TRU Review: Cars Aquadoodle

A few months ago, I reviewed a Rainbow Aquadoodle as a part of the Toyologist programme. When it arrived, I thought, "We've already got Aquadoodle mats, we don't need another one!" I quickly realised that not all aquadraw mats are the same, they have different features which make them an entirely different toy.

Therefore when I looked at the box for this Cars Aquadoodle I was interested to see what its 'special feature' was. And it is a special feature indeed. With this one, the mat is surrounded by the usual associated pictures (this time it's obviously characters from the Disney film Cars) and the colour that comes through on the mat is red. The special feature is a Lightning McQueen car that drives along a 'road' drawn by the special roller.

I've had experience of these types of 'follow the line' cars before and that one was rubbish. This one is excellent, it works really well and can pick up either the rollered road or a drawn line using the spare Aquadoodle pen.

If it loses the road or line that it should be following then it meanders around a little bit until it picks up another one, which I thought was rather clever of it. It's very quick to respond and can detect the faintest of lines, which is just as well because the roller works well but creates a bolder line when over a hard surface (not carpet).

My only negative of this, and it's a minor thing and depends on your noise threshold (mine's very low), is that it's quite noisy. Obviously, Lightning makes excited noises as he drives along and that is part of the appeal. The bit that I found gave me a headache (literally) is the whirr of the back wheels. However, like I said I have a low noise threshold; just ask one of my ex-pupils!

Aquadoodle sets can be a little bit pricey,and at £29.99 this set falls into that category. However, for a Cars fanatic (like my nephew; wait until he sees it), it's probably a must. How does it compare to the Rainbow Aquadoodle? It is more expensive but in this set you're getting a car that is responsive and interactive to your child's play, whereas the other set is more artistic. Different areas for entertainment, both worthwhile.

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