XOOTZ Kids Mini Cooper Ride-On Car AGE 3+ Review
DISCLOSURE -THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Michelle M
I was delighted to be offered this car to review before hiding it away for my son for Christmas. Nowhere near as delighted as my son was when he saw a big box with a picture of a car on it arriving! From the moment it arrived until I had it put together and working I was pestered to open the box and build the car. This is an officially licensed iconic Mini Cooper convertible in toddler and preschool child size! Along with having a few Mini Coopers in his toy car collection Mini is one of the few brands distinctive enough for me to identify for him when out and about. So being familiar with the brand and car mad I knew this would be perfect Christmas gift for him!
Out of the box the Mini Cooper had to be built. The wheels, axles, seat, wing mirrors, windshield, steering wheel, rear wing, and decoration blocks all had to be attached to the car body and the battery had to be connected. I found some of this process quite tricky and some of the instructions a little hard to follow but I got there in the end. Some of the screws and nuts were attached to the parts they needed fixing with so were easier to identify when needed.
For realistic role play the Mini Cooper features working lights, doors that open and close, a working horn and an MP3 player and auxiliary output complete with cable for connecting your own music, along with some tunes that it plays without need for the output. We haven’t tried connecting our own music yet, but it didn’t take long for my son to find out there were tunes built in and how to play them. He thoroughly enjoyed being allowed to beep the horn along with opening and closing the doors as much as he wanted, both things he isn’t allowed to do on my car. I was very grateful to find that there is a volume control for the horn and music, though there may be disagreements to come about what volume is appropriate.
Safety and legality must be considered when considering gifting an electric ride on toy. The car has a built in seatbelt which is an adjustable lap belt and it’s stated in the instructions that appropriate safety equipment should also be used. I utilised his bike helmet because the mini is a moving vehicle. The top speed of the car is 2.5km per hour though it does have two speed settings. It also comes with a remote control that can be used to drive a child around rather than letting them control it. I loved the idea of this but in practice my remote control driving skills need improvement, I’ve never been any good at driving computer games either! Unfortunately it is not easily possible to let the child drive and then take over with the remote control as the switch for swapping modes is on the dashboard and requires pressing with a coin. My little boy absolutely hated me being in control but being new to electric ride on toys he is not yet skilled in stopping himself. I would prefer it if the remote control overrode his control when I needed it to rather than being either or.
It is recommended by fire stations across the nation that nothing should be left to charge overnight. There is no need to worry about having time for this Mini Cooper to charge as the battery is fully charged in 4-6 hours, which I have found quite manageable to plan around my days. Cutely and somewhat realistically the charger port is hidden behind the fuel cap which pops open with a little gentle force then closes securely when charging is finished.
As it is a toy it is illegal to drive this Mini Cooper on the roads or pavements in England and it must only be used on your own driveway, garden or other private land with permission from the landowner. Obviously this is also much safer for everyone too given it’s for young children age 3 and up.
Xootz state that it is “Perfect for encouraging outdoor play, independence and imagination, this ride on is the ultimate Mini Cooper gift for kids” and I agree. It is an excellent Christmas gift for a child. My son is car mad, a stereo typical boy through and through, he’s loved to pretend to drive my car since he was able to climb through from the back so a perfect gift. He has found plenty of ways to play with the Mini Cooper even when the battery wasn’t charged or I had it set to remote control so he couldn’t drive it. Various of his toy cars have been parked in it as well as queued up behind it at the make belief traffic lights. His favourite teddies have been treated to demonstrations of working parts and music and taken on pretend journeys. The only thing missing is a boot that he can put his pretend shopping into. I’d expect he will still be playing with this in a few year’s time as long as pretend play remains in his pastimes.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £229.99 (at time of writing it’s reduced to £189.99)
Buy directly from www.xootz.co.uk