A Guide to Selecting a Kids' Electric Car

When looking for kids’ electric cars, you’ll notice that many specify “ride-on”. Maybe that’s because it’s hard to believe that these cars that are such exact replicas of a Lamborghini or Mercedes Benz can actually be driven by a child! They can allow your child to develop their coordination skills, as well as teach them the basics of steering, and going forward and in reverse. These electric cars can also be driven by remote control, without requiring the child to do anything. That makes them a great option for toddlers as well!
You’ll see a lot of variety among kids’ electric cars. As we mentioned, some are sports cars and luxury cars. Other electric cars can function as a tractor or as a dump truck. And others try to duplicate all-terrain vehicles, being able to travel on grass, dirt, or gravel. Many have more cool features, such as a horn, side-view mirrors, or being able to play music and even FM radio! Let’s see some of the exciting options out there!
Types of Kids Electric Cars
Looking at the Best Reviews Guide list of kids’ electric cars, you’ll see a number of options that are amazing replicas of full-size vehicles:
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Trucks and Off-Terrain vehicles: These are patterned after 4-wheel drive, off-terrain vehicles. Best Choice Products makes a 2-seat Land Rover as well as a truck, which is capable of traveling on grass and hills as well as pavement.
Best Choice Products Land Rover and Ride-On Truck
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Sports cars: You’ll even see sports cars for kids, such as Tobbi’s Lamborghini Sian. It’s a single-seater car with spring suspension and plastic wheels.
Tobbi’s Lamborghini Sian
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Tractors: Peg Perego makes a series of tractors patterned after John Deere products. They make a tractor with a tractor with a trailer that you can hitch up, as well as a crossover utility vehicle (XUV) that can serve as a dump truck!
Peg Perego’s John Deere Gator XUV and Tractor with Trailer
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Luxury cars: You can even find kids’ electric cars fashioned after luxury cars, such as Tobbi’s Mercedes Benz Maybach. It has a dual motor design, which will allow it to handle all types of terrain, including gravel, bricks, and asphalt.
Mercedes Benz Maybach
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Bumper cars: There are also bumper cars, which are also able to spin 360 degrees. They are equipped with similar safety features as the other electric cars that we looked at, such as parental remote control, safety belts, and anti-flat tires. An example is the Kidzone 12 V Ride-On Bumper Car.
Kidzone 12 V Ride-On Bumper Car
What reviewers say
We went over some customers’ impressions of the electric car that they bought for their child. Here are some of the things that they mentioned:
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Assembly: The cars will typically require assembly. Most customers say that reading the instructions and assembling the car takes around 30 minutes (even though the assembly video is around 5 minutes). It’s advised not to use a power screwdriver. This is because the cars are typically from plastic, and driving a screw into them with too much force may strip the screw or ruin the plastic.
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Music: Many of these cars allow you to play music as well, with Bluetooth connectivity, which will allow you to stream content from a smartphone or tablet. Some, like the Costzon Ride on Car, even have room for a TF memory card or USB flash drive with music stored on it.
Important Features
Here are some features that are worth looking for when selecting an electric car for your child:
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Battery life: You’ll see that some cars use a 6 V battery, while others use a 12 V battery. The battery with the higher voltage will also provide you with more riding time on a full charge. For example, the Best Choice Products Kids Ride on Truck has a 12 V battery, and will give you 2 hours of riding fun. It also has a handle in the back, so that you can grasp it and pull it (like a suitcase on wheels) if the battery should happen to die on you after your child has driven it around.
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Maximum weight allowance: You’ll notice that some electric cars are single-seaters, while some can allow for two children to ride at once. Pay attention to the maximum weight allowance. The Moderno 2-Seater Truck has a weight allowance of 100 pounds and is suitable for children ages 3-6.
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Safety features: These electric cars are equipped with a number of important safety features. We’ll treat some of the features common to all vehicles, as well as some of the outstanding ones:
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Headlights and taillights: Many of these cars have headlights and taillights. You probably won’t want your child driving around at night, but it is a good safety feature during low-light conditions, such as at dusk.
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Remote control: All of the electric cars for children have a remote control that allows you to go forward, reverse, or stop, as well as turn left or right. Most cars have a remote priority function, meaning that the remote control will override the car’s controls at any time. That way, you can stop the car if you see that your child is doing something dangerous, like going into the street or hitting your neighbor’s car! The remote control typically has a range of 100 feet.
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Safety belt: All of these cars are required to have a safety belt. But some are more secure than others. The Tobbi Licensed Lamborghini Sian has a 3-point safety belt, while their Mercedes Benz model has a 5-point adjustable safety belt (with a shoulder strap).
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Soft start/stop: Another safety feature in many of these cars is a “soft start/stop”. This way, the car gradually starts moving, or stops gradually, so as to not lurch the child forward or backward.
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Locking out higher speed: You’ll notice that some cars have only 1 speed, while others have 2 or 3 speeds. But, maybe you don’t want a toddler going at the highest speed. For that purpose, the Peg Perego John Deere Gator XUV allows you to lock out the higher speed of 5 mph, so that your child can only travel at 2.5 mph.
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Final Verdict
We surveyed some of the kids’ electric cars available from the big toy makers, such as Peg Perego, Tobbi, Costzon, and more. Some are equipped with amazing things such as suspension and four-wheel drive, as well as the ability to play music while driving. There are electric cars for kids out there that can give you as much as five years of use before you hand them down to your next child. Check these electric cars out today!