Yokomo RD2.0 Review

The Yokomo RD 2.0 is an entry-level drift car released in 2023, It was, in my opinion, released as a direct competitor for the Reve D RDX, which has proved to be the best entry-level drift car that is available on the market right now.

It has proved to be an incredible seller and has now spawned a large set of upgrades which allow the non-adjustable model to be adjusted for things like camber, toe and track.

Let's see if the RD2.0 can topple the king. The RD 2.0 out-of-the-box comes with adjustability already built in as it comes with adjustable links rather than moulded plastic solid links as per the RDX. In addition to this, it has an adjustable motor mount with several different positions to allow slightly different weight distribution as well as a large range of adjustability for things like camber, caster, toe in and toe out.

In my opinion, this is a much better way to fine-tune a chassis to how you like it to drive, rather than adapting your driving style to suit the chassis dynamics, this is especially important for someone with a bit of experience who is looking for that extra few percentage of gain which can only be achieved with the adjustability the RD 2.0 has. 

In addition to the adjustability the RD 2.0 is also cheaper than the RDX and comes in at a very good price of just over £224 at the time of writing, compared to the RDX which comes in at £249 at the time of writing. This is not to be sniffed at, as the difference in the price could mean the ability to upgrade say the servo or gyro without any extra cost over the same RDX setup.

To start with, the build of the car was incredibly straightforward with all of the parts logically laid out. Tamiya could do with looking at this to change their model maybe slightly, as it was easier than any Tamiya models I've built in the past, also the quality of the plastic moulding on the sprues was incredibly good with very little cleaning up required of the parts after they've been snapped off the tree and then taken to put into the kit itself.

The instructions provided were clear and easy to read and also nice to see was the fact that they'd included a few amendments after feedback from team drivers and non-team drivers regarding changes to the out-of-the-box geometry setup which allowed the model to have a much better initial turning and a little bit more rear grip, which is incredibly useful for the beginners that this kit is initially aimed at.

Let's see how it drives, shall we?

Well, the first impressions out of the box are of a very balanced chassis with great turning and good speed which is quite surprising as out-of-the-box setups tend to be a little slower than tuned setups because they're aimed at a beginner who wouldn't be interested in the speed that the chassis can provide.

The additional tuning advice provided in the manual from the team and non-team drivers has given a slightly sharper feel than would have been present initially with the standard setup which for myself, having some experience at RC drifting is a welcome addition but possibly for a complete novice It may be a little more challenging to grasp the overall concept of drifting whilst dealing with a slightly sharper chassis feels.

Because of this, I would probably be inclined to build the car as per the manual exactly without the additional tuning setup advice if I was a complete novice as this would give you the best chance possible to pick up the intricacies required to master RC drifting, at the same time whilst driving a slightly more forgiving chassis setup. However, as I've chosen to build it in the sharper setup, I will continue to drive it in this configuration.

The Yokomo RD 2.0 has proven to be not only an excellent fun, first proper build in years for me but also a worthy upgrade from my Sakura D5s which whilst it had got me hooked on the hobby of RC drifting had reached its limitations.

I was now feeling the need for an upgrade, and I'm happy that I chose the RD 2.0 over the RDX as at heart I am a tinkerer and do like to change things to see if I can extract the very best possible performance I can get. So overall, I'm thrilled with the RD 2.0 and could heartily recommend it to friends and customers alike.