Today I am enlisting the help of our older boy for yet another toy review, this one the Toot-Toot Drivers Lift and Fix Repair Shop as well as the Toot-Toot Tractor both from VTech.
This toy has built-in SmartPoints, 5 in total to be exact, and when you roll over the hot rod, or any other Toot-Toot car for that matter, such as the Tractor, which can be purchased and added individually, you will hear different phrases, music or fun sounds effects. And when you push the light-op button (the windscreen) of the cars, they say their names, (in this case Hot Rod or Tractor), and sings three different and catchy sing-along songs and make lots of fun sounds.
Combined, these 5 SmartPoints have more than 40 different sounds, melodies, sound and phrases, so your kids (or you!!), won't tire of repetitive songs too quickly.
The car lift on the repair shop raises up to the second level and you can see the car spin around, which all helps teach motor skills - but kids can also role play further by leaving the car at the ground level and pretend to repair the car with the included wrench and spare tyre, paint the car, or fill it up with petrol. To make this even more fun, the garage door also flips open, so cars can drive in and out, and both the spray paint nozzle and the petrol pump nozzles moves up and down and around to making it more realistic too.
The Repair Shop and the vehicles have following developmental benefits;
- Motor Skills through lifting the ramp, moving the gas pump and pretending to repair vehicles
- Language development by hearing the vehicles respond to the SmartPoint locations with phrases that encourage first words and early vocabulary.
- Imaginative play by pretending to repair, paint and fill the vehicle with gas to enhance the imaginative play experience.
The Vtech Toot-Toot Lift & Fix Repair Shop and the Toot-Toot vehicles are intended for kids aged 1-5, and our 3 year old is having so much fun role playing with the set, repairing the cars, putting petrol on it, and also pretending to wash cars. He also really likes driving the cars down the ramp and seeing them take off down our hall way, something that also gives our youngest boy great joy. The little one also enjoys playing with the set, but not yet at the point of being able to role play, but really enjoys playing with the little cars, pushing them down the ramp and placing them in the garage.
This Repair Shop does take a little bit to put together as you also have to add all the stickers, and our boy was a little frustrated with the wait (and wanted to help, which wasn't particularly helpful!), so if you're giving this away as a present, I would recommend that put it together first, to save any frustration and tears.
But overall I am yet again impressed with these toys from Vtech - they give kids hours and hours of fun, and because of how they are made, they will grow with the child as they become older and even more into role play. As a parent, I love that it is a quality toy, and that thought has been put into the toys to encourage development of important skills. I also love that you can purchase the little cars individually and even add and attach other Toot-Toot playsets, to create a whole city of roads/tracks and other sets such as airport, police and fire stations. The playset is also lightweight so easy to take with you when you go ie. to friends places, and of course the little vehicles even easier, and perfect when you want your kids to be entertained when you want relax at a café or even in the car. Big tick of approval from my boys and myself!
Vtech Toot-Toot Drivers Lift & Repair Shop - RRP: $39.99
Vtech Toot Drivers - tractor or other individual vehicles - RRP: $11.99
Available from Department stores, some variety stores and major toy retailers
* Products have been kindly provided for consideration, and have reviewed in accordance with my Disclosure Policy.
