Our Shop just got one of XSS kits released from HPI. (They should be on the streets by the end of the month according to HPI)

We have a personal friend that works for HPI, So we sometimes get perks, This happend to be one of them..
We built this kit, as well as taking a 4.6SS kit (w/ Sav X Conversion), Stock LST2, Mostly Stock MGT, Lighting Pro R, Jammin CRT Pro, to test at our local track, and fav bashing area. While both Savage's where identical for the most part. the XSS seemed to be a bit more ridged. This is mostly becuase it was a brandnew kit. We all loved it while at the bashing area. Tons of wheely power, handles 50x better than the previous chassis setup (.25 RTR/SS). Lightend front end along with huge .28 power makes it tricky to keep on rails, but its do-able. Neather of the other trucks/truggy would hold a flame to the new XSS. For serious bashers, this is "Da-Kine". Bigger Jumps, Faster speeds in short distances. We STONGLY recommend buying yourself a wheelbar, just for the sake of saving yourself from flipping the truck over every time you hit the gas. I think im taking this kit home with me, for my personal collection... It was a blast, this truck is just as strong and durable as ever, and with a better chassis setup and huge power, makes it fun to navagate around jumps/rocks/hills.

After we left the bashing area and headed over to the track, we all had a pretty good idea what to expect since we where running a stock "outa-the-box" savage. Right away you could tell that even with experianced drivers, this truck over-powers our track. (12ft lanes) 190ftx250ft Track surface. While the stock difference between the .25 RTR and this XSS is night and day, really does handle alot better than its previous version on the track. We changed the tires over to a set of crime fighters to help hook-up a little more, and maybe get some of the power down to the track, It helped a bit, but still came the conclusion that this truck is just too powerfull for the track. Many changes would be needed (as with the other savages) in order to have a race ready Savage kit.
The power really needs to be tamed in this monster. We feel that the F4.1 powerplant was alot more resonable for track conditions. Stock shocks where very soft and floopy after a few laps around the track and bashing area. Quick rebuild proved to be benificial, droping lap times by 7sec. consistant avg. (per tank). While we all where looking out for the dreaded half tank lean, We didnt notice it that day. After we got the truck as ready as we could. It was time to see how it handled with the other MT's in our stable.
Savage came in 2nd behind the LST2. I was really fighting that Sav around the track, while on the strats i would catch up and pass, as soon as i had to turn, all would be lost as i struggled to get all that power in a strait line. Needless to say, we didnt even test the Lightning or Jammin along side the XSS.

All in All, this is wonderfull kit. All the great things we loved about the X RTR incorperated into a powerfull SS kit version.

The only really bad thing that i hate about this kit is the same thing i hate on the X RTR. The bumper braces are LAME! We bent 2 pins (1 rear 1 front) while out that day. All becuase of the braces spreading apart on impact of the bumper. A simple Zip-Tie fixed the problem for now. But HPI really should look into this for its next release. I dont know what they where thinking about when they designed those braces... sure its nice to have them just clip-in.. But its not worth bending, or worse, loosing a Suspension arm pin while out in the field....