Why do you choose these cars? There are better cars in the category you listed, its just a matter of how much you are willing to spend.

My suggestion is go to your LHS and ask them what manufacturer they carry the most parts for and if they have parts for the HPI or any of the cars your mention then go for that.. Its almost inevitable that you're going to break something up in your learning process and you wouldn't want a longer turn around just to replace a broken part.

Most of these cars have the same design that you almost can't tell the diff without the body cover. Reliability/Durability wise is I think subjective, there are ppl who swears that HPI is better than Traxxas and vise versa but its really how you abuse the car that defi its longevity. Maintenance and common sense plays a major part too.. Good luck which ever you decide.

PS. Get the GT2.