Best toy cars for babies reviewed: sucking and crawling

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Toys cars become really fun with young toddlers, but babies can do quite a bit with it. There are definitely some other things to watch out for to make it as fun as possible.

Take for example these soft pull-back cars from Melissa & Doug. Great for you baby because they can suck on it while they are still in that phase and in the meantime discover driving and the cause and effect of the pull-back system.

These are the things to pay attention to to keep it as safe and interesting as possible babies. In this guide I take a look at the best toys cars for this age and what you should pay attention to when purchasing.

Best toy cars for babies

Let's take a quick look at the top options. Then I'll go into more detail about each of these choices.

Overall best toy cars for babies

Melissa & DougSoft Pull-Back Cars

These are already fun for the smallest children from 9 months. Perfect size for your baby and nice and soft.

8.5
Toy score
Product image

Best wooden toy cars for babies

B ToysFree Wheee-Read

These cars are already suitable from 1 year. Due to the rounded shapes there is nothing to hurt yourself and they are easy to grip.

6.7
Toy score
Product image

Best toy car for toddler

LEGO10948 DUPLO Town Parking Garage and Car Wash

The car wash doesn't really work, but the fabric cleaning curtain is very nice, and what toddler can resist a movable barrier?

9.1
Toy score
Product image

Best toy car wash with light and sound

VtechToot-Toot Car Garage

Pushing elevations onto the road some pins under the car so that he has a sentence that belongs to that spot on the garagesuch as the car wash.

7.9
Toy score
Product image

Dear growers

B ToysMini Pull Back Cars

Very nice design and bright colors, that's what the school bus, racing and police car from B. Toys look like.

8.5
Toy score
Product image

Best cheap magnetic cars

smart maxMy First Vehicles

They are car fronts and backs with a magnetic bar in the middle. This allows you to mix and match all colors.

7.5
Toy score
Product image

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.

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Toy cars for babies buying guide

What should you pay attention to when buying toys cars in front babies?

Sustainability

There are quite a few differences in quality toys car brands. You want them to last a long time, resist sucking and also be fun to explore.

With a full wooden auto In any case, virtually nothing can break. That's what I paid extra attention to when assessing the durability of the cars.

Quality of driving

The quality of driving is less important cars for babies. They're probably just going back and forth with it anyway.

But this is also the mistake that many cheap brands make. It still has to roll pretty well, otherwise they get bored of it quickly.

Then you might as well grab a wooden block in your hands again.

Replayability

A big part of the replayability of the auto It's in how well it drives, but there are other factors that determine how often they return to it.

Age also plays a role. Is it a auto that remains ignored after babyhood or can it last longer because it is also suitable for older children?

The number of extra functions is also very important, such as the blocks from Duplo or the pull-back action from Melissa & Doug and B. Toys.

I have each of the cars on this list on these components are assessed on a 5-point scale.

Best toy cars for babies reviewed

Overall best toy cars for babies

Melissa & Doug Soft Pull-Back Cars

Product image
8.5
Toy score
To drive
3.9
Replayability
4.4
Sustainability
4.5
Best for
  • Nice and soft and suitable for babies
  • Fabric is removable for washing
Less good
  • Good value for money but set of 4 makes it pricey

These are fun for the smallest children from 9 months. Perfect size for you baby and nice and soft.

They are 4 safe, soft vehicles, including a school bus, family car, fire truck and police car with cheerful colors.

It is a fun first introduction for your child to friction cars. They can pull them back and they can ride across the floor. Real cause and effect toys.

They are also safe to put in the mouth to explore. And Melissa & Doug has anticipated this through the fabrics cars can be detached from the chassis.

They are attached with Velcro and so you can just put them in the wash.

They are good for the price, but they are equal to 4 cars which makes the set slightly more expensive, and you don't actually need 4.

But very fun to play and they last a long time.

There are 6 wooden ones cars with a few different shapes. The type of handle in passenger cars is also funny. This way they can grab it easily.

Actually these are the cheapest cars on the list and not Melissa & Doug's.

But then they aren't real toys cars for your toddler. Then you're better off buying another one. They don't roll very well and the design is a bit crazy.

But a very nice first set for you baby. The overall score of 6.7 is a bit low because I rated it on the same points as “real” play cars.

Best wooden toy cars for babies

B Toys Free Wheee-Read

Product image
6.7
Toy score
To drive
2.5
Replayability
3.9
Sustainability
3.6
Best for
  • Well rounded and easy to grab
  • Cheerful colors and fun design
Less good
  • Don't drive very well
  • Not sturdy enough for rough toddler play

This cars are made for the smallest children and suitable from 1 year. The rounded shapes mean there is nothing for them to hurt themselves on and they are easy to grip.

Best toy car for toddler

LEGO 10948 DUPLO Town Parking Garage and Car Wash

Product image
9.1
Toy score
Wash
4.1
Replayability
4.6
Sustainability
4.9
Best for
  • Construction set and car wash in one
  • Car wash has a cleaning cloth and barrier
  • Lots of accessories and cars
Less good
  • Not so much fun after toddler
  • No working car wash

Duplo is always super fun to play with for toddlers and they can even build something with it. So is this Town Car Wash.

There are 4 DUPLO figures that can do the work or relax in the auto being able to drive through the car wash.

The car wash doesn't really work, but I really liked the fabric cleaning curtain, and what toddler can resist a movable barrier?

It is quite a complete set because there are 3 cars one of which even has a Push&Goauto is.

There are 112 pieces in total and it says suitable from 2 years old, but my son could already play with it at 1 year old. Then you might hold back the very smallest parts for a while.

Best toy car wash with light and sound

VTech Toot-Toot Car Garage

Product image
7.9
Toy score
Wash
3.2
Replayability
4.5
Sustainability
4.1
Best for
  • The car makes noise at different points on the track
  • The garage also makes noise itself
  • Nice car wash
Less good
  • More fun when you have more Toet Toet Cars track pieces and cars

Age: 12 months +

The Vtech Toet Toet car garage is what we chose for our son. We already had a separate Toet Toet car, I think at his birth or when he turned 1 maybe.

And he was already playing quite nicely with the auto. If you press the front it makes a sound and of course he could drive around with it.

But what the cars really fun is that they have pins at the bottom that make it possible to say different sentences.

That's why it was time to try out the garage, because it also has elevations and when the auto When you drive over it, the pins at the bottom are pressed in a certain way.

Because some pins are pressed and others are not, the car says a certain sentence that belongs to that place on the garage:

  • like parking,
  • going to wash in the car wash
  • ride the elevator to go up and down
  • Stand on the repair platform ready for maintenance

Those kind of things.

The garage itself can also make noise by pushing the buttons and there is one tow truck that triggers songs, phrases and fun sound effects when it crosses one of the garage's 9 SmartPoints.

The only sad thing I thought about it was that the auto that comes with it is actually one of the least suitable for the garage because it is a bit high and does not slide down the garage slide very well, while the auto that we already had, we can drive much better.

Anyway, this is just a minor detail and will be resolved immediately if you have more than one cars buy for it.

Why I like him: a well-priced, easy-to-assemble garage that is solidly set up for children under 3 and offers a lot for the money.

The buttons to press are nice and sturdy, and the sound effects are great, entertaining and educational, but not too overwhelming and fortunately it also has two volume levels.

Dear growers

B Toys Mini Wheee-is

Product image
8.5
Toy score
To drive
4.1
Replayability
4.4
Sustainability
4.2
Best for
  • Soft plastic is suitable for small children
  • Pull back system works well
Less good
  • Are a bit small to keep baby's attention

Very nice design and bright colors, that's what the school bus, racing and police car from B. Toys look like.

These also have a nice pull-back system so that they can drive themselves.

Where Melissa & Doug with the soft cars really stands out babies these are suitable for slightly older children aged 1 year and older.

They become really fun to play with for the older toddlers and toddlers. The plastic is flexible and very soft so that even small children can play with it.

The set is slightly cheaper than Melissa & Doug's but you get 3 cars instead of 4. Ultimately the price is per auto comparable.

Read more: Is your child ready for toddler toy cars? These are the cutest!

Best cheap magnetic cars

smart max My First Vehicles

Product image
7.5
Toy score
Magnet
4.1
Replayability
3.4
Sustainability
3.8
Best for
  • Good strong magnets
  • Fits on other Smartmax sets
Less good
  • Very cheap wheels

This play set is for the youngest children. It says 1 to 5 on the box, but it's best for kids a little under 1 to about 2 years old, maybe up to 3 years old.

If you already have a toddler, you better choose the Blockaroo Roadster.

Being auto front and back with a magnetic bar in the middle. This allows you to mix and match all colors.

There are not really many combinations possible, but for really young children, for example, it is fun to find the right colors together again and again.

The bars are the same as other Smartmax products so you can also use them with the bars and balls. This way you already have a basis for a later magnet toys.

The cars are ok, but the wheels are a bit cheap plastic. They don't really drive great.

As a result, children of 3 to 4 years old will not play with it much anymore, I think. But then it is nice to combine them with other sets.

Conclusion

Babies can explore the world. And whether it is sitting with a car in their hand or crawling behind a pull-back auto with these sets there is something for everyone.

Also read: these are the best toy cars for all ages

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.