PlasmaCar Original Ride On Toy, Plasma Car for Kids, Blue/Red

We bought this as a gift for our two year old grandson. There are a lot of imitations on the market, but I really wanted to go with one that had a track record for durability. He also received a ride-on electric car, but amazingly, he prefers the old school fun of this one. It took him several days to understand that he needed to pick his feet up and use just the steering wheel “wiggle” motion to make it go, but once he caught on, there was no stopping him. He also quickly learned that if he turned the steering wheel around 180 degrees and wiggled it, he went backwards! So let’s go through some of the pros and cons: Pros: * it is a quality made cart. There are no rough edges or burrs anywhere on the plastic * The foot pads are well applied, and I don’t have any concerns with them peeling up * The “wiggle” mechanism is smooth, consistent, and moves the cart each and every time it’s used * The color (we chose red) is bright, bold, and consistent throughout. No blemishes or swirls * The wheels are plastic, but are well made without burrs and have solid metal bearings (we chose to swap out the wheels, which I’ll explain later) * The seat will actually hold two children if you can get them to not argue over who gets to “drive” our two and four year old grand kids get disputes occasionally Cons * My biggest surprise, shock really, was that this did not come in any form of box or packing other than a large plastic bag. I could be mistaken, but everything looked new, and it didn’t look like I was getting a return, so this packing was a huge disappointment. If I hadn’t intended to actually put it together, I could not have gifted this way * The wheels, while well made and perfectly acceptable, would be horrible for indoor use. The are made from a hard plastic, which would make them loud on your floors and likely leave scratches and marks over time We swapped the wheels out with inline wheels made specifically for the PlasmaCar. These made a massive difference in the noise level during use, and leave zero marks on the floors. Other than that, there is nothing I find wrong with the Plasma Car and we and the grandkids love it, which is the whole point!

We bought a couple of these cars about 5 years ago. My kids love them and have been riding when possible since. We have had two more babies since and they are of age now to start - so I bought a couple more. I upgraded the old cars by purchasing roller blade wheels (80/82a) and they fit and worked perfectly. They cut the sound down to nothing and made it possible to ride in the house on tile floors without driving us nuts. But putting them on the front wheels slowed the car dramatically - so I took them off the front wheels and left them on the rear wheels. It still is a 70% reduction in noise and much more stable around corners. The kids are racing them all the time now. The new cars I purchased - the roller-blade wheels do not fit as the wheel wells are thinner. I wish they had left the design the same. ************ Update 12/27/12: Found out that you can purchase super hard roller blade wheels to put on the front of the car. Search Amazon for hyper 84mm hyoctane. When you first put them on - the child will think that it slows the car down - and it will for a little bit - but once they have broken in - they get right back to full speed. Everyone, including the child loves how whisper quiet they become. I recommend replacing all four wheels with these. We also replaced the stock bearings (they come with ABEC 7 bearings) with Bones Reds. Each wheel requires two bearing sets - so you'll have to use the entire package if you replace all four wheels on the car (see below). We determined that you can fit the rollerblade wheels into the rear wheel wells if you drill out the spacers that are in the wheels. You also have to machine out about a mm of the hub of the wheels on both sides to get the white plastic axel holders not to rub against them. Most people won't have access to the equipment to do this - but if you want your sanity - it's worth every penny to find someone who can do it for you. The racing has become super competitive and fun! We've set up a figure eight track on our back patio which only adds to the intensity and risk taking. Sandbaggers can have their cars kicked and we have added lap penalties for touching obstacles or cones or putting your feet down. If you have younger children that want to participate - you can give the serious competitors lap penalties for touching the cars of the younger children. You should see the smile on the younger children's faces as the realize the power they wield as they roam the track with impunity. Imaginations run wild as the kids discuss tricking out their cars with rocket boosters and spring tension rods. If you have girls - get them the pink car with orange butt plates. It's the most popular car.

The cars were up on Amazon's deal of the day and I could not resist with 2 grandchildren ages 3 1/2 and 2. The description was that it can move with or without the use of pedals, just by moving the steering wheel, with little new technology, the little car moves very easily, and can take up to 200 pounds. Well, my 15 year old, 180 pound son put the car together with a hammer, and got on it. Surprisingly, it worked! You can turn on a dime with this thing, so light and so responsive. I bought 2 more that day! The cars were $34 each and I saved them for Christmas. Grandkids, teenagers, and adults were quickly racing around the house! Great ride for everyone! The more you ride it, the faster it gets, for some reason. Now my little grandson can zoom around, using his feet to push, while my granddaughter can do both with or without feet. Do not expect anything high tech. The cars are plastic with metal bolts. They can be inside or outside. I have tiled floors and the cars are great on tile. Do not use them if you are over 40 pounds on hard wood. You will make grooves that won't recover. Kids can bump into each other in a regular speed without getting injured. the engineering for possible collisions is excellent. If your child likes to crash into things around the house, not so great. You may need to put bumpers on the cars. But all in all, well worth the little money and can last for years and everyone can ride them.

Santa brought two of these for Christmas for our 2, 5 and 7 year olds to share. We live in Alaska, so I wanted something for them to do inside in the winter. With a long stretch of hardwood flooring in my kitchen/dining room, this seemed the ticket. What I didn't anticipate was just how MUCH use these would get. Between the three kids, they have them going an hour or two a day. Now, with that much use, and an open floor plan, there are times when I ask them to 'go park their cars behind the couch', so that the rest of us can hear each other. They can be quite noisy. Also, we realized not quite quickly enough that the wheels on these cars will leave groove marks across the oak hardwood flooring when ridden by teenagers/adults. I took the cars out to my garage and used my electric sander to try to eliminate the plastic 'ridge' on the wheels that was marking the floors. I'm not sure if it worked, because I haven't had the guts to have a bigger person try again. As it is, with the smaller, lighter weight children, there is no problem with marking up floors. Another thing, my kids use them more as scooters instead of the way they are intended. The 5 and 7 year old understand the concept of moving the wheel back and forth to propel themselves forward, but they find it agonizingly slow. They have much more fun just kicking off with their feet. Lastly, I was a little worried when my kids started running into walls, baseboard heaters, table legs, the fridge, etc. So far, so real damage. The cars haven't taken a beating either. As for safety, once in a while these will tip over, but they are low enough to the ground that nobody has gotten hurt. There have a been a couple of tears when kids run into each other or smash fingers between cars. Nothing major. I would totally buy these again or recommend them to other parents.

I am so happy I bought one of these for the grand kids! I've been staying with my daughter and kids (their dad is currently deployed) for the holidays so I've had the pleasure watching them play with their Plasmacar every day. And I mean every day, for hours! I wake each morning to the sound of rolling wheels as one of them starts their laps around the house with it. The house has all wood and tile flooring and the bottom floor is 5 rooms that are all connected by either open arched entryways or doorways. They open all the doors and ride full laps around and around. Four year old Johnny uses it most and has just now mastered the "no feet needed handle shimmy" propulsion method. He was using his feet up until this morning when I showed him the video review of the little girl wiggling the controls and not having to use her feet. He picked up on the method immediately and has been practicing all morning. He can now do a full house lap without using his feet. So if you are worried your child might not be able to pick up on the wiggle action, don't hesitate to buy this anyway. They get lots of enjoyment using their feet and when they finally master the controls they really get a boost of self confidence! And do as I did, show them a video and they'll figure it out faster. Two year old Hayden loves to do laps too and sometimes just sits on it in one room, rocking back and forth while his hands are busy with other Christmas toys. 8 year old Teagan doesn't use it as often but does occasionally enjoy doing a few laps. To be honest, I think she'd probably use it more if she wasn't so preoccupied by so many of her other new toys. Sometimes the boys double up on it as well. Surprisingly they don't seem to fight over the car like they do the many other new Christmas toys. I was a little worried about buying just one of these but they tend to take turns or double up. I also like the fact that the car can make extremely tight turns without becoming unstable or tipping. I've never seen any of the kids fall off. In fact, even with all of the use its had already I haven't witnessed a single "accident" with it other than bumping into objects from time to time. I was a bit concerned about the wheels running over bare feet while they scoot but its never happened yet. The car was very easy to assemble, took less than 5 minutes and no tools needed. It is built very sturdy and from reading other reviews I don't foresee that this toy will break anytime soon. I was also concerned that the wheels might damage the wood flooring but after hundreds of laps already I don't see any kind of marks or indentations on the floor at all. We haven't taken it outside so we don't have any idea how it rides on any other type of surface but for indoors it is an awesome toy that will undoubtedly get used every day. I highly recommend this car to anyone with children 2+ years. You won't regret the purchase!

**I never write reviews, but know this will help those who are considering the Plasma Car. I can't stress enough that changing the wheels out on the car was a night and day difference on its performance, and my kids now love it.** Got this for my 2 & 4 year old for Christmas. As many reviews have said, you need a flat, smooth surface for best performance - our concrete driveway works great for this. My kids tried it out for a couple of days after Christmas but did not find it that fun since they could not get much momentum out of it -- because of the cheap molded plastic wheels that come with the product. Rough ride, moderate handling, rather slow and underwhelming performance. So I followed the advice of some reviewers and ordered a four-wheel set of inline skate polyurethane wheels with Abec-7 bearings. Wheel Size: 80mm / 83a (the 83a stands for the level of hardness in the plastic of the wheel). I think I paid around fourteen bucks for the wheels, but it was worth every penny. The front wheels (the 2 that actually touch the ground, not the 2 that stay in the air) were easy to replace - 5 min tops. The back wheels were much more involved. I had to do some modification to the white plastic part of the axel that comes with the car in order to make the polyurethane wheels fit into the wheel housing. The poly wheels were a little wider than the cheap plasmacar wheels (not in diameter, but in thickness), but I didn't know this when I ordered the poly wheels sight unseen online (I could not find any at the local store). You may be able to avoid my struggle of having to modify the car if you find wheels that are the same thickness/width of the plasmacar wheels. But in the end, I got it to work even with the wider wheels. When my kids tried it again with the poly wheels, it was like a completely different product. Not exaggerating here. It is such a smoother, faster ride. I wish I could post a before and after video to prove my point. My 4 year old son kept saying how much better it rode. I tried it too and it is very smooth (and I admit, pretty fun). My 2 year old daughter absolutely loves it and can fly on it - she can operate it so much better now. With the cheap wheels, the plasmacar sat neglected in the garage. Now my kids fight over who gets to ride first every time they go out to play. By the way, if the makers of plasmacar read this review, I would have gladly paid an extra ten to fifteen dollars to have a car with polyurethane wheels built in to avoid the hassle of replacing myself. You should offer this option.

MERRY Christmas! I’ve gotten out of the habit of writing reviews BUT Inhad to write one - I bought this as a last second “Santa” gift for my 4 year old, crossing my fingers he would like it. He has a Strider bike and is intermittent on its use, had battery operated cars that use is also rare. Typically he will spend a few minutes here and there, then boredom hits and then it’s here and there usage from then on out. But this thing he has been on for hours today - forcing his mother to dodge as she was emptying the dishwasher as he zooms around the kitchen and living room. He loves it! It also was very simple to put together - I noticed some said the directions were difficult or vague, but I must say, you don’t really need much. The back wheels are labeled with a L and an R - the only thing may if you are unused to the way the bolt on the steering wheel works - think cement bolt or even drywall with the anchors that expand as you insert a screw - same premise. Use a socket set instead of what they give you so you can crank it down good and make sure you put the wide part of the handlebar to the front. It’s very simple and easy - I didn’t use a mallet as recommended but could see the need for some to need it. Don’t know how well it will last, but he loves it, has already spent more time on it then toys that cost many times more, and it hasn’t marked up my hardwood floors - so he’s happy, I’m happy and that’s what matters.

Purchased this for my son's second birthday, and it was his absolute favorite gift by far! He absolutely loves riding it up and down the driveway and on the sidewalk. I love that it will grow with him, as he doesn't quite understand the "wiggle" feature of it (putting both feet on it and moving the handle back and forth to go forward). Right now, he's content to push off with his feet. The construction is durable, and the car came completely assembled! Update: Four months after our initial purchase and this is HANDS DOWN the best birthday gift we gave our son. He uses it every single day and has the device completely mastered. It's fascinating to watch! Update #2: We’ve reached a year since the initial purchase. Now that it’s spring, our soon-to-be 3 year old STILL loves this toy. It’s the first outdoor toy he grabs. Update #3 (12/18): Just purchased a second for our 2 year old daughter. This toy is a MUST for kids who love to play outside! Update #4 (9/21): We’ve added a third child to the mix (who is now 3). All three kids, ages 6, 4, & 3) STILL LOVE their wiggle cars. My very average sized 6 year old still fits the toy, and he continues to regularly use it (despite having no less than 5 other rideable outdoor toys to choose from). HIGHLY RECOMMEND! Update #5 (5/2022): I still recommend this toy to anyone with little kids. Our three kids (ages 3, 5, & 7) ALL continue to use our two wiggle cars. The first one was purchased in 2017 and it is still holding up just fine! Naturally, there’s scratches in it by this point, but functionally it’s great. Also, my kids tend to NOT be gentle with ride on vehicles, so these cars have taken quite a beating over the years. Do yourself and your kids a favor and get this! Update #6 (06/2023). After six (YES—6!) summers of hard use with three kids, our first Plasmacar purchase from 2017 has finally kicked the bucket. Both back tires have worn through as well as one of the smaller front tires (see pictures). We are overjoyed to have gotten six years with this purchase. Our 8 year old son STILL uses our Plasmacars. I will continue to recommend this toy to anyone with kids!

Wonderful, sturdy car for my 1.5 yr old toddler. Can't beat the design & quality. We don't use ours inside on hardwood floors -- only outside on sidewalks, driveways, basketball courts, etc. She loves how fast it can go, and it gets her tons of exercise. She has tipped over on it, but only a few times, and it's not the car's fault - she loves to go (super) fast, and is learning how gravity works when you cut a turn too fast! When it does tip on her, it's lightweight enough that I don't have to worry about it hurting her, so it's the perfect way to learn, in my opinion. She adores this car, and I am confident she will continue to love it as she grows - a great investment considering how easily kids tire of pricey toys. Putting it together on my own was fine, up until lining up the steering wheel to ensure it was on perfectly straight -- much easier if you have someone else there to help hold it steady.

Al principio busqué este articulo para darlo de regalo de reyes magos, y no llego a tiempo aunque pedí el envío express con cargo extra, quitando esa mala experiencia con amazon y su mensajería, el carrito es una maravilla, tarde 10 minutos en armarlo con las herramientas que incluyen y aunque no tiene instrucciones muy claras pues es sencillo hacerlo y deducir todo, venía empacado en una bolsa de plástico con su volante y ruedas desarmadas, para usarlo propiamente la superficie debe ser lisa, pero con algo de agarre como una calle cementada o azulejos, esto no anda en pasto o grava ni de chiste, una vez que los niños entienden como hacer que se mueva en 2 minutos ya están dando vueltas en un circuito diseñado por ellos y con curvas muy pronunciadas que hace que tomen mas velocidad, me encanta verlos jugar y ya hasta un bebe de año y medio se sube y se baja solo aunque todavía no le agarra como hacer para que se impulse solo y mejor baja los pies para impulsarse, super práctico, ojalá y yo hubiera tenido uno de estos cuando era niño jaja.. o los hagan en un tamaño más grande para adultos y poder hacer competencias con los chamacos.. cómpralo si tienes donde lo puedan usar sin riesgos.

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My son loves it

My grandkids love it