14 Best Car Toys for Kids of Every Age
The yearning for a new set of wheels starts young!
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When a kid is into cars, they tend to be really into cars. The car crazies could kick in while they're a toddler or a preschooler, or it could appear during the tween years. When a kid says they love cars, automobiles, trucks and race cars are usually what they mean, versus a bulldozer or fire truck. In this list, I'm separating a love for cars from a love for construction-themed toys or pretend rescue play.
This list includes some Good Housekeeping Institute kid-tested favorites as well as toys I've long loved as a journalist who follows the toy market. I'm also a mom of two who has lived through the stage of having small cars rolling around in my purse!
Oball is one of our favorite infant toys and this version has a twist: The mesh Oball material is attached to the top of a toy car so your baby can grab it and roll it around. Beads in the tires dance as it goes. The toy comes in red, too. Ages 3 months+
Radio Flyer Ride On
Toddlers are all about role-playing so rather than pushing around a small car, they'll want to sit on a big car, move the steering wheel and beep the horn. This Radio Flyer Ride On also has a hidden storage compartment under the seat. It won one of our Best Toy Awards six years ago and we still love it. Ages 1 to 3
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Melissa and Doug Nesting & Sorting Garages & Cars
Cars can be educational toys! This set contains seven boxes for toddlers to nest or stack, plus seven rainbow-colored wooden vehicles. Use it as an opportunity to ask a toddler about colors — can they park the orange car in the green box? There are numerals on each car and garage, too, if you want to challenge them to match the 4 car to the 4 garage and so on. Ages 2+
With its chunky wheels and Spidey in the driver's seat, this is total preschooler bait. Pull it back, then release and it revs forward — a move most 3-year-olds can master. The tires help it crawl over objects, like blocks, on the floor. Ages 3+
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A pre-K kid is ready for that most classic of car toys, Hot Wheels. They'll want to collect, and they'll need a way to store them. I love this Roll Out Raceway because it can hold up to 80 cars. Then, it can be unrolled to turn into a sloped race track. It comes with one car, easy to supplement with a 10 pack of Hot Wheels. Ages 4+
If your 5-year-old is ready to operate a RC vehicle, this is one of my longtime favorites. Megalodon Storm can power over rocks and even swim through a swimming pool. It comes with a USB cord for recharging the vehicle battery; grab 3 AAA batteries for the controller.
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This won one of our most recent Best Toy Awards. Both at-home testers and kids who tested in our Labs loved how the cars can flatten, load into a launcher, then burst out to race.
"It’s very different than most car toys in that it’s flat and turns into a car after hitting the button," said one parent of a 6-year-old. "It's a great gift." The car can be endlessly reloaded and raced. The price is for one — they're sold individually and are available in two different blues, a red and a yellow. Ages 5+
Spin Master Air Hogs Zero Gravity Sprint Wall Climber
Kids can drive this indoor RC across the floor, or up the walls or even across the ceiling! It doesn't damage walls as it zooms, but I say it's better for the 7-year-olds than preschoolers since the older kids can control it better. (It also gets decorated with stickers, which older kids are better at applying.)
Note that it can't go, say, from the floor and then up the wall — just straight forward or backward on whichever surface it's set on. The car is rechargeable; buy 2 AA batteries for the controller. Ages 4+
Stomp Rocket Stomp Racers
Stomp Rocket is one of our favorite outdoor toys and the brand's race cars work similarly — kids stomp on a launcher to send a car zipping. They can quickly see how stepping produces one speed while jumping on it will result in another.
I think it works best when kids are a little heavier, which is why I am recommending it for age 8 even though the brand marks it for 5 and up. Each box has two cars and two launchers, one red set and one blue set. Ages 5 to 12
LEGO McLaren Solus GT & McLaren F1 LM
This 581-piece set allows your kid to build two Formula 1-style racecars, and it comes with two minifigures as well. Online reviewers say that though the build is a challenge, the directions are straightforward and kids are proud of their finished cars, which they can then race.
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LEGO Technic Porsche 911 RSR
Tween car fanatics may be ready for the LEGO Technic line, like this model Porsche with a realistic engine and suspension. It gets more than 4,000 five-star Amazon reviews, including praise for being worth the money despite the high price. A kid will need some patience and focus, and can be great for a kid and adult to do together, too. Ages 10+
3 Cool Bonus Car Toys
If your kids loves the Disney Pixar Cars movie: My son was obsessed, and rather than buy the cars one at a time, it was easier to get the whole crew, like this set of 10 Cars cars that includes Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater and Luigi & Guido (who for some reason count as one vehicle). Ages 3+
If you want a powered ride-on toy: The Power Wheels Jurassic Park Jeep Wrangler is such a fun one with its dino theme. Two kids fit inside (up to 130 pounds total), the lights light up and it makes both driving and dino sounds. It runs on a 12-volt rechargeable battery. Ages 3 to 7
If you're looking for a car toy for an adult: LEGO's Technic line makes model cars for adults, too, like a 1:12 scale Ford GT with tiny details like moving pistons. Ages 18+
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
At the Good Housekeeping Institute we test toys and gifts for kids all year long. In addition to our annual Best Toys Awards we have more focused stories such as Bluey gifts plus age-by-age gift guides, like the best gifts for 8-year-olds.
Contributing writer Jessica Hartshorn is a journalist who has covered the toy market for 20 years and has raised two kids — one of whom went through an intense phase of loving Hot Wheels and the Cars movie.
Jessica (she/her) is a freelance writer with several decades of experience writing lifestyle content and evaluating home and parenting products. A mom of two teens and two cats, her previous work can be seen in American Baby and Parents.
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