The new PAW Patrol Big Truck Pups range, ranked by a five-year-old

Tested by Gemma Wilcock and her five-year-old son, Luca.

A group of cute but brave hero pups who come to the rescue using their own unique skills, PAW Patrol is not only fun to watch but there’s also a huge range of toys and merchandise for fans to act out their own Adventure Bay rescues.

Now there’s a new pup and some exciting trucks in town to add even more excitement for fans of the loveable, heroic, team-oriented show.

My five-year-old son, Luca, already has a small collection of the PAW Patrol trucks, characters, and playsets, including the PAW Patrol Sea Patroller, that still gets played with not just by him but any child that comes over.

Reviewed: Paw Patrol Big Truck Pups range

Luca was thrilled to be able to get to test out the new transforming trucks, figures and playsets from the PAW Patrol Big Truck Pups range. The brand new range features trucks that change shape, and each comes with fun moving parts to encourage children to use their imagination and create their own stories and adventures.

Aimed at children aged two to six who want to feel like a hero, the PAW Patrol Big Trucks Pups range is a great gift option for preschoolers, especially those who love the show and want to story-tell alongside the world’s most heroic team of rescue pups.

We tested five toys and Luca had lots of fun playing with them, trying out each of the toys’ features. He then ranked his favourite three and gave his verdict on what he loved about each of them - here’s what he thought.

1st place: Al's Deluxe Big Rig Toy Truck

Price on writing: £29.99 (RRP £39.99) | Buy now from Smyths

“I like this toy because it’s a truck and it’s big. I like pushing it about and picking up the log with the crane. It’s my favourite of all the toys”, says Luca.

What Mum thinks:

Having watched plenty of Ryder, Marshall and co over the years, Luca was excited to meet the newest member of the gang, Al, and he got straight to playing with the Deluxe Big Rig Toy Truck. Luca loves vehicles and he immediately set out to test out the fun features on this large-scale logging truck.

The truck cab roof lifts up and has room for Al and another character to sit inside when racing to a mission. You can move Al to the control pod in the back of the truck, which has an extendable claw arm for picking up the included log and three I-beams and move them to the back of the truck. The pod easily slides back and forth on a track and it can be raised up and down, and rotated 360° to get in the right position.

To pick up the I-beams and log, you press two clips on the side of the claw - great for children who need to practice their pincer grip - and then it automatically locks into place so you can move them into the back of the truck. Luca really enjoyed doing this, stacking up the logs and beams or propping them up against a wall and then moving the claw arm into position.

Suitable for play from the age of three, this truck is easy to manoeuvre with no small, fiddly parts. Younger children may need a bit of help at first when working the features but they are otherwise easy to use.

Luca says Al's Deluxe Big Rig Toy Truck was his favourite

If you pull back the trailer, it extends from the cabin which allows the front and back to turn round corners separately, just as a real truck would. Luca found it engaging and he enjoyed pushing it around and making up stories, he even used it as a bridge over his car track, sending cars flying underneath it. This truck is great for encouraging a child’s imagination and aiding their development, helping them to practice their fine-motor skills, such as hand-eye coordination, through pretend play.

The truck is quite big but all the bits can be easily popped inside for storage. The only negative for me was that, while it comes with three I-beams and a log, and Al, a couple more accessories would help extend play further, especially for Luca who is at the top end of the recommended age bracket. It’s also pricier than the other toys in the range but it would make a great start to a PAW Patrol collection or added to an already growing collection.

Pros

• Exciting new character and vehicle

• Comes with a log and I-beans

• Easy to use extendable arm claw for picking things up

• Character can sit in both front and the back of the truck

• Sturdy, well made toy

Cons

• A couple more accessories would extend play further

• Pricier than the other toys in the range

Technical specs

• Recommended age: 3+

2nd place: Rocky Rescue Truck

Price: £16.99 | Buy now from Smyths

“I like Rocky, I didn’t have him before. The rubbish truck is fun. I like filling the bin with paper and putting it in the back of the truck. The little vehicle is fun to push around too”, says Luca.

What Mum thinks:

One of the character’s missing from Luca’s collection was Rocky so he was thrilled to be able to play with him and his new Rescue Truck. Smaller than Al’s Deluxe Big Rig Toy Truck, it transforms into a bigger vehicle with moving features.

There’s space for Rocky to sit in the front of the truck - just lift the cabin roof to put him inside, and you can pull back the rear of the truck so it can turn corners easily. Luca enjoyed pushing the truck and then opening the back door, which turns into a ramp, and the side comes down to provide a two-storey command centre.

There’s a blue bin stored underneath the truck. Simply slide it out and clip it into the moving arm at the front of the vehicle. Luca loved ripping up bits of card and filling up the bin, then emptying it into the back of the truck.

Inside the truck is a mini vehicle which Rocky can sit in and you can push down the ramp. Luca attached a recycling crane to it for pretending to load the bin with items, although I think it would have been better if there was a little clip on the end - like on Al’s crane - for actually attaching things to it as otherwise it doesn’t really do anything.

Luca enjoyed pretending to recycle paper with Rocky’s rubbish truck

All items fit inside or on the truck for easy storage and it’s not too big so won’t take up too much space. I think this is a great size for preschoolers and encourages pretend play. Luca especially enjoyed transforming the vehicle, moving the parts and swapping Rocky from vehicle to vehicle.

Pros

• Good size for preschoolers

• Easy to use features

• Transforms into two-storey command centre

• Also comes with mini vehicle

• Rocky figure included

Cons

• The recycling crane could be more engaging

Technical specs

• Recommended age: 3+

3rd place: Rubble Rescue Truck

Price: £16.99 | Buy now from Smyths

“The crane moves round and I like lifting it up and down and pretending to pick things up with it. The box lifts off the back and it’s fun changing how the truck looks”, says Luca.

What Mum thinks:

Can you tell Luca loves vehicles? His top three toys were all trucks as he loves lining them up and pushing them around. Similar to Rocky’s, this is a smaller sized transforming truck and has all the same features, such as a space in the front for Rubble to sit and a trailer that extends to turn corners.

The lid of the trailer lifts up to turn it into a command centre, with a moving rescue crane and the lid then turns into a bin for emptying materials into. Rubble can also sit in the back to turn the crane into position.

The crane pulls up and it also turns 360 degrees, but not when the crane arm is pushed all the way down. You have to make sure to lift the arm up to turn the base and the crane also won’t go fully back down unless the base is back in the right position.

Saying that, once we got the hang of it, Luca enjoyed sitting Rubble in the crane and moving the arm around to pretend to pick up materials and drop them in the bin. The end is a hook so there isn’t a lot you can actually attach to it - I think older children would want to be able to do this - but it’s great for inspiring their imagination.

Pros

• Perfect size for preschoolers

• Comes with Rubble figure

• Trailer transforms into command centre

• Safe and sturdy

• Great for inspiring imagination

Cons

• The crane has to be in the right position to activate

Technical specs

• Recommended age: 3+

4th & 5th place: PAW Patrol Hero Big Truck Pups

Price on writing £9.99 (RRP £11.99) | Buy now from Smyths

Alongside Luca’s three favourites mentioned above, we also received the Marshall and Zuma PAW Patrol playsets from the Big Truck Pups Hero series.

Both are a small playset that includes a control pod with a figure, a clip-on drone, and an animal friend. While they weren’t his favourite toys out of the five, Luca liked opening the sets and playing with them alongside the above toys.

These smaller sets are great collectibles for fans who want to collect them all, and for those who wish to add them to other sets to create a bigger mission with more characters.

Pros

• Collectibles to build your PAW Patrol play sets

• Small enough to pack when travelling

• The pretend screen doubles as a toy carrier

• Great for kids to pick their favourite characters

Cons

• Limited play to just one character

Technical specs

• Recommended age: Suitable from birth

Time for the verdict

The new PAW Patrol Big Truck Pups range is quickly becoming the go-to gift for preschoolers

Luca is at the top end of the recommended age bracket for all of these toys and I would say that while he had lots of fun playing with them, younger children would get more enjoyment and play out of them. The truck is the perfect size for smaller hands whereas Luca tends to look for more features, like sounds and flashing lights, etc, to keep his attention.

However, for those seeking a gift for a preschooler who’s a fan of PAW Patrol, all of these toys are great options - particularly with Christmas around the corner.