For new readers, one thing that tends to draw me into a new product is its likelihood to fail. This isn’t always the case, but if something seems like it can’t possibly live up to any sort of positive expectations, then I’m all over it.
It was with this mindset that I grabbed a Dollar Tree R/C car. Yes, that’s right, I said Dollar Tree. And no, this isn’t a part of its “Plus” section containing $3 and $5 items. This is a remote controlled car for $1.25. Now do you understand where I’m coming from? A remote controlled car for $1.25? And one that only has buttons to move forward and backward? There’s no way it could be anything less than a trainwreck, and it’s one I just had to see.
For the price, this isn’t going to be a durable set; the first evidence of this is in the remote control itself. It’s small, with a hilariously thin “antenna” that looks like it would have been an impressive piece of tech in the ‘80s. It’s made of relatively cheap plastic; again, that’s to be expected at this price point. Despite its apparent cheapness, it doesn’t feel like it would break from everyday use, the way some dollar store items do. In fact, I’d even venture to guess it could withstand a couple small drops. I wouldn’t play rough with it, nor would I be interested in attempting to prove (or disprove) my theory by intentionally dropping it, but it doesn’t feel overly weak.
Ditto that for the buttons. They’re not high-quality by any stretch of the imagination, but they do feel firm when depressed. This might not sound like much of a positive, but I think we’ve all used cheap products where the buttons feel like they can snap or stop working at any given time. These don’t give off that vibe. They go in without any wobbles or “stickage”, and feel like they should. I’m not doubting repeated use will lead to troubles down the road, but right out of the box, they seem decently crafted.
What wasn’t really expected is just how durable the car’s body feels. It’s plastic, sure, but it’s a very thick, hard plastic. I could easily see this taking a few drops and being none the worse for wear. On the flipside, however (and quite literally), are the wheels: I can’t say the same for those. They are rather flimsy and would likely break if they took the brunt of any sort of impact. I would say the wheels are the weakest part of the entire package.
The tradeoff to the simple design is that these cars are ugly. They’re made up of just a single color, with no decals or other graphics to give them any sort of “personality” outside of a black “window” sticker. The body style sits in an uncomfortable middle ground between “family sedan” and “race car”. They’re available in green, red or blue, and are equally underwhelming no matter which color you choose. Again, it makes sense: Costs have to be cut somewhere in order to keep the product so cheap. But it can nevertheless be hard explaining to younger kids who tend to want things that look “cool”. (One “rainy day” idea: Kids could use stickers/markers to customize it themselves. That could be a fun family activity for a rainy day.)
Running the car takes four AA batteries: two for the car, and two for the remote. Installation is easy, requiring a small Phillips head screwdriver to unlock each battery compartment. Within a couple minutes I was up and running, and both of those minutes were spent trying to find a screwdriver.
I initially tried running this vehicle on a wooden deck, with a “space” between the slats. It did not move. Well, it tried to, but the gap was just too great. Running it straight “across” the wood piece would have worked, but then it wouldn’t have had any room to “drift”. That means this car will only work on hard, flat, level surfaces. If you have carpet in your house – unless it’s the very “thin”, short carpet, it may not function as intended. And if you plan on using it outside, unless it’s on smooth concrete, well…you can probably forget about it. Unsurprisingly, we got the best results running it indoors on hardwood floors.
While my son is unaware this blog even exists, I’ve got him “trained” on what he can expect out of toys based on price. It sounds dumb, but I think that’s one of the most important things to instill in a child at an early age. Kids always want to believe everything they have will last forever, and are inevitably disappointed when they don’t function as expected, or when they suddenly stop working. Now, he’s at the point where he can pick up a toy and say, “This feels cheap,” or “I don’t think it’s going to work.” That just makes it all the more exciting if it does, and lessens the impact of failure if it doesn’t. (The downside is that, if he knows it’s from Dollar Tree, he says something like, “Who cares if it breaks? It’s only a dollar!” We’re working on that thought process, though thankfully he’s already pretty careful with his toys.)
We got a little laugh out of the weird-looking remote, and both shared the same low-level expectations. He, too, wondered how a car only programmed to move forward and backward could be any sort of fun. We were both prepared to test it out for a few minutes, chuckle at the meager results, and then just toss it into the toy bin for another kid to destroy.
That’s not what happened.
What happened is that we actually had some fun! While the remote only has controls for moving “forward” and “back”, pressing “back” while the car is moving forward causes it to “drift”, which slides it toward the left or right. That’s basically how you get it to “turn”. It’s a little weird at first, but eventually you get used to this functionality, and can usually make it go where you want it to. It also has some speed. I have no way to accurately measure it, but I’d say it’s at least 5 MPH. In the world of R/C cars, it’s not very fast. But I’ve seen other cars geared toward children that move even slower than that.
The remote is actually responsive…at least at close range. Unsurprisingly, the range is pretty limited, given its low price point. I’d say we started running into some problems around the 20 feet mark, where the remote and car wouldn’t “communicate”. Fixing it was as easy as moving closer. Sure, it’s annoying, and far shorter than the range of most R/C cars, but those are also going to run you at least ten times more.
Older kids will likely grow bored of its single trick rather quickly. But the simple controls make it ideal as a “starter car” for younger kids, who are new to remote controlled vehicles. Just the fact that it works for $1.25 is rather admirable, and represents solid value. If you’re looking for a way to keep the kids entertained on a budget, this is well worth a look.
Overall: 6/10. If you can taper your expectations to reasonable levels, this is a pretty impressive car given its price point. For starters, it isn’t an all-terrain vehicle, so riding on a flat, smooth surface is a must. The range of the remote is also much shorter than typical R/C cars. And it’s ugly as all sin. Despite those flaws, it works surprisingly well for what it is: a $1.25 remote control car. And the body – made of thick plastic – actually feels somewhat durable. (Unfortunately the wheels don’t have that same level of sturdiness.) It’s a one-trick pony that wears thin after a little while; older kids and adults will likely grow bored of it within a couple of minutes. But younger kids may find more to like here, making it a great “starter car” for those new to the technology, and the price is virtually unbeatable.