All the controllers suppliedwith manufacturer sets (Carrera, Ninco, Artin and Scalextric etc) are next to useless compared to the ones from Companies like Parma, Red Fox Professor motor etc.
One of THE BEST changes anyone can make to their home set is to replace the controllers. Which one to buy is a maze of conflicting and usually personal view points.
What you have to decide on first is the use you will make of them.
If they are simply for homeset use on a small circuit (permenant or changing) and you will only be running the few standard cars you have, then a simple 45 Ohm Parma Economy or even a more basic Red Fox copy will suffice and be 110% better than the ones that came with your set.
However if you play with your cars in the tuning sense and change motors, increase magnets etc etc, or begin to race at a Club level, you will find one controller with one Ohm setting will cease to be enough.
This leads to either multiple Parma like controllers with differing Ohm ratings (for instance a high magnet car will respons alot better to a lower Ohm rated controller)
OR an electronic controller like the silver series Professor motor ones. The advantage of an electronic controller is that it adjusts to the requirements of your car in relation to the current it draws and the current required to get it running.
Of course, as is normal, with variying controllers and set ups you (especially with electronic) get into the wiring nightmare where some layouts are wired in a way that will not work with electronic controllers until a polarity switch is installed or the power base is not suitable for the resistor controller you just bought etc etc.
It is a real minefield that needs homework and research until you are happy to purchase the controller that is right for you.
All the above are entry level controllers and run for about the cost of a new car or maybe two.
There is another level of controller that even less people subscribe to, with the option to vary braking effect, acceleration and even traction control but these are infinately more costly and not for the home user in my experience (check out Ruddock, NSR or the top end PM ones).
SO, I probably made things worse
choice wise but I hope that you will research the options and get the one suitable for you and not waste money on buying impulsively, only to find you need another because it was not right for you.
Fitting wise I would consider getting one with banana plugs fitted and getting adaptors made to suit the plugs at the tracks you will be racing on. Banana plugs are a world wide standard as are the colours used for brake, power and neutral (differs in some countries but all are aware of the differences and can tell you what goes where) Parma wire colours are the most widely adopted, with the Germans having a large following for their colour system. Of course in this, as in many hobbies a standard does NOT mean it is used everywhere by everyone without fail, just that it is commonly known and widely used.
If I HAD to lay out a basic choice for a beginner, based on cost, quality and useability then I would plump for Parma Economy or Professor Motor 2044. Of the others available I find them either lacking in quality, uncomfortable, too heavy or just plain useless.
