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
Shock & Servo is reader-supported. If you buy through a link on this page we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes which products we pick or the order we rank them in — the full rules are on our methodology page and our affiliate disclosure.
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.
Best value
BEZGAR HM161
BEZGAR calls it hobby-grade and, unusually at this price, largely means it — and two batteries come in the box.
Best for young children
Kidirace RC Off-Road Car
The toy-grade car that actually copes with grass, and the run time beats the category norm.
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 | |
| 2 | BEZGAR HM161BEZGAR calls it hobby-grade and, unusually at this price, largely means it — and two batteries come in the box. | Bridging toy to hobby | 8.2 | |
| 3 | Kidirace RC Off-Road CarThe toy-grade car that actually copes with grass, and the run time beats the category norm. | Yard use, ages 5+ | 7.9 | |
| 4 |  MJX HYPER GO 16207A 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 | |
| 5 |  Axial SCX24Under eight inches long, four-wheel drive, and it turns a living room floor into a trail. | Indoor crawling | 8.6 | |
| 6 |  Liberty Imports Cartoon RC Race CarA two-button cartoon car with a steering-wheel remote a three-year-old can actually hold. | A first-ever remote | 8.2 |
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#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.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#2 · Bridging toy to hobby
BEZGAR HM161
BEZGAR calls it hobby-grade and, unusually at this price, largely means it — and two batteries come in the box.
8.2/10our score for this use
A 1:16 truck, so roughly the size of a shoebox. BEZGAR states a top speed above 40 km/h — around 25 mph — with four-wheel drive and a rechargeable pack, or two of them on the twin-battery version.
- Size:
- 1:16
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushed motor
What it does well
- Real four-wheel drive and enough ground clearance for grass and gravel
- Twin-battery versions exist, which is the difference between a long afternoon and a short one
- BEZGAR sells replacement bodies and parts directly, which most toy brands do not
What it does badly
- Parts are BEZGAR-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 BEZGAR's HM161 product page.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#3 · Yard use, ages 5+
Kidirace RC Off-Road Car
The toy-grade car that actually copes with grass, and the run time beats the category norm.
7.9/10our score for this use
Bigger treaded tires and some suspension travel, which is what separates a car that can leave the patio from one that cannot. Kidirace quotes around 20 minutes of driving per charge — generous for a toy-grade car.
- Motor:
- toy-grade motor
What it does well
- Handles grass, gravel and dirt, where most toy-grade cars bog down
- Around 20 minutes per charge — roughly double what a cheap RC car manages
- Suspension takes 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
- Heavier and faster than an indoor toy, so it marks furniture if you drive it inside
- No parts network at all, unlike the hobby brands
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#4 · Most speed per dollar
MJX HYPER GO 16207
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 truck and quotes 62 km/h — around 38 mph — on a 3S battery, with metal gears and metal-bodied shock absorbers.
- Size:
- 1/16
- Drive:
- 4WD
- Motor:
- brushless motor
What it does well
- Brushless power and metal drivetrain parts at a price that used to buy neither
- Genuinely fast — this is the one that impresses a teenager
- Metal-bodied oil shocks rather than the plastic friction dampers at this price point
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 page.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#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 as several licensed bodies including Jeep, Ford Bronco, Chevrolet C10 and a Power Wagon. It is a complete ready-to-run package with a small LiPo battery and USB charger, and it crawls over table legs, stairs and garden rockeries at walking pace.
- Size:
- 1/24 (under 8 inches long)
- 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 brand pages at Horizon Hobby.
Illustrative photo — not this exact model.
#6 · A first-ever remote
Liberty Imports Cartoon RC Race Car
A two-button cartoon car with a steering-wheel remote a three-year-old can actually hold.
8.2/10our score for this use
This is a toy, not a hobby car, and that is the point. The remote is shaped like a steering wheel with two big buttons instead of a trigger and a wheel, so there is no fine control to learn. It makes noises, flashes its lights, and comes with small driver figures that pop out.
- Motor:
- toy-grade motor
- Maker’s age guide:
- 3 years and up
What it does well
- Two-button control is about as simple as remote control gets — no trigger technique, no steering wheel
- Light and slow enough that hitting a baseboard is a non-event
- Sounds, lights and removable figures give a three-year-old something to do when the battery dies
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 it quickly. Expect a year, not five
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.