http://www.amazon.com/Control-Tri-Band-Off-Road-Crawler-Monster/dp/B0044T6CZK/ref=pd_sim_t_1This is a good starter vehicle, can handle grass, dirt roads, regular roads, carpets (all types) and will actually do what you expect an R/C truck to do. This is one of the early ones we got for our eldest. He has since saved up allowances and B-Day monies and paid for a larger/faster/better one for over $100. But, before he bought that one, he played with the Rock Crawler quite often. The only negative to this model is that it does not use a rechargeable battery packs...it uses AA batteries. We ended up buying rechargeable AA's to go with this device which can be an advantage because you can always go get more batteries.
Also, with the 4x4, it WILL crawl over nearly everything...this is a great first R/C.
Also, it is currently on sale at Amazon for $53.99...normally $69.99.
Now one last thing...we did initially start with a simple $25 R/C car. Due to where we live, out in the rural areas, the car was limited to inside on tile floors, the oiled down gravel road out front and the flat dirt road areas. The minute it hit any hill, any incline, it failed. Considering we live in an area with abundant wood trails, inclines, grasses, dirt, rocks, etc...this limited where he could take the car. The Road Crawler was everything he could want and he was able to drive it nearly everywhere.