REVIEW: Little Tikes car

You'll probably recognise this Little Tikes car because, well, almost everyone has it. My parents have a 20-year-old one in their garden (the classic red and yellow variety) - and it still drives more smoothly than most two-decade-old real-life hatchbacks do. 

Tiny man loves it. His refusal to get out of the Cozy Coupe car means it often lives in our lounge. It has seen me push it 15 minutes to the post office as he sits waving at everyone en route. Since the car has better sun-shielding coverage than a buggy, this works out well - I just had pretty tired arms on the uphill stretch home...

So the car is seriously popular. And half the tots in Britain seem to heart this car - so one question that stuck in my mind as I took its many components of the huge cardboard box and read the pictural instructions, and tried to work out how its makers wanted me to drill into plastic, and swore repeatedly as I tried to follow the instructions and ultimately called on my brother (and his drill) to help, was: how have all their parents put it together?

Well, we got there. Building the car takes about an hour - btw, if you have a bradawl, and some muscle, you don't need a drill, despite the instructions. But you will need some patience - and I don't think the instructions are as clear as they could be. 

But... And there's a big but... It's worth it. On wet days, the Dino Cozy Coupe is bought into the house, where tiny man pushes it around the dining table whilst singing (no need for an in-built radio here), or plays with the petrol cap and clicking ignition key (it's connected to the car, unlike older versions - although my boy is doing his best to free the key...) Outdoors, it's forever doing rounds on the grass. We've built the car's floor in, to keep his feet safe, but he'll enjoy pushing himself around on the grass when he's bigger too.

Car's out = I can put my feet up ..

And given I have proof of the longevity of this toy - alongside my parents' vehicle, grandparents I know in the States have a 37-year-old Little Tikes car from its first year of production - the cost is pretty low: £55-£80, depending on whether you opt for the classic, the dinosaur version, the princess version, the truck, police car, fire truck etc - you don't have to be traditional. (I went for the dino version to be different, but am grateful I did as the roof spikes make excellent handles)

You can hope to be using it for grandkids one day. And by then, I'll have forgotten that I almost lost my cool in trying to build the thing, "all the way back in 2016..."

* Run Out of Womb was sent a Cozy Coupe for review. Rest assured, though, that we're seriously gobby and only rave about stuff we really love.