RE: about to take the plunge....(MT2 or Jato3.3)
welcome to the hobby from a fellow Canadian!
I would suggest the MT2. it is an awesome truck I used to have one and it was built like a tank. there are also a descent number of hop up parts available for it so you can make it your own and it is pretty fast stock. the jato will be faster and has a 2 speed. I haven't owned a jato but from what I have heard there are some durability issues with it. I have owned a Traxxas revo and it was a nightmare I spent alot more time fixxing it than I spent driving it. and the jato has the same plastic geared tranny. with the mt2 you have a much stronger drive line which has the capability of handling more power. I mentioned that the jato has a 2 speed in it. there is a 2 speed available for the mt2 which would make the top end competative with a jato once you had it geared properly. and then there is the 4 wheel drive. what more can I say? if you are wanting to do some offroading the MT2 is a great truck that you can take on road and ripp as well. you may want to look at a savage as well. I think they are pretty much the bashing kings for off road. and you can find a nice used one for about the same price as a MT2 or almost the same price as a jato new. but if you are only wanting to go fast in a straight line go fo r a jato but from what you described I don't think thats all you are wanting. I have never been a big fan of traxxas products as you can probably tell from this post and there are other people on here who will say the opposite. but I have owned alot of nitro rc's and every hpi product I have ever owned has been better than any traxxas product I have ever owned.
just my 2 cent!
which ever one you descide to go with I know you are going to love the hobby! it is very addicting and can get quite expensive but have fun!!