Ride on cars has been becoming a more popular gift among children for the past few years, combining their touch of adventure with the ability to roam around and pretend to be like mum and dad.
But making the choice, and knowing what you’re buying, can be difficult. Here’s what you should know when you’re buying a ride in a car for your children.
How to choose the best ride on car
There’s a surprising amount of variation in ride-on for kids, but you can divide the differences down into a few broad categories:
- Age: Kids ride-on are created with a target age range in mind. This will dictate who can comfortably fit inside the car, as well as weight limits, and safety. It’s important not to buy a ride on that’s aimed at children either older or younger than your own, as it may be both uncomfortable and unsafe for them to use it.
- Speed: Most ride-on has two or three fixed speed limits, controlled with a simple switch system. Cars aimed at older children obviously go faster but expect speeds between 3mph (a brisk walk) and 5mph (a slow jogging pace.)
- Controls: Simple ride-on might use a single-speed switch and a steering wheel. More advanced models will have full pedals, and perhaps even gears!
A lot of faster ride-on also come with the option for parental remote control, giving you full control over the fun and games, and letting your children get used to things if you choose. - Parental remote control: One thing that can give you a lot of peace of mind is the handy remote control that a lot of electric ride-ons come with. Basically, if you see your child heading towards an obstacle, danger, or even a bump in the path and you don’t want to do an Olympic sprint to grab them, the remote is there to do that for you. Not all kids electric ride-ons have them, but they’re a really useful addition.
- Battery: Battery life is an important part of the fun. There’s no point buying a brand new toy if it only lasts for 5 minutes and causes tantrums. Check both how long the battery lasts, and how long it takes to recharge.
- Safety: Let us face it, you’re buying your child a small vehicle. Safety is important. Whether that’s built-in seatbelts, or simply making sure that they’re observed, make sure that your children are always safe when driving their ride on.
The best ride-on cars for 2022
Ricco Mercedes Maybach G650 Bluetooth Electric Ride Along
Officially licensed by Mercedes, your kids are sure to love the blocky, aggressive stylings of this car as much as you do.
Fully battery powered, the 12V motor can push this to speeds up to 3mph, which is why you’ll be glad to hear that there’s the option for parental controls through a remote control system, especially if your child is a little younger. Older kids will love the realistic foot pedal acceleration and working gear system that cleanly shifts between forwarding, neutral and reverse.
Two seats let more than one child share the fun, with real LED lights, a working horn, and even an MP3 radio that streams through Bluetooth, just like mum and dads!
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Ricco Electic Ride On Fire Engine
If your child’s already a budding firefighter, what better way to help them pursue the dream than with their own fire engine?
At well over a meter long, this is an impressive piece of gear, and that’s without enabling the lights and music. It’s powered by twin motors that push this to a top speed of 3mph, controllable from inside the fire engine, or via remote control if you’d rather take over.
One thing we love about this is how the battery just slots out for charging. This makes it both much easier to charge, and gives you the option to buy a second battery to double the playing time!
Aimed at children between 3 and 6, this has a maximum weight limit of 30kg (65lbs) and comes with its own play kit, including a helmet and working water spray gun!
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Ricco KR5018 Kids 4X4
With its big, chunky wheels, roll cage and sick fire decals, your kids will look like they’ve escaped from Miami beach in this nippy little jeep. The big wheels eat up terrain, no matter whether it’s grass, pebbles, or sand.
This jeep style ride-on has the parental remote control so you can easily take over if you need to avoid any hazards you spot in the park!
It comes in 4 really bold colours too: pink, grey, red and Batman black. There are some great details on this car that really bring it to life and set it aside from a lot of the other 4×4 cars we’ve seen. The metallic wheel rims really stand out and your child will love the working horn sounds, headlights and the doors on each side which open and close.
A brilliant, solid ride on that will impress any child upon seeing it.
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Costway Kids Ride On Jeep
The first thing that stands out about this jeep is how good it looks. Sitting high on its suspension with stunning attention to detail inside and out, this is by far the most realistic looking ride-on on the list.
It’s also large. Around 4 feet long and almost 3 wide, with huge wheels on a full spring suspension system. Twin speeds give your child (and you) options, with a soft start system that comfortably accelerates the car up to speed.
It seats a single child, but because of the size it can happily take kids up to 7 years old and 30kg in weight (65lbs.)
This ride-on is sturdy, easy to use and an ideal first electric ride thanks to its soft-start system.
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Homcom Lamborghini Sian
The sleek lines and distinctive razor edges of Lamborghini are sure to catch the eye of everyone who sees this cruising past. Available in three different attention-grabbing colours, it’s almost as gorgeous as the real thing.
It’s also almost as fast as one, pushing speeds from 2mph up to a speedy 5mph, so this might not be suited for smaller children. But the safety aspects including seatbelts and lockable doors (because of course, it has working gullwing Lambo doors) are great.
LED lights front and back, a battery gauge on the dash, music, horn, and MP3 radio complete the package. Ages from 3 to 5.
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Homcom 6V Electric Ride On Quad Bike
The perfect first ride on, this quad is designed for children as young as 18 months, and will comfortably take them up to 3 years old, at which point they’ll be conveniently old enough for everything else on this list.
A classic quad bike design, it’s equipped with extra-large, heavily textured wheels that are suitable for all-terrain types, whether that’s indoor carpet, grass, mud, stone, or pathways.
It chugs along at a single safe speed, 1.5mph, with simple controls that your child will quickly pick up, but we advise still monitoring them whenever they use this.
The bold, bright looks are sure to appeal. The battery charges fully overnight, offering 45 minutes of playtime off of one charge.
Finally, it’s also very budget-friendly. By far the cheapest ride-on on our list. It takes around an hour to assemble, and we’d recommend you do that rather than pay the £75 fee to have it assembled.
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Costway Ride-on Tractor Trailer
A full ride-on tractor with its own built-in, detachable trailer, if your kids are into garden work or heavy machinery, they’re going to love this.
Two driving modes give you serious control, with the tractor’s steering and pedals, or via remote. Three speeds, LED headlights and warning lights, as well as simulated sounds and MP3 music offer a complete experience.
Suitable for ages 3 to 8, it even comes with a cup holder, so they can learn how to sneak away and take early coffee breaks, an invaluable skill for later life!
Children will have endless finding things to transport around in the trailer that attaches to the back and is included with this ride-on.
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More help choosing the best ride-on for your child
How do I get this ready to give to my child?
If you’re buying a ride-on for an adventurous toddler or young child, it’s often a good idea to open it and get it prepared for them to ride when they see it. Although the box might look cool, the real thing will make a bigger impact.
There are a few things to know about this:
1) They can take more than a few minutes to assemble
Most ride-ons we’ve seen come partly assembled but will require some simple assembly such as attaching wheels, fixing the handlebars in place and adding stickers. It can take up to an hour to build but shouldn’t give you too many problems.
You can often pay a (sometimes hefty) fee to have it arrive assembled but it’s not worth it unless you’re really short on time, or hate putting things together yourself.
2) Initial charge times can be a bit longer than regular ones
You’ll likely also have to charge your child’s ride-on prior to them playing with it. If you’re new to this kind of you, you might get a shock when you read it can take 10-12 hours for the first charge. Subsequent ones aren’t exactly much better and you can expect to charge for 10 hours at a time.
This is a current limitation with children’s electric cars and there’s currently no workaround. We’ve not found a supplier who will provide additional batteries, and they tend to be built into the car’s frame anyway, making it impossible to change.
So yes, you’re stuck charging overnight and using the next day. On the upside, drive time can be 45 minutes up to 2 hours per charge, depending don’t the terrain, incline and child’s weight. Most people find this is plenty of time to go for a walk or have a good drive in the street or garden.
3) It’s worth checking for defects or problems
Another reason to unbox the ride-on early is to check everything is there, and that it’s all working. While your ride-on will likely be fine, there’s nothing worse than giving a gift to a child that doesn’t work. These motorized ride-ons are all from China and due to the fact there’s a lot of moving and electrical parts, it’s worth checking:
- That the ride-on steers correctly
- It actually charges and runs
- The parental remote and other electrical parts, such as the lights, work as they should