Remote control (RC) cars have been thrilling children and adults for decades and regularly feature on birthday and Christmas gift lists. The market for these popular toys has exploded, with many familiar brands getting in on the action and selling toy cars (or other wheeled vehicles) to suit petrolheads young and old.
There are so many appealing features to remote control cars. Many children love the fact they can do stunts and crash into everything (and everyone). Others may enjoy trying to be more technical when driving and try to race against friends. For some, the best remote control cars provide the opportunity to get their hands on a much smaller version of their favourite sports car.
Using a handheld remote control is a great way for young children and toddlers to develop their fine motor skills and spatial awareness, too. There’s a huge range of products suitable for those aged 18 months old and above.
Another plus point is that some remote control cars are all-weather and all-terrain vehicles, so, you can take them to the park, come rain or shine, to share the fun with friends.
We’ve chosen a range of autos to suit children of all ages, covering all driving abilities and levels of thrill-seeking – keep scrolling for our full review.
How we tested
Our tester has three young boys – one aged eight and twins who are five. Cars and trucks have always been popular in our house but, as they’ve grown older, remote control cars have really started to appeal to their competitive and energetic personalities.
The boys could barely contain their excitement when they saw some of the remote control cars in their packaging. Although, this soon changed to frustration when they realised they needed to wait for the right batteries to be found.
The cars were put to the test around our tester’s house (on carpet and wooden floors). The key criteria the boys looked for was obviously how fast the cars would go, how well they could withstand a crash and how easy they were to control. Us adults were interested in how long the charge or battery lasted for, the price and the quality.
The best remote control cars for 2024 are:
Hot Wheels monster trucks mega-wrex alive RC vehicle
This really is a monster of a remote control car. The mega-wrex is 1:15 scale – can you imagine coming bumper-to-bumper with the real thing? Not only does it look menacing, it’s bigger than many of the other vehicles we tested. Our mini testers had never seen a remote control car like this before – the lights and sounds blew their minds and, of course, this led to the inevitable sibling squabbles.
Once they decided to take turns, we could actually explore what this truck is capable of. The mega-wrex has three modes: hunt, smasher and guard. Tap the impact sensor and the truck lights up and starts growling.
The boys loved putting the mega-wrex to the test in smasher mode, which sees the massive tires come into their own. Our poor ankles really felt the brute force of this truck. We also discovered that, despite its size, the truck can do stunts on its back wheels.
While this is one of the most expensive remote control cars on our list, it’s also the one with the most features. Plus, its battery life was decent and it felt really sturdy. However, we did have to leave the room at one point, when the noise from the kids and the truck became too overwhelming.
Buy now £45.99, Argos.co.uk
Monster Jam megalodon 1:24 radio controlled truck
This monster truck is another fierce-looking remote control car that can perform epic stunts and withstand mega crashes. This beast of a truck comes with a dual joystick controller, which provides a range of 250ft.
The fact it is battery powered meant our mini testers could get going with it as soon as it was out of the box and they played with it until the batteries ran out (about 40 minutes). The truck worked equally well on the wooden floors and carpet in our house, and the brand says the truck is also suitable for driving on sand.
The truck is smaller and lighter than we were expecting but it was still agile enough to do tricks and stunts. The controller is a really neat size and is super easy to use. This is the perfect car for smaller homes, as it’s nippy and easy to pack away.
Buy now £15.33, Argos.co.uk
Barbie remote controlled convertible dream car
Barbie can head to the beach, work or back to her Dream House in this pink convertible, which can fit two full-sized dolls inside. At 40cm long, the car is a really good size and can go faster (8kph) than others we tested. It doesn’t do stunts but it’s easy to control with the remote and has front and rear lights.
Our boy testers aren’t particular fans of Barbie but we think this model would be hugely popular with Barbie collectors and could provide hours of imaginative play. The downside of this product is that it requires a lot of batteries and it doesn’t include a doll.
Buy now £29.99, Smythstoys.com
Sharper Image road rage speed radio control bumper cars
While these cars do require a lot of batteries (10, in fact) to get them up and running, once they’re ready, these are such good fun. The boys loved crashing them into each other and the fact the drivers eject themselves with fun sound effects made them even more enjoyable to play with. The cars are small but quite speedy at 3.7kph, and worked well on carpet and wooden floors.
We had a lot of fun with these but would say the quality isn’t as good as other remote control cars on this list – we found the flags on the back got bent quite quickly.
Buy now £29.99, Smythstoys.com
Sgile remote control car
Obstacles? Walls? These are no issue with this remote control car, which can do 360-degree rotations and be driven on all kinds of terrain. This is one of the fastest cars (10kph) in our list but even if it crashes at that speed, it can easily restabilise itself and carry on.
The car comes with rechargeable batteries, which was a relief after all of the other batteries we had to buy for the products on this list. However, the drawback is it takes about an hour to charge the car but the batteries don’t last much longer than 15 minutes. While the brand says the car is suitable for the beach or park, the short battery life might leave children disappointed if you’re nowhere near a charge point.
However, our mini testers loved this car and there were whoops of delight as it went up walls and flipped over easily. Sgile says the recommended age range is 6-12 years but our five-year-olds had no issue using the controller and we think this car is designed to be driven a bit haphazardly anyway!
Buy now £24.99, Amazon.co.uk
Lego Technic Porsche GT4 e-performance race car toy
This is a really special remote control car – one that petrolheads will love to show off. With 834 pieces, it is aimed at children aged 10 and up – adult help was needed with construction during testing.
The Lego builder app helped us when we got a bit stuck – we’re not a family of engineers, so had a few stumbling points – but, once the car was built, we were very impressed with our handiwork and wanted to test out its speed. It’s not the fastest but that’s, perhaps, a good thing, as we couldn’t bear the thought of it breaking.
The car has some great features, such as opening doors and lights that turn on and off. Steering of the car can be handled via the Control+ app, which was easy to use, and the boys enjoyed seeing their stats.
The price of this remote control car means it really is one for enthusiasts but, as with all Lego products, it’s top quality and will stand the test of time.
Buy now £109.09, Amazon.co.uk
Sgile remote control police car
This is a remote control car with an easy-to-grip controller, which will help toddlers feel a sense of independence. It’s aimed at children aged 18 months and over, and they will love pressing the button on the car to start the bright lights and police car sounds. The police car can also be played with on its own, and the police officer can be removed from the vehicle for extra imaginative play.
This car didn’t hold the interest of our five- and eight-year-old testers for too long but we know it’s something their younger cousins would love. Having said that, they did still manage to give it a good whizz around on our hard floors. The car is smooth-edged and the controller felt very age-appropriate.
Buy now £16.14, Amazon.co.uk
The verdict: Remote control cars
The Hot Wheels monster trucks mega-wrex alive RC vehicle really is an all-singing, all-dancing remote control car, and it kept the attention of our boys for hours. They loved the different modes and the noise and bright lights. It is a monster of a car but a really fun one. Meanwhile, the Sgile remote control car is also a lot of fun and the fact it can flip 360 degrees and drive at 10kph made it a thrilling toy for our mini testers. It also comes at a great price and in a choice of vibrant colours.
Get the family singing, with the best karaoke machines for kids and adults
