In my eyes all HPI's products are easy to work on and drive. The only problems i ever had is the ball cups popin off on mine. That was a quick fix. Just be sure if you have the (.15 FE) keep it cool.
I run an original HPI MT, but it's got mostly MT2 & 18SS parts, everything seems pretty good so far, and the drivetrain is strong, I'm running an OS.18tz and it hasnt shredded it yet. And, I like the MT2 slipper.