WLToys K969 Full Review! Unbeatable Value for Money?

Now that I got finally got the WLToys K969 RC Drift Car, I can write out a more detailed review about it.

History
As previously stated the near-micro RC is not new to me, I have dabbled in the 1:28 scale RC cars before in the form of the Kyosho Mini-Z. Previously I had the Takata NSX and the Mazda RX-7 Mini-Zs. Back then the Mini-Z all-wheel drives were not yet out, and the Mini-Zs only consist of rear-wheel drive chassis, either rear mounted motor or mid-mounted motor. Essentially it was the Kyosho MR-01 chassis that is rear mounted, and the MR-02 is mid-mounted as I recall it.

When I saw this WLToys being reviewed online I was hit by nostalgia on the Kyoshos which I had sold off so many years ago. Looking into it in more - this was not only inexpensive and had fully proportional steering and throttle, but also had a much more advanced chassis setup: All-wheel drive, alloy chassis and brace, wishbone and independent suspension on all four corners (something the Mini-Z did not have until the later AWD models - and those aren't exactly inexpensive), metal bearings instead of bushings, upgradeability with plenty spare parts and compatibility with some Mini-Z and other 1:28 scale RC parts. This one looked like a winner in my eyes.

So I made an order, not expecting it to be mind-blowing. Just something to pass the time if we ever go into quarantine lock up imprisonment down again. And so it arrived.

Fresh out of package.

First Impressions
So me & my son took it out of the box and first impressions is that the chassis barely had any flex that I can feel. So that is good news - the chassis is stiff enough and this means a good handling is achievable with tweaks.

Upon further inspection and a test run - it was really impressive. The car is punchy, and quite responsive out of the box. It's also pretty fast - I ran out of space before I could even test the claimed 30km/h top speed on the box. It's amazing how about some 18 years since that RC parts had advanced - much less those from China. This was a dream setup I had from 18 years ago - and at a price point only one could dream about back then! The chassis feels pretty solid as well - as if it won't break immediately on first crash at high speed.

The car comes ready-to-run with all-wheel drive, bearings, li-po battery, metal chassis, independent suspension on all four corners, and even brakes! These specifications are what most hobby-grade RC cars provide as upgrades, and WLToys comes in STANDARD configuration.

So that is the good news.

Here's the negatives - but it is not that much of an issue to be honest. If you are buying this for some fun you may not notice it but being used to the Mini-Zs I thought the handling was OK. This was the result of a few things, and also the suspension seemed to bind. I took it apart and cleaned up the suspension, removed extra plastic flash around joints, added some oil to the moving parts and bearings, and put it back together and it ran MUCH better and much more predictable. So some detailing handiwork is involved to make it EVEN BETTER, but out of the box it is pretty good already for the uninitiated and just want a quick blast.

How low to the ground? 2 coins. Or, about 4mm. Note that the protective cover that I haven't peeled off yet.

The chassis is also very wide and very low to the ground - any sort of unevenness on the a ground that isn't very smooth would bottom out and may affect its handling or beach the car itself. Driving it on my living room floor, which is flat and smooth like most indoor floors, isn't an issue. However, for other people, it may be an issue on carpeted floors with bumps in them, or non-smoothed concrete floors or outdoors. Should ground clearance be an issue, the K969 and K989 is not for you - WLToys has other models in their 1/28 line up with higher ground clearance that would suit your environment, such as the P929 or the P939 trucks.

The K969 comes with drift tires - these tires have basically zero grip to aid in drifting, and the differentials are locked - meaning the wheels turn at the same rate on both sides to further aid in drifting the car and give it that slip-sliding style. The K989 had a conventional differential, and had knobby rubber tires for a rally-style look. The trucks - P929 and P939 are monster truck-style racers with different bodies, and the K999 is a Baja-racer style truck body, all with rubber tires. I assume the differences would not be much - they are the same chassis with some suspension changes, wheels and bodyshell design.

Design
 First the chassis - top notch. all wheel drive and 4 wheel independent suspension with all the spec goodies at this scale is certainly not rare but eyebrow-raising at this price. The switch is placed on top of the chassis, and it means that you would have to take off the body to turn it on, but I find that you can still reach it with a finger through the side of the flexible body shell anyway to turn it on. The battery is strapped by a piece of plastic that uses the same body mount clips to clip it in place on the left side of the chassis, while the motor sits on the right side.

Not the best livery designs.

 Now the K969 body shell. Although not mentioned anywhere the body shell obviously follows a Porsche bodyshape and its design is..  meh. The body shell design is easily the weak part about this car - with poorly done 'liveries' like 'Fast and Furious' and words like 'Vehicle' and 'SHAPPLY' sponsors - so it looked as if they hired a dirt-cheap toy-grade dollar toy designer for its livery instead. If only the livery has more effort put into it. It is easily the worst design of the WLToys 1:28 range as far as I can tell. It also looks to be closer to 1:24 than 1:28, but a larger bodyshell absorbs impacts better I guess.

 But.. I could live with that - just swap it out to a Mini-Z body shell or other compatible 1:28 scale bodies when I get the chance.

Radio Transmitter and Controls
Traditional radio controller with trigger and steering wheel design - but the controller is big, well-built, solid and tough - it doesn't feel like it wants to fall apart. You needed 4 AA batteries in it and that's it. Trim controls are buttons instead of knobs, but the steering trim settings have a memory so you don't have to set it each time. The steering is foam padded for extra comfort, and the grip also has a layer of rubber on it for grip comfort, so holding it for long is not going to be a problem.
The response is quick - steering and throttle respond quickly without any noticeable delay and thus a lag free transmission the car can react quickly to your inputs almost instantly. What you want in a drift car setup.

Upgradeability
This is where the WLToys shine - there are plentiful of parts to replace or upgrade your WLToy 1:28 RC car / truck. Mini-Z AWD rims also will fit, so customising the car is not an issue. With some work and customisation, even Mini-Z bodies would fit.

Value for Money
Through the roof! I personally don't think there is any other product that can come close but I would be happy to be wrong about that. Right now it's a steal at this price point at what is essentially almost 1/10 the price of a Kyosho Mini-Z AWD. The package out of the box will entertain you or your kids without any further upgrades to make it better. Upgrades are entirely optional and for the hard core only. You can run it out of the box as it is and will give you and your family plenty of fun for a very long time.

You can get your K969 here.