So you might know already that I’ve had my Tesla Model 3 for over a year now, so when my children asked for an electric car for Christmas, I knew this was the one to get, the Tesla Model S.
So this has got to be one of the best electric cars on the market for kids right now, it’s fast, it goes for miles, looks awesome and it’s cheap to run.
It’s also the first and only car on the market with a Lithium Ion battery, I’ll explain why this is important in a minute. So yeh, if you have a child, grandchild, brother, sister or dog up to 8 years old, this might be the car for them.
Failing that, you could just use it yourself and make the most of free EV parking in town.
First Impressions
So first impressions, this car looks awesome. I mean when I ordered it I knew it looked pretty cool, and I thought it would be fun, but this is something else.
So as you can see by looking at it, it really does look like the Tesla Model S. The design of the front end looks identical to the real car, even with working headlights. The Tesla logo is in all the usual places, it’s on the front, it’s on the wings on the side, on the rear of the car, along with the P90D logo too.
Around the back there’s also the Carbon fibre looking spoiler, rear lights and optional number plate. I added this number plate to match my car, which my kids loved.
In typical Tesla fashion, I had to give it a once over for panel gaps, thin paint and misaligned doors, but I’m pleased to say it’s in good shape. Just a small mark on the windscreen, other than that nothing to worry about. But joking aside, it’s not actually made by Tesla, it’s made by RadioFlyer. And the overall quality and detail on this car is impressive.
And this car is really wide, actually it’s big in every way. I’ll show how my two children look in it in a minute for size reference, but it’s a lot bigger than I expected it to be. I did try and fit it in my Model 3, but it’s too big unfortunately, which isn’t a problem as where we live we can drive around country roads, the local track or town. But it would have been awesome if I could have taken it in the boot and gone further afield, to the beach or other awesome spots. Maybe I need a Model Y afterall.
Speed
So on the back there’s a small button, under a plastic case that I’ve now removed, with two speed settings. Number 1 is for 3 mph and number 2 is for 6 mph. So kind of like a chill and sport mode.
A bit like in my own car, the chill mode was used for about 5 minutes before switching it to the faster speed. My children call setting 1 the slow speed, and they hate it.
But speed 2, the 6 mph option, is fast. When following or walking with it, it’s a lot faster than walking speed. So many people have commented on how quick it is when they are out.
Driving it is really easy, you’ve just got two buttons for forwards and backwards. There’s no gears, so you don’t need to worry about clutch control, oh and there’s no brake either so just left off the accelerator pedal and it’ll slow down, hopefully.
Extras
So I mentioned it has working headlights, which is a really nice feature, and they can be turned on and off with the button on the dash. It’s probably best not to drive at night though as the rear lights don’t work on this and I don’t think it’s got reflectors.
On the side there are foldable mirrors, not electric or heated unfortunately, so you’ll need to lean out and fold them in when driving through tight spaces.
And just like with most electric cars, there’s no engine in the front, and instead you’ve got a great storage compartment, or frunk. Ideal place for keeping your hats, gloves, drinks and snacks when on the daily commute.
It’s even got a working horn, so as you’re ripping up the tarmac at 6 mph, you can at least warn the average walker up in front that you’re here. And if they don’t hear you, I can tell you first hand that this car will take a chunk out of your shin or ankle if you fancy a fight with it, especially weighing over 40 pounds.
Children
So the car is rated for children aged between 3 and 8 years old and up to 81 pounds or 36 kilograms. This will be used by both my 6 year old son and my 4 year old daughter, so well within the age and weight range, and it’s had no issues with them.
In fact, although it’s only got one seat in, they both regularly sit in it together now, and it’s had no impact on the speed. I thought it was best I stress tested the weight limit for their safety too, they weren’t happy about it but I now feel safe knowing I can easily fit in it.
Range
So if you’ve ever had an electric car like this as a kid, the batteries were always terrible. You’d get 20-30 minutes out of it, it was slow and took about a day to charge up. But this car and the battery pack is stupidly impressive. So as I mentioned before it uses a lithium ion battery, this means it’ll last longer and recharge faster in-between sessions. Something we’d all be happy with.
So to give you an idea, the Tesla and Radio Flyer websites say it’ll last for 1-2 hours of continuous use, and that’s definitely the case.
The furthest we’ve driven this with both of my children in it and on the 2nd speed setting was 6 kilometers. That’s huge. That was from home, down the lane, all the way down the track, around town and back again. This was with two sat in, which meant the weight was a lot more, and it didn’t struggle at all. So range anxiety isn’t even a thing with a toy Tesla.
While you’re using it, you can check the battery status too, just by opening the boot lid and pressing the small button on the battery, it’ll flash up and show you the bars between 1 and 5. I’d say each LED is about 20 to 25 minutes of use.
Charging
Now charging this car is so clever and it gives a real Tesla experience. It comes with a wall charger that looks almost identical to the 3-pin plug you get with a Tesla. One end is plugged into a socket, and the other end is designed to act like a normal charging cable.
So pop the charging port on the side, and plug the cable in. Just like the real thing. Then on the charging cable it’ll go from red to a flashing green once charging. And on the battery you can see the LEDs flashing too.
But you don’t have to charge it this way, you can actually just remove the battery from the car and use the port on the bottom to plug the same cable into it. This is how I charge it after each use, I just bring the battery inside and plug it in the kitchen.
Charge time is only 2-3 hours, which is incredible compared to typical batteries which take 12-14 hours.
Plus as the battery can be removed, it can also be replaced. A replacement battery costs about $100.
Unboxing / Setup
And a quick look at the unboxing. It’s absolutely huge. But the car is well packaged with all the paperwork, charger and wheels separately packed away.
So I went for the white colour, to match my car, along with the darker wheels. But there’s a choice of black, red, blue and grey, along with the silver wheels too.
Putting it together is a 20 minute job, starting with the steering wheel, it just attaches on and screws into place. Then the plastic seat is used to cover up the motor and electrics, and clips over the top.
And the last thing to do is clip the 4 wheels on, a bit like having aero wheels. These also just clip on.
Good
Overall I think this looks awesome, it’s rapid, I mean it’s quicker than any other electric car I’ve seen children using. It’s not cheap though, but it’s not overpriced either. So I couldn’t find a UK retailer, so I needed to buy and import it, and all in all it cost just under $600. Looking around online, you can buy really cheap cars for $200, but for anything decent you’re looking at $4-500 anyway.
So for the extra premium you’re getting the brand name, the fast speed, the incredible battery and the little features like lights, a frunk and the cool charging features.
And my kids absolutely love it. I mean I’m not sure how many miles they’ve done in it now, but I’d guess around 15 miles or 25 kilometers already in the first month. They are always wanting to take it out and show it off, they also get so many comments from walkers. Generally speaking, it gets a lot of positive comments.
Bad
Two things I’d like to have seen on it, one is a luxury really, would have been indicators, like one extra button to control the hazard lights or indicators. I mean how cool would that be to allow kids to indicate as they are driving around. And the other is a softer seat or a cushion for the seat, as it’s a very hard plastic.
But other than that, this car is perfect and I can imagine my two children using and enjoying it for years to come.
Summary
So there you go, my children’s first Tesla and it didn’t disappoint. Hopefully I won’t need to visit the service centre within the first month of ownership of this one.
