Remote-control cars for under-sixes

The usual failure with a first remote-control car is not the car. It is the controller: two proportional sticks, a trim dial, and a throttle that goes from nothing to full in a few millimetres. A four-year-old drives it into a wall, twice, and loses interest.

Look at the controller first

For a young child you want a pistol grip or two buttons, not twin sticks. Digital "on or off" steering is genuinely easier to learn than proportional steering, even though it reads as the cheaper spec.

Speed is not the feature you think

A fast car indoors is a car that is always under the sofa. Slower cars get played with for longer at this age. If a listing leads with its top speed, it is aimed at a teenager.

Battery format matters more than battery life

Built-in USB-rechargeable packs are the right choice for young children — no screwdriver, no loose AAs, no coin cells. Run time of twenty to thirty minutes is normal and is usually longer than the attention span it serves.

Durability

Look for sprung suspension and a body that overhangs the wheels. The car will be driven off a step on purpose, repeatedly, because that turns out to be the best part.

We stock a climbing vehicle that handles being driven up things, and a four-wheel tank toy that survives carpet, gravel and enthusiasm.