Gladiator and the Bronco are both the newest SCX24's and both are fun. I highly recommend getting one, if nothing else they are great fun at lunch time and are perfect travel companions. They also give you something to play with indoors on rainy days. I should get a commission! (SCX24 Pimp!) :)
I think your going to like it a lot. Congrats on a whole new genre of RC addiction. I like having the variety of being able to go tear it up with my bashers, or have a relaxing challenge with my crawlers. Now we need to get you addicted to SCX24's! :)
The good news is that most likely what ever you choose will have a new partner soon after, if your like the rest of us. That means you get to try out more than one brand if you want too. ;)
I swapped the battery tray in the Sendero HD, for the larger one, but think I prefer the smaller tray that I left in the Ecto. The nice thing about crawlers is you get a lot more time out of smaller batteries than you do with the power hungry bashers.
I think you would like the Ecto, it's...
I'm a fan of Element's crawlers, they run well and are budget friendly. I have an Ecto, a Trail Runner, and A Sendero HD. You can check out their line here. Element Rc