The Original by PlaSmart (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 occasionallyCons* 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 timeWe 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!

It was easy to put together. Not hard to operate. As with any ride on use a helmet.

Rating based on my assembly and preliminary testing before giving to kids. I will post update if there are any issues. I didn't assemble this in 5 min as some of the other reviews suggest but it is fairly quick and easy provided you have the tools and watch the video ahead of time. It is also a quiet assembly so it can be done without waking anyone up.1. Buy a rubber mallet with the car too if you don't have one!2. Watch the short video on website before assembling. Good 2 min visual to accompany simple 9 step guidebook.3. Have tools available for assembly3a - scissors or knife to cut the string holding parts together (not noted in the directions)3b - Rubber mallet - (based on other reviews i bought Stansport Rubber Tent Peg Mallet for $5 on AMZN add on when bought the PlasmaCars)3c - Philips head screwdriver to use with enclosed hex key OR a 17mm socket wrench (for steering assembly)3d - Flat head screwdriver or butter knife if you mess up installation and need to remove the steering wheel cap (not noted in directions)4. Assembly Step Tips4a - Step 1 - I had trouble wiggling these in. Both rear wheels are labeled with R and L and they should flare out from the body. There is a little bump out on the wheel post that fits into a groove as shone in the picture. I had to wiggle back and forth along with using the rubber mallet to get firmly in place4b. Steps 3-5 - Step 3 - Make sure to remove the foam sheath from the front wheel assembly carefully as you will still need it in step 4. Thread the bare pole through the bottom hole, then reattach the sheath (step 4) before guiding to the top of the body where it will connect with steering.4c Step 7-8 - Align the steering wheel. Wide part of steering wheel facing forward (i.e. farther away from body if you are sitting on the car) and smaller front wheels which don't touch the ground in the front. When you are tightening the screw in step 8, make sure that both the wide part of steering wheel stays facing forward and that the small wheels stay facing forward. When i assembled, the front little wheels which don't touch the ground got inadvertently turned around without my knowing when i assembled and so the steering was opposite what it was supposed to be. I called customer service and representative suggestion was to send in pictures and a video... I'm not sure how that would've helped me nor did I have time to wait for product support to respond. I was assembling 2 cars so once I did the second car I realized my error and was able to unscrew the steering shaft, realign and re-tighten.5. Based on other reviews, I did buy Plasma Car Polyurethane Replacement Wheels - Black. I will post separate reviews of the wheels as they were sold by a different provider. They certainly do appear to be noise and scratch resistant compared to the OEM wheels. Note when i called customer service about my steering column issue I did mention the other wheels and representative said they do not recommend doing that unless the wheels come with the unit.