Whether you're looking for indoor or outdoor fun, from tricycles to balance bikes, there are a plethora of ride-on toy options out there for toddlers. But I discovered one at the recent Toy Fair NY that I had not seen before and, wow, it's really cool, the Original PlasmaCar!!!
I'm pleased to be working with PlaSmart to bring you this review, and also to announce that they've been generous enough to include a PlasmaCar in the $400 value jackpot giveaway I have going on right now!!! Keep reading for our review, and click the link at the bottom to enter to win!
The PlasmaCar is a really unique ride-on toy in that it has no pedals, gears, or motor. It's not powered by feet but rather powered by your hands twisting the steering wheel left and right! It's meant for ages 3 and up (and by up, we're talking up to 220 pounds - so even older kids and parents can get in on the action!!!)
Basically, you sit on, put your feet up, lean slightly foward, and turn the wheel left and right to move forward. If you hold the steering wheel in one direction you'll spin in a circle. If you turn the wheel 180 degrees and then turn left and right, you'll go backwards! It's not hard to figure out, and on a flat smooth surface you can get going up to 6 miles per hour! Check us out in action:
While riding the PlasmaCar doesn't take long to figure out, we had a much harder time putting it together. Instructions included stuff such as hammering pieces into place with a rubber mallet (um who has one of those??) and left us wondering if things were in the wrong spot and we were going to break them by forcing them in. Eeek! Our biggest problem was getting the steering wheel set up, because you have to wrench it really really tight into place or else it won't be engaged enough with the wheels, and you won't go anywhere when you turn the wheel. It took a few tries, but we finally got it set up, and the fun ensued!! If you can find a PlasmaCar already put together, I highly recommend buying it that way! I've set up many strollers where wheels and parts simply clicked right in, super easy, no force or tools required. I hope PlaSmart will consider a redesign in the future to make setup easier. They do have a manual & YouTube video about PlasmaCar assembly, which is a helpful, and maybe my husband and I struggled more than most, who knows. Anyway, it's definitely worth the sweat, it's really really fun for kids and adults alike!!!
A couple of other things to note: it seems to do best on a smooth, flat surface. Think linoleum, tile, garage, basketball court... It's not recommend for hard wood floors as it may mark them up. It does really well in our tiled apartment corridor haha, I'm sure our neighbors love us zooming up and down the hallway! It didn't do too well on our rough uneven sidewalk, and the weight limit actually goes down to 120 pounds when on non-smooth surfaces. It's not recommend for any surface with "give" such as grass, gravel, sand, etc.
PlasmaCar comes in a number of great colors, as a MSRP of $69.99, and can be purchased on Amazon (affiliate link), or you can check here for a local retailer.
Don't forget you can enter to win a PlasmaCar in my $400 value jackpot Spring Goodies for the Kiddies Giveaway, running through April 19!!
Disclaimer: Although I did receive this product in exchange for my honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own and completely unbiased.
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