The MN 99s is a 1:12 scale 4×4 with a Land Rover-style body, proportional steering and throttle, working lights and realistic rubber tyres. It is slow by design, which makes it ideal for gardens, woodland paths and indoor obstacle courses.

Best for: a first crawler, scale-model fans, and younger drivers who are not ready for a fast car. Watch out for: big obstacles. It is a light trail truck, not a rock racer, and a 1:10 crawler will climb things this cannot.

A truggy pairs a buggy chassis with wider arms and bigger wheels, which makes it more stable over rough ground. The HBX 901A is a brushless 4WD example with metal driveshafts and a full set of bearings, and it comes with a 7.4V LiPo and radio. For the money it is hard to find a tougher small truck.

Best for: bashing on rough grass and dirt where a low buggy would bottom out. Watch out for: long, wet grass. At 1:12 the wheels are still small, and the motor works hard when the car is dragging its belly.

Our best-selling car, and the one we recommend most often. The aluminium chassis and oil-filled shocks keep it composed on bumpy ground, the brushless motor makes it properly fast (it is listed at 75 km/h), and spare parts are easy to get. A buggy is the best all-round shape for mixed surfaces, and this is the best value buggy we stock.

Best for: short grass, gravel, dirt paths and BMX tracks, for beginners and experienced bashers alike. Watch out for: ground clearance. It is a low car, so stones and tufts that a truck would ignore will unsettle it.

Big tyres and long-travel suspension let a monster truck drive over ground that stops everything smaller. The Omni-Terminator has a centre differential, steel spiral-cut gears, a gyro for stability and a 5000mAh battery in the box. It is the car on this list we would take to an unknown field.

Best for: parks, rough fields and jumps, and anyone who does not want to think about what surface they are on. Watch out for: rolling over in fast corners. Tall trucks do, and the bodyshell takes the knocks.

A 1:8 buggy is the classic off-road racing shape, and the Pirates3 BX-8E is an affordable way into it. It has a CNC-machined aluminium chassis, 120mm off-road tyres and a 4068 brushless motor, is listed at 90 km/h, and comes with a 5000mAh 3S battery and a charger, so there is nothing else to buy on day one.

Best for: experienced drivers who want the speed and stability of a full-size buggy on open, reasonably smooth ground. Watch out for: the pace. It is very quick and needs a lot of room, and a buggy this low still prefers short grass and dirt to rough fields.

Moving up to 1:8 changes what off-road means. The 9021-V3 is a full-size truggy with a CNC-machined chassis, oil-filled shocks, aluminium suspension mounts and waterproof electronics, and it arrives assembled with a 3S LiPo. Ground that a 1:12 car has to pick its way through, this simply drives over.

Best for: experienced drivers with access to open land who want large-scale performance under £300. Watch out for: weight and speed. A 1:8 car can hurt someone and break itself, so it needs space and a sensible driver.

The KBT SP is a 1:8 desert truck with full-time four-wheel drive, three differentials, hardened steel drivetrain parts and fully adjustable suspension geometry. It looks like a trophy truck and behaves like one, soaking up rough ground at speed with the body rolling and the wheels staying planted. This is the ready-to-run bundle version.

Best for: experienced bashers who want scale looks and a chassis worth tuning and upgrading. Watch out for: the price of entry. It is a serious machine, and batteries and a charger of the right size add to the bill.