PROS

  • The truck has a great mix of price and value.
  • The TR-4 Sport is easily the best truck in the TR-4 series.
  • It has plenty of upgrades that can improve the overall experience even further.
  • The truck is a great choice for both newcomers and experienced RC truck enthusiasts.

CONS

  • If you’re a hardcore trail runner, you may prefer lower gearing or a 2 speed transmission found in the original TRX-4
  • The on-road performance is subpar compared to off road performance.

If there is one name that is a synonym for constant quality in the RC vehicle market, that is certainly Traxxas. These guys know what they are doing! They never fail to impress and, we can safely say, all of their products possess supreme quality. The key to their success lies in the fact that they always pay attention to what their customers want. Even if a particular aspect was close to perfection in some of their previous products, they will seek to improve it in the later releases. That is, indeed, the best approach!Traxxas’ RC trucks are, undoubtedly, the best RC trucks on the market. One of the hottest picks at this point in time is the TRX-4 Landrover. While this truck is nothing short of outstanding, Traxxas managed to impress everyone once again. They’ve launched the TRX-4 Sport in May 2018 and, ever since that moment, RC enthusiasts got another superb toy to play with.With revolutionary new technology and highly sophisticated design, TRX-4 Sport is one hell of an RC truck! But, how good is it, really? Does it have any major flaws? Is it expensive? We will answer all of your questions in the lines below. We will cover all the basic features of this lovely truck and we will try to give you an overview of what the actual driving experience feels like.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

So, what are the key innovations?

What makes Traxxas TRX-4 Sport different from the original TRX-4? Moreover, what makes it different from other Traxxas RC trucks? This is what we will discuss in the lines below.The first thing we have to mention is that this truck comes with a single speed transmission. With this feature on, the TRX-4 Sport offers slightly more wheel speed than its competitors. Another thing to note is that the diffs are locked permanently. In the TRX-4 Landrover (and any other truck from the TRX-4 series), you can lock and unlock the differentials according to your preferences. But, that’s not the case here. From our perspective, having permanently locked diffs is a positive advantage for beginners. Why? Well, it’s a much more user-friendly concept and it keeps the price down. Many people end up driving their trucks with fully locked differentials anyway but, the truth is, the remote locking feature in the original TRX-4 is pretty darn amazing. For beginners or dedicated rock crawling, locked offers the best performance and you don’t have to think about differentials at all!

Another key innovation is in the remote controller. While you may expect to see a 4-channel TQI,  the TRX-4 Sport’s controller comes with 2.4 TQ 2 channel. The difference is very obvious as the range is slightly improved compared to some other Traxxas trucks and the control itself is much more effective as well.

Did the body change?

Another thing we have to note is that the body got some major improvements as well. Actually, this is where Traxxas dedicated most of their attention while building this lovely truck. All previous TRX-4 trucks were SUVs, but this one comes with quite an aggressive front grill. You will even get a very nice set of stickers that you can use to make your truck look better. You can also upgrade the body by purchasing some wheel wells. This decision is highly optional, but we you should consider getting some wells because, at the of the day, you can only get even more functionality.

​And what about the price? Is it fair?

The price is actually the most surprising factor when it comes to the TRX-4 Sport. One would expect that a truck of this quality would be slightly more expensive but, luckily, that’s not the case. The street price is extremely fair for a truck of this caliber. Of course, some sellers may lift the price a bit but, nonetheless, the key point is that you are getting one hell of an RC truck for a very reasonable price. And that’s the most important thing here!

Let’s take a look at the build

The build of each RC truck is the single most important aspect that one should look into so, naturally, it deserves a separate section.The TRX-4 Sport comes with a very unique front bumper. The nearby winch can be removed (as it is completely non-functional) in case you want to set up an operable version of this amazing truck.When you look at the build from above, you can notice that the chassis is very roomy. Why is that? Well, no servos are required. Typically, you would need a total of three servos to control the T-lock diffs and the High/Low transmission. But, that’s not the case here – you can install the servos (as well as other additional parts) only if you need them as, technically, you will get them as a part of your upgrade kit.As you can expect, the receiver box is completely sealed but, thanks to a rubber plug, you can easily reach the link button whenever you need it. You can extend or retract the rock sliders by 5 mm on each side to fit the aftermarket body.Speaking of the transmitter, we should say that the TRX-4 Sport comes with a TQ transmitter without the usual Cruise Control Capability. From our point of view, you don’t really need this addition but, if you really want it, you can get one via Traxxas’ own Power-up Program on their website.As all TRX-4 RC trucks have the same XL-5 HV 3S speed control, you can (once again) choose between several different modes – Training, Sport, Race, Crawl, and Trail. So, as you can see, both experienced RC enthusiasts and newcomers alike will be able to use TRX-4 Sport in a very effective way. We should add that Sport mode doesn’t use any additional drag brakes, so, in that mode, you’ll need to rely on the motor’s natural drag. On the other hand, Trail mode increases the intensity of the truck’s drag brakes while Crawl mode sets their intensity to 100%. Basically, whenever you let off the gas, the brakes’ intensity will instantly jump to 100%. Different modes come with different behaviours.Most of the decals are already applied, but you will need to take care of the fender flares on your own. You may have small issues to install them properly, but it will pay off in the end. Black flares look amazing! Of course, you can paint them differently if you like and you can even add some extra pieces of vinyl to make the whole build even more attractive.Lastly, we should also add that the TRX-4 Sport has the same wheelbase as Bronco (12.3 inches /312 millimeters) and, at the same time, which means that it’s 20 millimeters shorter than Defender’s and Tactical’s wheelbases.Now that you have a good overview of the build, let’s examine the features.

The Features

​The tires

So, what can you expect from the tires? Well, the TRX-4 Sport’s tires are pretty much identical to the tires that we can see in other Traxxas’ trucks. So, from that aspect, there’s nothing new to see here. You will once again get Canyon trail 1.9-inch tires that do the job pretty well in various different circumstances. There is one exception though – these tires have no 5-spoke wheel design. But, even despite that, you can expect the tires to work well in both sticky and non-sticky situations.

The ​Power

Obviously, we can’t conclude this review properly if we don’t mention the power itself. So, as usual, in order to determine whether TRX-4 Sport is powerful enough, we need to look at the engine. And, as this lovely truck comes with 21T Titan 550, you can safely say that you’ve got a real beast to look at!Undoubtedly, TRX-4 Sport is one of the most powerful RC trucks on the market and it’s capable of delivering high-quality performance on virtually any terrain. Even if you drive the truck on very uneven and/or muddy terrains, it will still have enough power to cope with this situation easily.And, if you need to change the motor for whatever reason, the good news is that you won’t have to spend countless money to do so.

​The radio

What would a Traxxas RC truck be without a proper radio? The other TRX-4 trucks came with 2.4 TQ 2 channel but, in this case, you will see a standard 2.4 TQ. Why is that the case? Well, the best explanation we can provide is that due to the lack of 2-speed transmission as well as un-lockable diffs, there is no need for a TQ 2 channel. Is the truck any worse because of that? Not at all! In fact, you can only benefit from the fact that the radio is extremely easy to set up. You can literally bind the radio to the receiver in the blink of an eye!

The vulnerability

How vulnerable is the TRX-4 Sport? Are the parts prone to breaking? After some extensive testing, we can confirm that the truck is very stable and it can withstand some pretty heavy damage. Of course, you should certainly avoid risky situations as much as possible but, in general, the TRX-4 Sport has a very tough construction and it’s not easy to break it.So, durability is really strong with this one!

How does it feel like to own the TR-4 Sport? Is the experience positive?

Obviously, if the overall experience is not positive, the truck is simply a failure. An RC truck can have thousands of different features but if it doesn’t perform well in practice, you shouldn’t buy it at all. How does the TRX-4 Sport fare in that regard? Pretty good we can say!Let’s take a look at some key parameters so that you can get a better overview of the whole experience:

​The on-road performance

Overall, TRX-4 Sport performs marvelously in off-road conditions, but not as great in on-road conditions. That being said, as long as you drive it reasonably, you shouldn’t have any issues whatsoever. But, as a precaution, you may want to avoid driving in on-road conditions for longer time periods as your tires may get worn out quickly. But, as we said, if you pay attention, you can safely ignore what we’ve written in the previous sentence.

​How does the TRX-4 Sport fare in the grass?

The grass is a huge issue for many RC trucks but, luckily, that doesn’t apply to the TRX-4 Sport. The TRX-4 Sport has more than enough power to cope with any kind of grass so, if you’re making a list of potential hazards that you need to avoid, you can safely remove grass from that list.

​The jumping

The jumping experience is pretty good here. You won’t be breaking any world records, but you will certainly enjoy the air time that you will get with this truck.

​The ​​Tuning

The turning radius is surprisingly good. You will be surprised when you see all the sharp turns that you can make with the TRX-4 Sport. While the servo itself could’ve been better, the turning is top-notch and we can safely conclude that Traxxas nailed it when it comes to this aspect.

In conclusion

Traxxas TRX-4 Sport is easily the best Value in the TRX-4 series. Furthermore, it may very well be one of the best Traxxas trucks overall. There is always room for improvement, but the key point is that Traxxas delivered yet another RC truck that everyone can enjoy.

If you decide to give it a try, you certainly won’t regret it!