Disney Cars RC Turbo Racer Lightning McQueen 1:24

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When you first see him switched on, it’s impossible not to fall in love with the little guy – it’s like he’s been plucked from the movie and brought into the real world. He leans into corners and performs drifts with ease, particularly if you’re racing on a hardwood floor. He’s immaculately presented in a shiny foil-covered box, and looks more like a collector’s item than a children’s toy. Our reviews will tell you what our mixed age testing panel of adults and children made of each car and what age group the car is suitable for - toddlers, children or adults. All these on-screen buttons mean you have to constantly look down at the display to see what you’re pressing, so you’re constantly flitting your attention between two things at the same time.

There are no instructions in the box or on the app to do this though – it’s only because we met with Sphero that we were aware of this.However, in terms of actual controls, we found ourselves wishing we could just use a physical remote control instead. First of all, you need to press a small button to orient the car when it’s facing away from you, just so when you press "up", it goes forward. However, controlling the car using the app feels cumbersome, and we longed for a proper remote control. We’d have loved to have seen the packaging come in the form of the Mack truck, from which Lightning McQueen would roll out, just as he does in the movies. As a result you'll need a decent amount of space to play with them, for example a park or large garden.

Ultimate Lightning McQueen by Sphero uses technology and design to brilliantly recreate the character in toy form. All of the RC cars we recommend also have an adjustable speed dial, which allows a parent to reduce the speed as they see fit. Sphero has used a trapezium-shaped screen to perfectly match the shape of McQueen’s windshield from the films. The thrill of racing a remote control car comes from making a tight turn, or weaving around objects in your house.Many of the cars we tested from these retailers were expensive and they underwhelmed our testing panel.