Little Tikes 2-in-1 Cozy Roadster Review

Parts and Construction

This was my first time constructing a ride on from the world famous plastic toy maker Little Tikes. I have heard that some of the ride ons can be a pain in the neck so I was ready for the worst. As I got open the box, the phrase Some Assembly Required rang true in my head. Thankfully, it didn’t look that bad. I opened up the instructions and got started.

The instructions provided by Little Tikes are easy enough to understand so going through them step by step was generally simple enough. You will need a hammer and a screwdriver (power drill recommended). It took me about 30 minutes to complete building the Roadster. Since the Roadster chassis is already built, all you need to do is add the wheels and the handle to it.

How it Plays

As with the majority of the Little Tikes ride ons, the Roadster is very durable. Kids can’t push themselves on this ride on so you’ll need to push them. There is steering wheel with a horn so they can pretend they are actually driving while you are pushing them.

Safety is also a thing Little Tikes took care to provide. There is a seat belt attached to the Roadster that little ones can use to prevent fallouts or any other sudden movements. I thought this was a nice feature.

Now there were a number of things I thought there could be improved upon. For one, the steering. Even though you control the Roadster with the handle, it cannot turn. The handle can be adjusted up or down but not turn side to side. This also means that the front wheels do not turn side to side. So to turn the Roadster, you’ll need to lift it up slightly and jimmy it into the direction of where you want to go.

I would have paid a bit more for a ride on where you could twist the handle and the front wheels would turn in the direction you needed them. It would certainly help going down the sidewalk and needing to turn down a different street.

Cleanup and Storage

Since the chassis of the Roadster is basically just a hunk of pure hard plastic, storing this can be somewhat of a challenge. If you have noticed above, I store it in the garage next to some of the other bigger items in my garage. If you have room to do this be my guess. It does get in the way sometimes when trying to get around it but it’s doable. The only way the Roadster condenses itself is my adjusting the handle down. It’s not much though.

Another thing you can try is installing a hook on the wall of your garage or on the ceiling to hand the Roadster by like you would with a bike. This would free up a bunch of space out of the garage. This might take some additional work from you but it will save you in the long run.

Overview

For the lower price point, the Roadster is a decent ride on for your kid(s). It’s sturdy, safe and will ride as a long as you push it. There in lies the problem – sometimes I don’t always want to be the one pushing. Also, if I am pushing, I would like it to be easier to turn. I don’t know how hard this would be to engineer or manufacture into an item like this but I think it would be worth it. Last but not least, I know these bigger plastic ride ons can be bulky but it would be nice if they had a way to somewhat fold or condense themselves to take up a smaller space when being stored. It would help with mobility and transportation also.

If you are interested in trying this out, feel free to check out the Deluxe version as well as another Little Tikes Amazon exclusive ride on that has more up to date features.

Little Tikes Quiet Drive Buggy

Amazon exclusive ride on with smart phone holder and removable handle bar