"And she'll have fun fun fun till her Daddy takes the VW away..."
Written: Sep 02 '03
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Pros: Cute and fun. And cute. And did I mention how cute it is?
Cons: Pricey, and there are some durability and ease of use issues.
The Bottom Line: It's more expensive than some other ride-on toys, but I love it anyway.
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| tlbwriter's Full Review: Peg Perego Magica VW HP0260 |
First, I have to make a confession… we bought the Magica because we loved it. Even before we became parents, my husband and I fell in love with this adorable yellow VW convertible. And who wouldn’t?
Features
The Magica is a 2-seater, 12-volt battery-operated ride-on toy. It is recommended for children ages 3 to 7. The battery and recharger are both included. It has a functioning hood (which is where the battery lives) and trunk (which features a cute, realistic “engine”). Inside there are map pockets in the doors, a radio that plays two songs, a horn, a glove compartment, and even bright yellow seatbelts. The car comes with stickers to customize as you wish. We chose not to use them, thinking it was cuter without them. Both seats are adjustable separately. The Magica has two forward speeds – slow (2.5 MPH) and fast (5 MPH), and one reverse speed (2.5 MPH). The faster speed can be locked out by attaching a screw-on guard, which is easily removed when your child is ready for the higher speed.
Assembly
My husband had some problems with the drivetrain – the instructions weren’t clear, and it took a couple of tries before we were able to get the forward gear to work. Other than that, assembly was straightforward. The battery must be charged overnight before use, so either hide the car like we did, or be prepared for an evening of “Is the battery charged yet?”
Ease of use
The doors are a big problem. They are difficult even for me to open, and impossible for many children. This causes the kids to climb into and out of the car instead, using the windshield to hang onto. So I expect that piece to snap off eventually. The glove compartment is also hard to open. Otherwise, the car is very easy to use and runs very well.
The car can run on either pavement or grass. You’ll need to use the high speed for driving on grass, and it won’t achieve the full 5 MPH speed, but it’s still fast enough to be fun.
The battery must be charged after every use, for at least as long as you drove the car (i.e., if you drive half an hour, you need to charge it for at least half an hour). It seems to hold a charge well, though it runs down faster when the car has two passengers. The charger stores neatly in the battery compartment. The battery connection is a little tricky, but not too difficult once you’ve done it once or twice and understand how it works.
The Magica features “automatic” brakes, meaning the car stops as soon as you take your foot off the pedal. The brakes work very quickly. However, because the tires are plastic, and because they are “car” tires instead of bigger “Jeep” tires, the car tends to slide a bit when you stop instead of gripping the road. Which leads to…
Durability
I’m disappointed in the durability of the tires. We’ve had the car for two years, and both front tires need to be replaced (I just ordered them directly from Peg Perego for $45 shipped). Other than that, the car seems to be holding up to all sorts of abuse quite well.
The cute factor
I can’t even begin tell you how cute this car is. When you see it in person, with your child zipping around in it, it’s utterly adorable. Unfortunately, the neighborhood kids love it so much – maybe because it’s so different from the pink Barbie Jeep that everyone else has – that they all want to ride in it. So if you don’t want to supply the entire neighborhood with rides, or if you think your child is going to have a problem sharing it, keep that in mind. We’ll never know if my daughter would have been equally happy with the ubiquitous Barbie Jeep. But she loves her unique little Bug, and we love to watch her drive it. We're going to force her to drive a clunky safe car once she's of driving age, so she may as well have something cute and fun while she can! :-)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 400
Type of Toy: Car, Truck or Raceway
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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Epinions.com ID:
tlbwriter
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Member: Tracy
Location: Oklahoma
Reviews written: 76
Trusted by: 22 members
About Me:
Fifteen words? Shopper... user... reviewer... wife... mother... employee... from infertility treatment to cosmetics and toys!
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