For a beginner, electric would probably be better as they are basically just plug in a battery (or two) and go. A nitro car must be started and often tuned (this can get frustrating especially if it won't fire and you can't figure out why). A good thing to do (if it is financially viable) is to have one of each. I appreciate this may become very expensive.

In terms of modding, both nitro and electric cars can be modified, the only difference between them is the power source, the general workings of the cars are the same (drivelines, diffs, shocks etc).

The range of these cars is normally good, I have personally never conducted a range test, However my cars have still been responding at distances where if i was to drive the car further I would not be able to see it to control it.

My electric car seems to get around 25-35 minutes of run time (5000mah lipos) as compared to my nitro car which gets about 7-10 minutes a tank. However a nitro car can just have the tank refilled for more run time and it should just keep going until the receiver battery dies. An electric car will need to have its batteries charged if they were run down sufficiently and this may take an hour. BTW the cars are the exact same model, just one is electric and one is nitro.

Overall though it just comes down to personal preference, parts availability and price.