Toys for vehicle-obsessed 3.5 year old - which playmobil, brio, hot wheels, bruder sets?

[LeeMiller]

DS seems to have outgrown some of his toys recently and I’d like to get some stuff to get us through the winter, plus he has xmas and a birthday approaching. I try to pick up stuff second hand but there is so much on Vinted it’s overwhelming I’m not sure what to look for!

He likes construction but is mainly vehicle obsessed - anything fast or which opens up to put stuff/people in is a hit. Increasingly likes imaginative play. I’d love to get some stuff that has lasting play value (I have fond memories of my Playmobil doll house, brio and sylvanian canal boat that still get played with lots at the grandparents)

Any recommendations for:

• Brio - aside from basic track any especially fun bits (bridges, turntables, cranes etc)?
• Playmobil - most interesting vehicle sets? I love the look of the campervan, rubbish truck, fire engine.
• Hot wheels - worth it or does it just fall apart? I know he’d love it but we had a cheap version and its too frustrating to use.
• Bruder - we have a simple dump truck and it’s been played with daily for years. Love the look of the crane, Landrover, lorries.

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My DS absolutely loved hot wheels and would play with it for hours! He liked tracks with two or more parallel tracks so you can race the cars - he would set up little tournaments between his cars.

Like this one
www.argos.co.uk/product/9542992?gbraid=0AAAAAD9II9ldsOlLQvA5UleC-UN_3FeRX&storeID=4704&istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=30f62ea9-9626-4cac-97c8-9ff3921f8558&istItemId=pwltrxlri&istBid=t&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59157%7Cacid:629-618-1342%7Ccid:16634989433%7Cagid:133162502845%7Ctid:pla-973055899904%7Ccrid:588879114441%7Cnw:u%7Crnd:17775467333236097542%7Cdvc:m%7Cadp:%7Cmt:%7Cloc:1006764&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=16634989433&utm_term=9542992&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=133162502845&utm_custom2=629-618-1342&GPDP=true&gbraid=0AAAAAD9II9ldsOlLQvA5UleC-UN_3FeRX&gclid=CjwKCAjw4c-ZBhAEEiwAZ105RSwcoPVJjSfzUxLz6W9Zcz-iO6-tz609CO-Qj9Rag5OlmVlJvvmXhxoCAH8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Bigjigs have lots of Brio-compatible fun additions - cranes/tunnels/bridges/turntables etc

Do you have a car mat or car play table? Really been enjoyed here. We also have a multi storey car park which again gets loads of use.

We have brio Station, turntable, tunnel and bridges. I don't think the station was worth it but the others are good.

Car transporter also a hit - hours of fun loading and unloading.

You can get brio/brio-alike sets with all kinds of themes - my son has a construction site one (it was Lidl, not Brio, but other brands do similar).

He also has a really big tractor he likes with trailer etc.

We have a much loved garage/multi-storey car park, a car mat (not that keen) and some way to play track (fiddly to put together but fun).

Brio cranes and turntables sound good.

Any good car transporters or breakdown trucks? We have a simple wooden one but I think he would like something more realistic/you can put figures in.

I’d like a really stable crane, we have a wooden one that constantly topples. Love the bruder but maybe he is too young.

Mostly I want good quality stuff, Mil buys endless cheap (but big and impressive looking) vehicle sets that break after a few hours and DS gets so cross/sad. Whereas my brio and Playmobil from the 80s is still in great condition.

Thanks @PaperPalace that looks like quite a straightforward hotwheels set, maybe easy for smaller hands. I know I’d be endlessly putting some of the other back together.

Hot wheels is more for ages 6 and up.

Id look at Bigjigs junctions and so on and also Playmobil police etc.

We bought our DSs this about 6 years ago when they were about 2 & 4, loved it then & still play with it now. They play inside & outside with it & love making new jumps, making cars jump into boxes/over things. Seems quite expensive but well worth it from our experience
www.speed-track.co.uk

Not sure on any of the others but we have just bought DD the playmobil recycling truck for her 3rd birthday and it's gone down really well, it comes with loads of wee parts, bins, people, opens up and has lights. I got ours on Amazon prime day and it was well worth the £25

Brio builder

@Happyhouralways I bought this but we don’t live in the UK so it is waiting at my parents’. I have heard great things about it!

@LeeMiller I hope you enjoy when you get it!
If it has been curled up for a while use a hairdryer on it to help flatten it out.

@Happyhouralways thanks for the tip!

My 2.5 year old absolutely loves hot wheels. He has the set that's linked above. And the big garage. And about ten gazillion cars. Its pretty much all he ever plays with.

Just putting in a recommendation for the Brio advent calendar if he's into Brio. DS had it last year and it was so much fun, plus you got some useful bits of track (and some days that were a bit shit but he still loved).

Playmobil was by far the toy my children played with the ingest (each day and over the years) and which was robust enough.

would always recommend it.

*longest

Bruder stuff is excellent quality. My 11-y-o has lots, still plays with it and would like more.

My just 5 yo is obsessed with Hot Wheels. We got him the big garage with the dino last Christmas and I honestly thought it would fall apart, but it’s pretty sturdy and is ‘toddler tested’ on a daily basis. He plays with it all the time. The loop the loop type tracks are really flimsy, not worth it.

he’s vehicle obsessed too but LOVES the playmobil pirate set. DD has the campervan- another popular toy.

the John deer tractors and bruder bits are fab too!

The hotwheels sets we have aren't that sturdy at all and are really quite irritating. We ended up just getting the orange track for hotwheels instead and that's been played with loads. DS sets it up over cushions/off chairs and plays with it for hours. It's really easy to pack away as well as the track just slides together.

We also have the smyths toys version of glowtrax and that's played with loads. The cars seem to eat batteries though.

My vehicle obsessed ds collected hot wheels when he was a bit older, but at that age it was Playmobil all the way - the road sweeper with the little bits you could pick up, the bin truck, fire engine, tractor and trailer...I picked lots of them up good as new on eBay.

Thank you, this is very helpful. I don’t want another huge garage but maybe some very simple orange hot wheels track could work.

I adore playmobil so I’m keen to get some as I would actually enjoy playing with it! there’s just so much choice! I’m thinking bin lorry with street sweeper, fire engine and camper van might be good options for extended play. He’d like the pull back racing cars too. My brother had a great pirate ship but DS hasn’t reached that phase yet.

I know he’d like a breakdown /tow truck or a truck you can load other vehicles onto and we need a crane. It’s important that they are not too fiddly for a 3.5 year old to do himself (a bit of an issue according to lots of reviews) as he is not keen on having help at the moment. Any specific models you’d recommended from Bruder or Playmobil?

I’ve just bought a pile of dirt-cheap brio track on Vinted but we need need trains and bridges etc. An advent calendar sounds cool.

You will never regret a Bruder purchase - the landrovers are particularly popular in my house. Really excellent quality and the various accessories make great stocking fillers!

DS has been hot wheels obsessed since his 3rd birthday, he plays with it daily. It's very sturdy and I've never had it come apart despite him being a very rambunctious little boy! He has a transporter that flips out in to a double track that you can race cars on. www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/toys/construction-and-cars/hot-wheels/hot-wheels-playsets/hot-wheels-city-speedway-hauler/p/193158