheels limit it on long grass
- Costs more than 1/18 cars from the budget brands
Specifications from ARRMA's current releases.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#5 · Jumping and landing
ARRMA Vorteks 223S 4x4
Arrma's stadium truck: lower than the Big Rock, tougher than most things it will land on.
8.6/10our score for this use
A stadium truck sits between a buggy and a monster truck — open wheels, long suspension, designed to be jumped. The Vorteks is the brushless 1/10 version in Arrma's current line.
- Size:
- 1/10
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushless motor
What it does well
- Long suspension travel absorbs jump landings that break lesser trucks
- Lower and more stable in corners than a monster truck
- Horizon Hobby parts and service network
What it does badly
- Open wheels snag on fences, curbs and long grass
- Fast enough to need open space
- Battery and charger extra
Specifications from ARRMA's current releases.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#6 · Stunts at 1/10 size
ARRMA Outcast 4S 4x4
The stunt-truck idea at a manageable 1/10 size, with a rubber-tired wheelie bar fitted from the factory.
8.5/10our score for this use
A short-wheelbase 1/10 stunt truck built to flip, wheelie and land upside down without caring. ARRMA fits a Spektrum Firma 120A waterproof speed control, steel differential gears, EXtreme Bash driveshafts and a wheelie bar, and runs it on 4S.
- Size:
- 1/10
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushless motor
What it does well
- The 11.3 inch wheelbase makes it genuinely nimble — it flips and recovers rather than cartwheeling away
- Wishbone dirt guards, outdrive protectors and taller side guards come fitted, not as upgrades
- Smaller and cheaper to run than the 6S trucks while behaving the same way
What it does badly
- Open wheels and a high center of gravity: it rolls constantly, which is the point but still costs parts
- 4S battery and charger are extra
- Too fast and too aggressive for a younger child
Specifications from the ARRMA Outcast 4S product page.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#7 · Experienced adults
ARRMA Kraton 6S 4x4
A large 6S speed truck. Buy this for someone who already has an RC car and wants a bigger one.
8.0/10our score for this use
6S refers to the battery: six cells in series, roughly 22 volts, which is a large step up in power from the 2S and 3S vehicles above. This is an expert-level machine that needs open space and respect.
- Size:
- 1/8
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushless motor
What it does well
- Enormous performance and the build quality to survive using it
- A platform people keep for years and upgrade rather than replace
- Full parts and service support
What it does badly
- Expensive, and 6S batteries are expensive too — this is not a single-purchase gift
- Completely unsuitable for a beginner or a child
- Needs a large open space to use safely
Specifications from ARRMA's current releases.
The thing ARRMA does not tell you
Weight is the brand's strength and its one real cost. An ARRMA survives impacts that break lighter cars, and it hits whatever it lands on correspondingly harder — including fences, siding and the occasional shin. It is also why most of the range needs open space rather than a yard, and why the small Mojave Grom is a more sensible gift than its bigger siblings for most households.
ARRMA against the alternatives
Against Traxxas, ARRMA is tougher out of the box and has a narrower parts network — a difference we set out in full on Traxxas vs Arrma. Against Losi, it is the bigger, faster option while Losi owns the small scales, which is the subject of Arrma vs Losi. If durability is the whole reason you are here, ARRMA is usually the right answer.
How we picked
Fitness for a specific buyer first, then what is in the box, then parts support. Specifications come from the manufacturer's own product pages, linked under each write-up. We do not test these products first-hand — see our methodology page.