Seasonal
The best RC cars for Christmas
Christmas adds one requirement nothing else does: it has to work that morning. That single constraint changes which car is the right buy.
By Ryder M. · Published September 27, 2026 · Last reviewed
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Every other page on this site weighs speed, durability and parts availability. This one adds a constraint that outranks all of them: it has to work on the morning. A car that needs a charger ordering, or four hours of charging before its first run, is a disappointment however good it is.
Buy a car that includes a battery and a charger, and charge it the night before. Our pick is the Traxxas LaTrax Rally — battery and wall charger in the box, waterproof electronics for a wet December yard, and a training mode for a nervous first drive.
Best overall
Traxxas LaTrax Rally
Waterproof, four-wheel drive, and it comes with a battery and a charger — the friendliest way into the real hobby.
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Best value
HAIBOXING 16889
HAIBOXING calls it hobby class and, unusually at this price, largely means it — ball bearings, four-wheel drive and two batteries in the box.
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Best for young children
BIFYTON All-Terrain RC Truck
The toy-grade truck that actually copes with grass, and two batteries mean the run time beats the category norm.
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The Christmas morning checklist
- Charge the car battery the night before. Take it out of the box, charge it, put it back. Nobody will notice, and it saves the morning.
- Buy AA batteries for the transmitter. They are almost never included, and a flat transmitter looks exactly like a broken car.
- Check whether a charger is included before it is too late to order one.
- Read the manual yourself, briefly. Knowing where the on switch and the reverse setting are is worth ten minutes.
- Have somewhere to drive it. A wet lawn is fine for a waterproof car and fatal for one that is not.
Our Christmas picks
| # | Product | Best for | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Traxxas LaTrax RallyWaterproof, four-wheel drive, and it comes with a battery and a charger — the friendliest way into the real hobby. | A family's first hobby car | 8.8 | $139.95View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026 |
| 2 | HAIBOXING 16889HAIBOXING calls it hobby class and, unusually at this price, largely means it — ball bearings, four-wheel drive and two batteries in the box. | Bridging toy to hobby | 8.2 | $85.99View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026 |
| 3 | BIFYTON All-Terrain RC TruckThe toy-grade truck that actually copes with grass, and two batteries mean the run time beats the category norm. | Yard use, ages 5+ | 7.9 | $31.99View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026 |
| 4 |  MJX HYPER GO 16213A brushless motor at a price that normally buys a brushed one — very fast, and more car than a young child should have. | Most speed per dollar | 8.4 | $112.49$124.99(10% off)View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026 |
| 5 |  Axial SCX24Under eight inches long, four-wheel drive, and it turns a living room floor into a trail. | Indoor crawling | 8.6 | $159.99View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026 |
| 6 |  Liberty Imports Toddler RC Cars 2-PackTwo cartoon cars with steering-wheel remotes a two-year-old can actually hold — a race car and a police car in one box. | A first-ever remote | 8.2 | $28.94View on Amazon #ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026 |
Product photo via Amazon.
#1 · A family's first hobby car
Traxxas LaTrax Rally
Waterproof, four-wheel drive, and it comes with a battery and a charger — the friendliest way into the real hobby.
8.8/10our score for this use
A 1/18 rally car from Traxxas, meaning it is about half the size of the trucks you see at a track but built by a company with parts in real hobby shops. Traxxas lists waterproof all-weather electronics, a 6-volt NiMH battery and a wall charger in the box, and a speed control with drive profiles that include a training mode.
- Size:
- 1/18
- Drive:
- Shaft-driven 4WD
- Motor:
- brushed motor
What it does well
- Battery and charger are included, so the gift works the day it is opened
- Waterproof electronics — wet grass and puddles are genuinely fine
- A training mode that limits the power, then full power later, so the car grows with the driver
- Traxxas parts are stocked by hobby shops and easy to order
What it does badly
- The NiMH battery it ships with is slower and heavier than a LiPo, so the first upgrade is obvious
- Low-slung rally body grounds out on thick grass — it prefers gravel, dirt and pavement
- Costs noticeably more than the toy-grade cars it sits beside on a search results page
Specifications from the Traxxas LaTrax Rally product page.
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Product photo via Amazon.
#2 · Bridging toy to hobby
HAIBOXING 16889
HAIBOXING calls it hobby class and, unusually at this price, largely means it — ball bearings, four-wheel drive and two batteries in the box.
8.2/10our score for this use
A 1:16 truck, so roughly the size of a shoebox. HAIBOXING states a top speed above 36 km/h — around 22 mph — from an RC390 brushed motor, with four-wheel drive, ball bearings throughout, independent coil-sprung suspension on each wheel and splash-proof electronics. Two 1000mAh packs come in the box for 20 to 40 minutes of driving, and the transmitter has a speed switch for a beginner.
- Size:
- 1:16
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushed motor
What it does well
- Real four-wheel drive, ball bearings and independent suspension at a price that usually buys none of them
- Two batteries in the box, which is the difference between a long afternoon and a short one
- Every part carries a number in the manual and can be ordered separately — most toy brands offer nothing
What it does badly
- Parts are HAIBOXING-only — nothing sits on the shelf at a local hobby shop
- Quick enough to break things, and the plastic is not Traxxas plastic
- The steering servo is the usual weak point at this price
Specifications from the HAIBOXING 16889 listing specification.
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Product photo via Amazon.
#3 · Yard use, ages 5+
BIFYTON All-Terrain RC Truck
The toy-grade truck that actually copes with grass, and two batteries mean the run time beats the category norm.
7.9/10our score for this use
Deep-tread tires and independent shock absorbers, which is what separates a car that can leave the patio from one that cannot. It is a 1/18 scale rear-wheel-drive truck with a brushed motor, quoted at 20 km/h, and BIFYTON puts two rechargeable packs in the box at about 30 minutes each. The remote takes two AA cells, included.
- Motor:
- toy-grade motor
What it does well
- Handles grass, mud, sand and dirt, where most toy-grade cars bog down
- Two batteries in the box at roughly 30 minutes each — far more than a cheap RC car manages
- Independent shock absorbers take the sting out of curb drops and bumpy lawns
What it does badly
- Toy-grade internals: snap a wheel mount and there is no part to order
- Rear-wheel drive only, so deep grass and loose sand still beat it
- No parts network at all, unlike the hobby brands
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Product photo via Amazon.
#4 · Most speed per dollar
MJX HYPER GO 16213
A brushless motor at a price that normally buys a brushed one — very fast, and more car than a young child should have.
8.4/10our score for this use
Brushless means the motor has no wearing carbon brushes inside: more power, less maintenance, and a much higher price historically. MJX put one in a 1/16 off-road truck with a matched speed control, four-wheel drive through sealed gear differentials, independent suspension at all four corners and an injection-molded chassis. It runs on a standard 2S LiPo, so run time is whatever pack you buy.
- Size:
- 1/16
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushless motor
What it does well
- Brushless power and sealed gear differentials at a price that used to buy neither
- Genuinely fast — this is the one that impresses a teenager
- Takes standard 2S LiPo packs, so a second battery is cheap and easy to find
What it does badly
- Too fast for a young child. Below about twelve it is frustrating rather than fun
- Parts come through MJX sellers, not a hobby-shop shelf — a broken part can mean a wait
- Speed and light weight are a bad combination on hard surfaces; it breaks front suspension arms
Specifications from MJX's HYPER GO product pages.
#ad — how we earn · price as of November 12, 2026
Product photo via Amazon.
#5 · Indoor crawling
Axial SCX24
Under eight inches long, four-wheel drive, and it turns a living room floor into a trail.
8.6/10our score for this use
A 1/24 scale crawler — smaller than a shoe — sold under several licensed bodies, including the Toyota 4Runner stocked here plus Jeep, Chevrolet C10 and Dodge Power Wagon versions. It is a complete ready-to-run package with a Spektrum radio, a LiPo battery and a charger included, and it crawls over table legs, stairs and garden rockeries at walking pace.
- Size:
- 1/24 (8-9 inches, depending on body)
- Drive:
- Full-time 4WD
- Motor:
- brushed motor
What it does well
- Small enough to use indoors year-round, which no other hobby-grade car on this site can claim
- Slow, so crashes barely exist — the failure mode is tipping over, not breaking
- A huge aftermarket of upgrade parts if the hobby sticks
What it does badly
- Tiny. If the person you are buying for wanted something impressive to look at, this is not it
- Not fast, and it never will be
- The included battery is small, so a spare pack is an obvious early purchase
Specifications from Axial's own brand site.
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Product photo via Amazon.
#6 · A first-ever remote
Liberty Imports Toddler RC Cars 2-Pack
Two cartoon cars with steering-wheel remotes a two-year-old can actually hold — a race car and a police car in one box.
8.2/10our score for this use
These are toys, not hobby cars, and that is the point. Each remote is shaped like a steering wheel with big buttons instead of a trigger and a wheel, so there is no fine control to learn. They honk, play music, light up their headlights, and come with removable driver figures. The box holds two cars and two remotes, which solves the sharing problem on the day.
- Motor:
- toy-grade motor
- Maker’s age guide:
- 18 months and up
What it does well
- Button control is about as simple as remote control gets — no trigger technique, no proportional steering
- Light and slow enough that hitting a baseboard is a non-event
- Two cars and two remotes in the box, so siblings are not taking turns
What it does badly
- It is toy-grade: when a wheel or the gearbox goes, there is no spare part and the car is finished
- Indoor and smooth surfaces only — the small wheels stop dead in grass
- Children grow out of them quickly. Expect a year, not five
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Winter is harder on RC cars than people expect
- Batteries deliver less when cold. A pack that runs 25 minutes in July may run 18 in December. Keep it indoors until you use it.
- Wet grass ends non-waterproof cars. If the car will be used outdoors in winter, waterproof electronics are close to essential — see our waterproof picks.
- Salt and grit are hard on bearings. Dry the car after a wet run; five minutes prevents months of noise.
- Indoor options exist. A 1/24 crawler turns a living room floor into a course, which is a real advantage in a December gift.
Buying for more than one child?
Two cars on 2.4GHz radios will not interfere with each other, so racing is genuinely possible — this is one of the better arguments for buying two mid-priced cars rather than one expensive one. Avoid old 27MHz toy radios, which do clash. More on this in what else you need.
How we picked
Weighted first by whether the car can be driven the moment it is unwrapped, then by winter suitability, then by our usual criteria. Package contents are taken from each manufacturer's own listing — see our methodology page.