This past Labor Day, this RC car by Laegendary (that's not a typo) appeared on one of CNET's best deals lists, and I thought it looked like a decent buy. I wasn't sure I'd want to buy it for the normal price of $124, but it was on sale and my family loves RC cars, so I thought we'd give it a go. I'm so thankful I did, because it turned out to be an awesome purchase.
Now, for Amazon's Prime Day event wrapping up today, you can use Amazon's 25% Prime Day discount and then apply a sweet 20% discount on top of that, using our exclusive code 2020CNETCAR to get this zippy little car for $50 off, or a 41% discount total. (The Prime discount may disappear but the exclusive code is good through the end of the month.) Stacking the two discounts drops the price from $124 to $74.
To get the CNET discount, after you add the item to your cart, tap Enter a gift card, voucher or promo code and then scroll to the bottom and enter the code. Then tap Use this payment method to get the CNET discount.
Here are our other Amazon October Prime Day deals, if you're hunting for bargains.
My family and I have six or seven RC cars at this point, and for the price and size, this thing really slaps. It has two 1,600-mAh, 7.5-volt batteries that can propel the car at around 30 mph for about 40 minutes of driving. The giant wheels -- it's a 1:10 scale car so it's pretty beefy -- let you drive it across grass, sand and tarmac with equal ease.
It also comes with a travel bag for your batteries to charge them safely outside. Lithium polymer batteries are susceptible to heat, so keeping them out of the sun when charging is good. We've been banging around the neighborhood for weeks now, crashing into rocks and other RC cars, and it's taken it all like a champ. I especially like the enclosed chassis as it can run over puddles and wet grass without danger.
When pitted against my $100 Haiboxing car (also discounted right now), it held its own wonderfully. It's the same speed as the Haiboxing car but does feel a little slower as it's much bigger. What it lacks in top speed, it makes up for in torque, though; this thing rears onto its back wheels from a standing start and pushes through even the tallest grass in our neighborhood.
We made a little ramp for it to jump over, and it did great there too, with no damage or stalling at all. The controller is good, with trim and power controls, and the foam grip on the control wheel feels much better than the hard plastic of cheaper models. It has a range of 250 feet too, so you could run it around a circuit without having to worry about a loss of connection.
It was a silly impulse to get another RC car, but I'm glad I decided to do it. It's as good as the more expensive cars we already own and would make a fantastic gift for anyone who loves gadgets. Want something that flies instead? Check out the best drones you can buy right now.