Review - Kyosho Mad Van VE Brushless Monster Truck

Mad Van VE Batteries

Now the Mad Van VE is a part of the Kyosho ReadySet series, so the van comes out of the box assembled with electronics, with the body painted and detailed.  The included transmitter is also pretty nice but requires four AA batteries and the van also requires a battery.  A 6-cell NiMh battery will work, but to take full advantage of the brushless power, a 2S LiPo battery is needed.

Mad Van VE Classic Chrome Finishes

Below the front headlights and grill is a new chrome bumper, made from hard plastic.  Above the windshield is another new scale detail for the van and it’s the visor.  This piece is again a hard plastic detail that’s secured to the inside, and when you flip your lid and skid, it helps protect the lexan body.
Another new piece are the side mirrors in a chrome finish, and they look just like the mirrors included with the Kyosho Mad Crusher, which is a big-old, knarly 1/8 scale nitro monster truck.

Mad Van VE Classic Scale Design

This graphic detail continues to the back of the body only breaking around the hard plastic realistic taillights.  These taillights are LED ready, but need the Kyosho led kit to function, just like the headlights.  Also, just below those taillights you can see there is another hard plastic chrome rear bumper, just like the one in front. 

The last piece of detailing for the Mad Van are the plastic roof racks, which look realistic while also helping protect the body when sliding on it.  These parts, along with the windshield visor, are a nice touch to help prolong the life of the body when bashing. 

Pro Tip: “If you want to pop wheelies, we found more rough and abrasive surfaces to work best at delivering the needed traction. Our parking lot here at Amain Hobbies was sealed up recently and the surface is slick and smooth with little traction, and we could not get the VE to pop a wheelie. We’ve had issues getting other RC’s to wheelie here too, so it’s not uncommon. ”

Driving the Kyosho Mad Van VE

When you find the right surface for popping wheelies, the VE is happy to deliver. We were able to pop from a dead stop and while in motion. Holding the wheelie is another story, and a test of your driving skills.
In loose dusty conditions, the van is tough to keep pointed straight like many kits, but a little easier thanks to our understeer. However, if you punch it full throttle, you’ll probably lose control. So, in these low traction conditions, it’s best to be mellow on the throttle to stay in control.

Wow look how dusty this thing is!

Since we just happen to be at our Silver Dollar RC Raceway, let’s try some jumps, but first, can we backflip the wallride? On the controls is Amain employee Jonah while I film. Without any water on the track, it’s loose and slippery, but we’re only here to try some jumps, and the Mad Van VE is able to catch some big air here without breaking.

Next, let’s try the oval track…

Surprisingly, the Mad Van VE is awesome on this oval and the tires hook up surprisingly well, also making a cool screeching sound when you throw it in the turn hard. Going back to our understeer, it’s really allowing us to drive the van easily. In the turns, you just have to lift for a moment to settle the front end, make your turn and get back on the gas. In the end, we finished up our driving with this sweet backflip. “No, I said sweet backflip!”