If I were to ever own a Traxxas....the Jato would be it. I've heard mixed reviews, but the negative reviews have mainly come from guys that are a little more experienced and thus their bar has been raised, which is understandable.
Are you new to "the hobby"?
Congrats on looking at a nitro! It's a different animal, but those who prefer it are fanatical about it (I am one of them) Running on parking lots can get a little old after a while. The ONLY knock on the Jato (or Traxxas in general) is durability. This is offset, however, by the ability to upgrade it with parts that can make it tough as nails....but at the cost of some speed of course.
Thus, my recommendation is to consider: do you want something fast that you can upgrade later and make tough? Or something tough you can upgrade later and make faster? The Hyper 7 is about $150.00 less than the Jato (and about 20 mph slower. However, check the video below and you can see how tough it is. I've had two (count them TWO) issues with that buggy, and the video below captures only the mishaps I got on TAPE. I've pretty much done everything with this buggy. Now that it has proven its toughness, my goal this year will be to make it at least 30-40% faster.
Regardless of what you get, follow up and post pics, videos of it. I'm sure you'll be proud of whatever you decide!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz3YVNGI-14