► Incredible fun and good value
► Tricky to upgrade due to design
► So, is it a toy or a hobby machine?
CAR's Rating: 4/5
People were pretending not to notice in that British, socially awkward way as the FTX Ravine trundled along the park path. Utterly caked in mud, the Ravine looked so triumphant and pleased with itself, much like a Jack Russell would after a mud bath.
Water had leaked from the sky that morning in a drizzle. The droplets pooled together on leaves to create beads that, in turn, congregated beneath the trees as brown puddles. It was no day for dog walkers, but it was a day for the FTX Ravine. Let us introduce you.
This £100-or-so model is a bit of a cheapie in rock crawler circles. Rock crawlers aren’t toys, or so we’re told. These are serious machines for proper hobbyists and the only thing separating rock crawlers from full-sized Land Rovers and Toyota Land Cruisers is the scale and lack of interior.
In terms of ability, they’re just as hardcore. That’s all very well but it’s hard to take a truck the size of a small dog seriously, or maybe it’s just this one. Maybe the Ravine is unique among rock crawlers in that it’s intentionally a bit silly.
Relatively cheap and deliberately daft can set an excellent foundation for a vehicle, as long as it’s still made properly. It’s this combination of fun and quality that made the Suzuki Jimny so universally loved. Though, unlike the Jimny, I was a bit sceptical about the Ravine. It looks a bit tacky toy store, certainly compared to that titan of rock crawlers, the Traxxas TRX-4.
But over the course of our demanding seven-month testing, the Ravine repeatedly emerged from the trees under its own steam, having been smothered in wet mud or having rolled down rock faces.
Granted, it mostly employs plastic where others may use metal but nothing has gone awry, which is quite surprising. There is substance where it ought to be: a twin-rail-style chassis, oil-filled shock absorbers, four-link suspension front and rear, waterproof components, beadlock wheels, and a pair of decent steering servos and motors. Pair? Yes, welcome to the fun.
Mud plugging
So yes, it had rained that morning, which turned the dirt trail the colour and texture of smashed chocolate mousse and given it a rich earthy smell to boot. The Ravine couldn’t get enough of it. While its top speed is modest, the Ravine could certainly maintain it in the mud; it just jiggles around as it scampers over the top.
Even when it needed to climb slippery banks the Ravine kept going without issue, the combination of excellent 2.2-inch tyres and low-speed torque pay healthy dividends. It would then career back down again without falling over.
Annoyingly, the Ravine doesn’t have enough punch to indulge in skids, but it can somewhat make up for it. In a clearing where paths crossed and many boots had stirred up a quagmire, the Ravine chased its tail with the steering mode set to front and rear opposite lock. With front wheels only, the turning circle is generous (big wheels, four-wheel-drive, etc.) but with the rears helping too, the Ravine pulls something along the lines of a doughnut. A bagel, maybe.
After about an hour of mud plugging, the Ravine was mostly mud and therefore I didn’t feel like carrying it back, so I let it carry itself. It drove some of the ways back, out of the trees and along the path with the socially awkward people. It continued along the river towards town. It kept going into town, along the main road, past the train station and up to our street.
In short, it drove itself all the way home. That distance was well over two miles, plus whatever distance it had covered whilst digging around in the mud. That’s quite impressive from a little 1500mAh battery.
On the rock wall
Read more: Rock crawler group test
The Ravine’s solo session came after its school athletics day with other rock crawlers. The Ravine didn’t excel in the sprint, it came fifth out of the six 1:10-scale machines present. However, it embarrassed the much more expensive models on the rock climbing wall by being the first one to scrabble its way to the top. Not a bad effort from what was by far the cheapest model in the test.
Among the rocks and the tree roots, the Ravine was a class act. There’s no question that its relative value made it all the more impressive; but even so, the angles of articulation, the steering modes, the amazing approach angles, these all came together in harmonic unison to allow the Ravine to dance up and down the gnarly slope until the battery ran flat.
The ground clearance is so-so at 45mm, but the massive articulation makes clambering over the uneven ground a doddle. The only other rock crawler that was capable of such antics was the FTX Mauler. The rock crawlers with more realistic bodies (including the officially licensed Traxxas TRX-4 Bronco) could not afford to be so cavalier because their taller bodies made them less stable.
The downsides
On any open piece of ground, you are left wanting more speed. That would be a desire soon fulfilled by upgrading the motors but the twin motor design makes it very difficult to modify the Ravine. Thus, you have to be content with medium speed.
Modification is a massive part of the hobbyist’s love of rock crawlers and taking that away does put the Ravine at serious risk of being labelled a toy rather than a proper hobbyist’s machine. But if that’s the way the jury leans, it doesn’t change the fact that the Ravine is still capable of making the expensive rock crawlers look unnecessarily so.
In addition to modification difficulties, be warned that if you do take a Ravine out in the mud, cleaning it afterwards sucks. With a Jack Russell, you can just hose it down, whereas you need to get the mud out of all the little crevices in the Ravine’s chassis. And there are many, many crevices. It’s like scrubbing an old elephant.
Verdict
The FTX Ravine is like a perfected sirloin steak. It’s not the best cut of beef, but when cooked right it can taste exceptionally good. Rock crawler enthusiasts won’t be interested in the Ravine because they can’t modify it, and that’s fair enough.
However, the FTX Ravine is the best rock crawler for those who are after something capable, fun, and affordable. And that is most of us, to be honest.
| Specs | |
|---|---|
| Official price | £114.99 |
| Motor | 2 x 380 electric motors |
| Weight | 1.75kg |
| Dimensions (L/W/H) in mm | 440/230/275 |
| Ready to run? | Yes, comes with battery and charger. Radio controller needs 3 x AAs |
Replacement parts are easily available on Amazon, which is unusual for a high-quality model like this.