Thoughts on this RC Car for a beginner?

[RoystonVasey]

Similar to another recent poster, I am starting to research a Christmas present for my 9 year old son. I'd like to buy him an 'entry level' ready to run, hobby grade, car that can be used on tarmac or short-ish grass. I don't think at this point scope for improvements is that important, just something that will be fun, sturdy and reliable.

I found this car, the Carisma GT16MT Monster truck, http://www.modelsport.co.uk/carisma-gt16mt-monster... that appears to be good value, with a brushless motor and 4WD, while also being less than £150 including radio, battery and charger. Although it is 1:16 scale so a little smaller than I was originally considering.

The alternative is the Maverick Strada which was recommended on another thread, http://www.modelsport.co.uk/maverick-strada-xb-evo... . This is 1:10 so I assume will deal with grass a little better, but has a brushed motor.

Any thoughts, guidance, advice on these two options, or something completely different, would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

[RoystonVasey]

Thank you, all, for taking the time to reply. All very helpful, and I think I will steer clear of the smaller model.

I'll take a closer look at the models that have been recommended and decide which one fits the bill best for us.

[RoystonVasey]

After the advice I received to my original request above, I ended up buying a Traxxas Rustler XL-5. I can't yet provide first hand experience of it as it is a Christmas gift. However, it certainly looks the part and judging by the youtube reviews I found, it is waterproof and very sturdy, so should be good for a beginner (in one video the adult reviewer stands on it totally, and it doesn't suffer at all).

I'm was tempted to get my self the vxl brushless version as my xmas gift to myself so we could race......but then I considered that might piss on his chips a bit so will wait a while!