Go Kart vs Ride On Car: Which one should you buy your child for Christmas?

Spending time outdoors is essential for our health at all ages, but is especially important for young children, who are rapidly developing their physical and mental skills as they grow.

To encourage youngsters to get some fresh air and exercise, bicycles and scooters have been popular Christmas gifts for decades – but what about alternative wheeled toys for kids?

If you’re looking for something different for your child, grandchild, niece, or nephew this Christmas, you may be considering some kind of four-wheeled vehicle. After all, go karts and ride-on cars seem much more exciting than traditional bikes and scooters!

However, like any outdoor play equipment, both have their benefits and drawbacks that may make them more suitable for different age ranges and preferences. So, how do you choose the right wheeled toy to make your little adventurer smile the brightest?

Let’s look into the pros and cons of go karts and ride-on cars to learn more about these cutting-edge children’s toys and help you decide on the best one as a Christmas present.

Pedal Go Kart vs Electric Ride On Car: What’s the difference?

A pedal go kart is the more conventional of the two, as it is a manually operated car typically featuring a chassis, a steering column, an open seat, and three or four wheels. These models look like an off-road buggy without the roll cage ‘roof’, making them more streamlined.

The traditional design may be simple, but modern versions of the classic go kart are available in a wide variety of eye-catching styles. Kids can propel the vehicle and increase their speed with pedal power alone, or combine pedals and an electric motor with a battery-powered model.

A ride-on car is the more modern option, with the electric version gaining popularity in the 90s and 2000s onwards due to fun designs like the Barbie Jeep. A step up from foot-to-floor toys like the Cozy Coupe, electric ride-ons give kids the experience of driving their own miniature car.

These small battery-powered vehicles come in forms such as sports cars and trucks, which are driven simply by pressing down on the foot pedal to go forward and releasing it to stop. More advanced models may have a control panel with buttons for reversing or choosing a speed.

Here’s how these two types of outdoor wheeled toys compare in terms of safety, personal development, longevity, design, and practicality.

Safety & Stability

Balance and navigation are skills that children begin developing from a young age, but the younger they are, the greater the risk of accidents due to lack of stability and agility.

This can make learning to ride a bike or scooter more difficult, but with vehicles driven from a seat closer to the ground, the lower centre of gravity makes a go kart or car more stable.

Along with four wheels distributing the weight more evenly, this makes it harder to tip over or fall off, allowing kids to learn how to operate go karts or ride-on cars with confidence.

Go karts usually feature hand brakes, adjustable seats, and pneumatic rubber tyres for a better grip with less noise. They take more skill to control and can reach faster speeds than ride-ons, with pedal karts reaching around 5mph and electric karts around 10mph.

Though you might think an electric car would be faster than a manual pedal kart, they usually only go up to about 5mph as well, just without the pedalling effort to propel them.

Despite being slower, inexperienced little ones may have a jerky start-and-stop driving style or difficulty stopping, increasing the risk of accidents – which is why many models come with a remote control that allows supervising adults to adjust a child’s driving speed if necessary.

Fun & Skill Development

One of the main reasons why go karts and ride-on cars are so appealing to children is simply that they’re incredibly fun to play on, helping kids to explore outdoor environments in a way that’s safe while providing a thrilling adrenaline rush for the young driver.

Ride-on cars can be exciting, as they run with little effort and give little ones the feeling of moving at speed. However, go karts can move faster and are more versatile in movement, providing an exhilarating experience with more physical and mental stimulation.

As driving an electric ride-on car normally involves pressing buttons and/or holding a foot pedal down, there isn’t much work involved besides turning the steering wheel.

On the other hand, go karts promote more physical activity and motor skill development, as kids must learn to pedal, steer, turn, and reverse with full control of a larger vehicle.

Go karts are more suited for racing against each other, which also helps with socialisation, while ride-on cars mostly go at the same speed, limiting the variety of games and competitions.

That said, both provide equal opportunities for imaginative play, with various models such as street racer, tractor, Jeep, and motorcycle styles to encourage their creative exploits.

Age Limits & Longevity

All wheeled toys will have an age range determined by the weight and height limits for riders and the level of skill required to operate them. The smaller and simpler the vehicle, the lower the age range – and inversely, the larger and more complex, the higher the age range.

For this reason, ride-on cars tend to have a younger age range. They are usually designed for toddlers around 2 years old and for children up to 6 or 7 years old, depending on their size.

Ride-on cars are often more enclosed than a go kart and come in one fixed size, so once the child becomes too big for the ride-on car, they can no longer use it. As little kids grow very quickly, this could happen sooner than you think!

Go karts have a wider range of products targeting different age ranges, with smaller pedal versions available for kids around 2–6 years old, larger ones for children up to 12 years old, and electric models for not just children, but teenagers and adults, too.

With adjustable seats to suit the driver’s height, you don’t have to worry about the child outgrowing the go kart within a couple of years – they can last throughout their childhood or teenage years into adulthood if taken care of properly.

Design & Materials

As mentioned, both go karts and ride-on cars come in a huge range of styles and colourways, but the quality of the materials is more important than how they look.

If you want an outdoor wheeled toy that lasts and isn’t damaged or weathered easily, look for leading brands that are ISO 9001 certified for quality management, ensuring their products use the most durable materials that are safe and comfortable for children.

Both types of wheeled toy tend to use robust plastics and metals and be safety tested in compliance with British and European regulatory standards for children’s toys.

Electric ride-on cars are often flashier, with designs imitating luxury car brands and features like working headlights, built-in music players with USB connectivity, and steering wheel horns.

Go karts come in an array of impressive designs, too. While they may not be as technologically advanced as electric ride-ons, they offer far more opportunities for customisation, with many accessories available – from baskets, flags, lights, and horns to personalised plates and roll bar, trailer, and imitation construction attachments.

With such an assortment to choose from, it should be easy to find a wheeled toy design and colour that matches your child’s preferences and personality.

Usage & Storage

When picking an outdoor toy for a child, you must bear in mind where they will be able to use it and where it can be stored securely when they aren’t playing with it.

Wheeled toys obviously require more space to move around effectively, and the larger the vehicle, the larger the outdoor space needed for a child to fully enjoy its capabilities.

Smaller electric ride-on cars are meant for use on flat and smooth ground with no barriers, and may struggle on bumpy or grassy surfaces. If their home is particularly spacious and the wheels are clean, it may even be possible to drive their ride-on cars indoors.

Go karts tend to be bigger, even the compact models, so it isn’t possible to navigate interiors with them unless the room is palatial. They’re designed for off-road roaming, so they can handle various types of outdoor surfaces and require ample open space to pick up speed.

Whether there’s enough room at home to drive the wheeled toy or it’s for taking down to the local park, you’ll also need a safe place to store it at home when it’s not in use. While ride-on cars might fit in a shed or utility room, go karts will need storage space in a garage.

Should you get your child a go kart or ride on car?

Both go karts and ride-on cars make great gifts for kids, especially if it’s their first wheeled toy. They may not be the easiest presents to wrap, but they’re sure to elicit excited screams on Christmas Day.

However, the right option depends on factors such as the child’s age, height, weight, abilities, and preferences. If you want their playtime on wheels to be safe and enjoyable, the vehicle you choose must be appropriate for their needs and circumstances.

For example, ride-on cars are better for younger children with less developed manoeuvring skills, while go karts are suitable for all age ranges from 2 years old through to adulthood and can stick with them as they grow.

If you want your child to experience the cool factor of an electric motor along with the controlled thrills of a pedal go kart, you can provide the best of both worlds with an electric go kart.

Unless you’re hoping for your gift to be a complete surprise, why not get your child involved in choosing their own wheeled toy? At outdoor display sites like Wicken Toys in Milton Keynes, kids can try out a go kart in person and see which one suits them best.

Whichever model you order, be sure to allow enough time for delivery before 25th December!