Review; Didicar Ride On

Warning! I love the Didicar (which Toddler boy was gifted), if you want to find out why read on….

When the Didicar arrived, I have to admit to being a bit skeptical as it didn’t seem to balance brilliantly at the front. This is the result of the absolutely genius design that allows the person riding the car to move it purely using the power of their steering. In fact, there are a couple of rubberized foot rests for the driver to rest their feet on where you might expect pedals to go.

One of the main issues for us is that it doesn’t work on carpet, it will only work on flat surfaces. Unless you live in a mansion with wooden flooring, these are quite hard to come by. Our garden paths are uneven, so this presents an obstacle. In fact, the only place that it works well (and safely) is the local park, since the kitchen isn’t really long enough.

In fact, a quick go in the kitchen highlights the only slight flaw in the design of the Didicar. At the front it sort of tapers to a point. It’s a rounded point though, which is fortunate as the toddler’s favourite thing to do at the moment is to drive it at speed into my ankles. This is the sign of a good toy in my book, the joy the toddler gets out of riding the Didicar into my ankles is second to none and he needs a bit of joy at the moment.

You are advised to make sure that you don’t let you child use the Didicar near a road. This is sensible advise. So, picture the scene at the park, me dragging the Didicar along with a pushchair which has Fifi in it and Toddler boy hanging off my arm. I’m persuading/warning him not to go down the hill at the entrance of the park at high speed in the Didicar. Excitement building. I’m feeling a bit out of my depth…

The best place to try it out is the netball court by the childrens play area. The Didicar is bright red, so there is no chance of going incognito. Toddler boy briefly manages to stop bouncing up and down in excitement long enough to get onto it. Soon he’s whizzing up and down like a madman, a mixture of mad arm wiggling on the steering wheel and when his arms are too tired, his feet go down and scoot him along. It really is a total success for Toddler boy.

The Didicar came ready assembled for ease of testing but to ensure a fair review, we did get a copy of the instructions. A quick look through them and they do look fairly daunting, not as daunting as the trike hubby cursed over on toddlers 2^nd birthday, but certainly not the sort of thing you’d find easy to put together with two small children “helping”. It is mostly plastic with a metal steering shaft and some fittings but it feels like the right sort of plastic, not cheap or brittle, good quality and solid. However, I’d suggest construction prior to the child seeing it.

In conclusion then, the Didicar offers something a bit different in terms of design and way of propulsion.

It’s a great product for toddlers and their slightly older siblings. It’s also easy to pick up and should have some decent staying power with your children. I’ve also had a go and its brilliant fun (just don’t tell anyone). At just £39.95 it’s really reasonably priced for what it is. If you want a ‘ride on’ you won’t find anything better. I’m totally sold, now where can I buy an adult one…