7 best toy car alternatives for a child who already has everything
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I was looking for good toys car alternatives because my son is crazy about cars but that toys actually already has.
But I couldn't find anything easily, so I decided to make this guide with the 7 best playsets.
For example, a wooden train set as this very comprehensive from BigJigs is a perfect car alternative, because it also has wheels and it's great to play with. Many hours of imaginative play already here at home.
Let's take a quick look at the top options. Then I'll go into more detail about each of these choices.
Best wooden train set
The train track is a fun challenge to assemble and with the help of supporting pillars the rails even go up high.
Best wooden magnetic car
The set is also just very well put together. The magnets click well and stay in place, even during heavy driving.
Best wooden construction toys with wheels
You can build much more than just cars using the wooden building pieces and nuts and bolts.
Best toy car kit
The quality is very good and just like the regular cars from Jada Toys completely die-cast. With this kit you can only build it yourself.
Best toy car with removable wheels
Can be completely taken apart with a real working electric screwdriver that can turn both left and right.
Best removable parts
It is an official John Deere truck. With light and sound, your child is stimulated to tinker with all removable parts.
Best expandable marble track
Lots of parts in the starter set and also expandable as far as you want. Nice to really go a step deeper into marble runs and physics for children from 8 years.
From toddler to toddler activity book collection
Educational games and coloring pages for 3 to 6 years
Your toddler and preschooler will love this e-book, along with the accompanying printables. He or she can play with it at every stage of development, together with mom and dad.
Buy at Bol.comWhat we discuss in this comprehensive post:
Top 7 toy car alternatives reviewed
BigJigs Mountain train set (BJT016)
- The train has a steep slope to drive down
- Very nice landscape details
- Big set
- Pricey
- Higher rails on supports are not for little ones
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From: 3 years
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Best: 4 – 6 years
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Up to: 7 years
- Material: Wood, MDF
- Theme: Vehicles, Train
- Play Mode: Cooperative
- Price at time of writing: €100,95 – $123,99
- Sustainability: Sustainable production
- Production: Manufacturing
- Storage: Tricky
- Safety parts: Rounded corners
- Playtime: Extended (30+ min)
- Gender inclusiveness: Gender neutral
The play value of this mountain set is extremely high. The degree of open end is enormous due to all the accessories supplied. You can build the train track, play with it, there are dolls for fantasy play and everything appeals to the imagination.
For example, there are children and a grandpa and grandma, and my son plays that the children go to visit by train. The possibilities with the set are endless, but it is also easy to combine with other train tracks. For example, I expanded it with a Brio track. In addition, a train set can also participate in almost any other fantasy game. That also makes the replayability high.
Only when the ease of use was higher could the set have an even higher play value. Building with the bridge pieces and the mountain is fun, but playing with it is difficult because the bridge often collapses. Sometimes this causes frustration, but luckily it usually becomes part of the game.
Social interaction is high. I like to play along and because it's such a big set, friends who come over can always join in without getting in each other's way. Furthermore, there are some interactive elements such as the crane that can hoist, and the figures have a nice appearance.
The crane construction is completely finished wood with a simple dial that allows you to wind up the rope. There is also a small magnet with which you can attach the accessories of the tren can pick up.
The set comes with three train carriages with freight designations such as sugar, milk and grain. These can be lifted off the wagons with the magnet and swung aside.
It's not for nothing that they have already won the Independent Toy Awards, and with a versatile set like this you can't miss for hours of fun.
Tegu Daredevil
- Sustainable wooden toys
- Car drives really well too
- Very expensive
Magnet blocks are great to play with, and if you can also make a car out of them you kill 2 birds with one stone.
Tegu is a toy brand that makes everything from wood. Beautiful and sturdy wood.
It's durable and made in Honduras in a responsible manner, that's playing good.
It also makes the set a bit more expensive, but playing with wood gives your child much more in return than plastic toys.
The set is also very well put together. The magnets click well and stay in place, even during heavy driving.
And that's ultimately what you want from one toys car.
This set offers less building options than the Magformers police set. But you can also supplement this with other sets from Tegu.
They all fit together. Here you get at least 12 building pieces.
kidwill Tool Kit
- Good tool kit including building material
- Lots of different parts so you can be creative too
- Quality case was a bit disappointing
A building set is great for expressing your creativity. Add some wheels and you have a perfect one toys car alternative.
Everything is made of wood including a sturdy wooden case. That makes this a very nice construction set.
In addition, it naturally has wheels in the set, so that you can also build nice cars with the building pieces.
Everything is included such as a hammer, wrench, pliers, ruler, saw, screwdriver, nuts and bolts.
You can build much more than just cars using the wooden building pieces and nuts and bolts. In fact, they can make anything they can think of.
It is sometimes a bit of fiddling, but that is also very good for fine motor skills. I often had to help my son (4) when he wanted to build more difficult things.
It is made of solid wood and quite sturdy. The suitcase could have been a bit firmer, especially considering the age category for which it is intended.
The examples are also nice, but you can often only make one at a time, which was a bit disappointing.
Jada Toys Fast & Furious Brian Toyota Supra, Build n' Collect
- Simple kit with enough parts
- Fun for older schoolchildren to teenagers
- Very small screws require some patience
It's technically one toys car, but it is a kit that you can assemble first.
This car is just the right size with 1:24 scale and not too difficult. This way, 8-year-olds can get started with it and maybe even a little earlier with your help.
It's the Toyota Supra from Fast & Furious and although it's quite detailed, it comes across more like toys then a model car.
The quality is very good and just like the regular cars from Jada Toys completely die-cast. With this kit you can only build it yourself.
Everything you need is included. No glue is needed, just the small screwdriver that comes in the kit.
The screws are very small so screwing them together should definitely help if your child is not yet a teenager.
Theo Klein Bosch Car Tuning Kit
- Really working screwdriver can even turn left and right
- Very nice kit
- Car doesn't drive very well
- Sturdy parts, but the car is not firmly put together
This is also a kit, just like that of Jada Toys. But this one is aimed at younger children and you can take it apart and take it apart every time.
Using
- the demountable car,
- 4 interchangeable straps,
- 3 interchangeable label sets,
- the screwdriver
- and of course the working Bosch electric screwdriver
you can assemble the car and then take it apart again, and do it as often as you want!
It can be completely disassembled, and it comes with a real working electric screwdriver that can turn both left and right to loosen and re-tighten everything.
The car is made up of all separate parts, so you also have loose wheels that you can use as spare tires and put on them.
All the plates can be detached, so you can actually see exactly how a car is put together.
There is also a sticker sheet with which you can give those blue parts nice speed stripes, just like a real race car.
A very nice set from Bosch so that they can learn a little about how to work with screwdrivers and also with power tools, with the wheels and everything there is to a car to get to know them a bit.
The car is not very sturdy. It's hard to play well with it.
That's why it was mainly used with us to take apart and rebuild, but never made it in our son's pretend play.
Theo Klein John Deere Tractor Engine
- Lots of activities to tinker with
- Is firmly put together
- It's not a car to drive
- Not so stable
If your child really likes it toys who likes cars is a good alternative to not buying a car this time, but rather toys which covers everything under the hood.
A perfect activity set for children who are very interested in engines and engine parts.
It is an official John Deere truck and it is 27 inches high (68,5 cm). With light and sound, your child is stimulated to tinker with all removable parts.
It does take 8 AAA batteries, but it lasts quite a long time with a set. The set is suitable from 3 years to about 6 years.
It contains 15 different functions with numerous parts that can be mounted, removed and replaced: the engine, spark plugs, wing nuts, wheels, radiator grille and much more.
Battery powered headlights and horn and 2 different electronic start sounds when the ignition key is turned.
The set is not super stable, so play a little wildly and it will fall over. It is more suitable for children who take it easy.
Ravensburger Gravitrax Starter Set
- Many parts in the starter set
- Lots of extensions available
- Good construction
- A bit too "space" look for some
- Complicated to assemble
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From: 7 years
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Best: 8 – 10 years
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Up to: 11 years
- Material: Plastic
- Theme: Building and construction, Marble track
- Play Mode: Cooperative
- Price at time of writing: €36,79 – $59,90
- Durability: None
- Learning objective: Cognitive development, Logical reasoning
- Storage: Normal
- Safety parts: None
- Playtime: Extended (30+ min)
- Gender inclusivity: Gender neutral
Nice to really go a step deeper into marble runs and physics for children from 7 to 8 years old and very educational in this age category. It makes your child gradually understand scientific concepts and hone problem-solving skills for more complicated and bigger sets.
The play value is also huge. It's easy to use, but complex to execute which makes it fun to figure this out. Real building in open-ended form and the amount of pieces also encourages social interaction.
Super many parts in the starter set and also expandable as far as you want. This also gives it tremendous replayability, even with just the base set. It is versatile and children also combine it with other toys to, for example, make tunnels or let the marbles roll through a town.
Nominated toys of the year, so not only one of the best marble runs, but also simply super fun toys.
Conclusion
There are quite a few toys come up with alternatives if you think about it carefully. Hopefully there is also a nice one for your child.
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
Play Choice now has the ultimate activity book collection, with over 60 pages of fun coloring pages and educational puzzles.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.