i have the volcano and tornado xp, from personal experience the volcano is better, i have had no problems with it at all, the tornado on the otherhand has had numerous problems, the transmitter needs to be replaced, i have stripped gears, pullstart broke, clutch spring broke, will either shift too soon or not at all no matter how it is adjusted. All this happened within 5 tanks of fuel including break in. Redcat is sending me a replacement transmitter. I think if not for sheer siplicity the volcano is better for someone new to the hobby, it is plenty fast too.