Losi Tenacity RC Car Review – Worth It?

I bought the Losi Tenacity on a whim after watching one too many YouTube unboxings, and I fully expected to be disappointed within a week. That did not happen. A few months and several trashed tires later, I finally have enough seat time to tell you exactly what this truck gets right and where it falls short.

👉 Losi 1/10 TENACITY SCT, 4WD, Brushless, RTR with AVC Horizon Hobby

Losi Tenacity - What Is the Losi Tenacity, Exactly

What Is the Losi Tenacity, Exactly

The Losi Tenacity is a ready to run bashing truck built for people who want to twist the throttle the same day the box shows up. No soldering, no separate charger hunt, no reading a manual for two hours before you’re allowed to drive. It comes in both SCT and monster truck style body options, and Losi built its reputation on making trucks that survive the kind of abuse a typical review unit never sees.

I’ve owned a handful of ready to run trucks over the years, including a stint with the MJX Hyper Go that I wrote about a while back, and the Tenacity sits in a different weight class entirely once you get past the price tag comparisons people love to make online.

Build Quality Straight Out of the Box

Pulling the Tenacity out of the packaging, the first thing that stood out was how tight everything felt. No wobbly steering linkage, no loose screws rattling around, no weird plastic smell that makes you wonder what corners got cut. The shocks are pre-filled and actually work instead of just being decorative, which sounds like a low bar until you’ve owned a truck where it wasn’t true.

How It Performs on Dirt, Grass, and Gravel

How It Performs on Dirt, Grass, and Gravel

This is where the Tenacity earns its keep. The 550 size brushed motor isn’t going to win you any drag races against brushless setups, but it delivers plenty of torque for climbing loose dirt piles and plowing through overgrown grass without bogging down.

Speed and Throttle Response

Out of the box, expect somewhere in the mid-20 mph range depending on your battery and terrain. That’s plenty fast for backyard bashing and local lots, though hobbyists chasing bigger numbers will eventually look at a brushless swap. The throttle response feels linear rather than twitchy, which makes it a genuinely forgiving truck for anyone who hasn’t spent years behind a transmitter.

Handling on Rough Terrain

The suspension travel is generous for a truck in this price range, soaking up ruts and small jumps without bottoming out constantly. I ran mine through a rutted-out dirt lot that has destroyed cheaper trucks in the past, and the Tenacity shrugged it off with nothing worse than some mud in the wheel wells.

Losi Tenacity RC Car - Durability After Real Abuse

Durability After Real Abuse

I’m not the gentlest driver, and I say that as a compliment to this truck. Between curb jumps, a memorable tumble down a gravel embankment, and one very unfortunate encounter with a garden hose, the Tenacity has held up better than I expected for its price point.

If you want a sense of how brutal some owners get with their trucks, I covered a similar story with the RC Cars Rustler 4X4, and the Tenacity holds its own in that same conversation about trucks that keep showing up intact no matter what gets thrown at them.

Common Wear Points to Watch

The dogbones and CVDs are the first things I’d keep an eye on if you’re planning heavy jumps regularly. They’re replaceable and inexpensive, so it’s less a flaw and more a heads up for anyone budgeting spare parts ahead of time.

Losi Tenacity RC Car - Battery Life and Runtime

Battery Life and Runtime

Expect somewhere around 12 to 15 minutes of aggressive driving per charge with the included battery. That’s fairly typical for this class of truck, though most owners upgrade to a higher capacity pack within the first month simply because fifteen minutes never feels like enough once you start having fun.

Charging Setup

The included charger works fine for casual use, but if you’re the type who wants back to back runs without waiting around, a separate fast charger and a second battery pack will save you a lot of standing around staring at a blinking light.

Who Should Actually Buy This Truck

The Tenacity makes the most sense for someone who wants a durable, no-fuss truck that survives learning curves and backyard chaos without falling apart. It’s not aimed at competitive racers chasing podium finishes, and it’s not the cheapest option on the shelf either. It sits comfortably in that middle ground where reliability matters more than bragging rights.

If you’re brand new to the hobby and worried about breaking your first truck within a week, this is a reasonable place to start. If you’re already deep into brushless setups and race-tuned suspension, you’ll probably outgrow it fast.


After weeks of driving the Losi Tenacity through pretty much everything my neighborhood could throw at it, I’d call it a genuinely solid pick for anyone who wants a truck that just works. It’s not the flashiest option out there, but it’s dependable in a way that a lot of budget trucks simply aren’t, and that counts for a lot once the new car excitement wears off.

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