I bought my Evader when there wasn't a pro version, and there were also some minor manufacturing issues that led to brittle plastic parts. At this point, it's all graphite and aluminum like the pro version (actually a bit more aluminum), plus I've put a metal gears in the tranny, a metal gear servo, been through who knows how many esc/motor combos, you name it.

I've spent way too much over the past couple years to say it's a good value compared to a stock T4, but a lot of that is spent on replacing all the plastic with graphite after the pro version came out, and a bunch of aluminum, and custom milled tranny gears. I can't complain, though - I enjoy tinkering, and I've definitely had my fair share of that.

If you were to buy the ST Pro today, the main difference is adjustability. The T4 has a lot more tuning options (problem is a lot of young guys aren't quite sure what to do with all the options, but they're sure proud to have 'em) and the Evader's stock tranny is still pretty much junk. If you're gonna make it through a weekend at the track, you'll either need to stock up on idler gears or spend about $100 to make the tranny bulletproof.

The real payoff is this - I like to run a crowd pleazer body (like just about everyone else does) so it blends in with all the xxx-t's, then show the guys that I beat what's under the body.