REVIEW – I had the good fortune of reviewing the FUNTOK Kid’s Electric Ride On car recently, and while I loved a lot of things about it there were some drawbacks such as the size of the vehicle (taking up a third of a car bay in our small 2-car garage). Our little toddler is also smaller than average and it will be a good year before he can reach the steering wheel with the seat belt on and he’s in that development stage where he wants more control, so the offer to review the Droyd Zypster Kids Electric Go Kart looked like a great option. It also just looked like a lot of fun.
What is it?
The Droyd Zypster Kids Electric Go Kart is a small electric go-kart designed for kids 3-6 (or up to 120 lbs). It has a keyed parental switch to limit speeds to either 3 mph or 6 mph, adjustable seat back position, and up to 45 minutes / 3 miles of riding.
What’s included?
- Droyd Zypster Kids Electric Go Kart
- Steering wheel
- Seat back
- Safety flag (8 pieces)
- Installation tools and bolts
- AC Charger
Tech specs
Click to expand
- 2 Speed settings: 3 mph/4.8 kmh and 6 mph/9.6 kmh
- Weight: 25.3 lbs
- Dimensions: 35.4″ L x 21.6″ W x 25.2″ H
- Weight capacity: 120 lbs
- Recommended ages: 3-6
- Smooth launch control
- Battery: 24V Lithium Ion battery
- Motors: Dual Brushed DC motors
- Materials: Steel frame and plastic body
- Steering wheel: adjustable
- Seat: 3 positions
- Lighting: side and rear LED lights, rear lights double as battery indicator
Design and features
The Droyd Zypster Kids Electric Go Kart is your classic go-kart shape: a simple seat with a steering wheel and “gas” pedal where the right foot rests.
A red switch toggles forward and backwards drive modes. The placement seems to be good, our toddler hasn’t accidently switched it mid-ride (his feet rest to either side).
The four wheels are plastic, with the front two acting as steering and the rear two are connected to motors.
The steering wheel (yoke?) is designed to be gripped with both hands for steering as well as extra stability. The length of the steering wheel column is adjustable and locks firmly into place in intervals. It looks like it will work well as our toddler gets bigger, but I do wish the angle was also adjustable, it’s a little high for him right now (though he’s a bit under the usual size for the minimum age so he’ll likely grow into it just fine).
From the front (shown above) you can see the steel steering pieces and front grab bar (great for carrying the go-kart around or to hang it on a wall for storage). The whole body feels solid with little flex, the steel frame inspires confidence while the plastic body serves fine for seating and to protect the innards.
On the back is the power button and speed limit key switch (red for the faster 6 mph top speed and green for 3 mph). An LED indicates power status when on, and LED strips on the back and sides also light up. Notably lacking is any headlights, so you’ll need to attach a bike light or something if you want night riding capabilities. The rear LED doubles as a battery level indicator, which is a nice touch.
Charging is located on the left back corner and is protected by a small plug.
Charging from empty takes about 5 hours, and a full charge provides up to 45 minutes of runtime.
Assembly, Installation, Setup
Assembly is pretty easy on the Droyd Zypster Kids Electric Go Kart, with a bolt to install on the steering wheel,
…and a small cover installed after lifting the steering wheel column up from it’s flat shipping position. I wish this was more easily removable, though the 2 screws aren’t bad – it would be nice if you could fold the steering column down for storage, especially if hanging it on a wall, so that it takes up even less space.
Finally, you insert the seat back into one of three positions (depending on the size of your child and how they prefer to sit). Even though our toddler is small, he prefered the 2nd position. This didn’t lock as securely as I would hope, I was expecting more of a click-lock based on the nubs on the seatback pegs, but no matter how much pressure I applied, it stays in place on our unit from friction alone. I may add a screw or see if something needs to be drilled out in the future, as I could see this popping out mid-ride. My guess is that poor tolerances or a problem with the plastic body mold means the holes where the nubs are supposed to “lock” are either overfilled with plastic or misaligned.
Performance
I was impressed with the balance of fun and safety that Droyd has landed on with the Zypster Electric Kids Go Kart: our toddler absolutely loves driving around a nearby park with it and has a giant grin on his face every time he does, and at the same time the lower speed limit setting is very tame. He hasn’t crashed into anything yet, abrupt starts and stops don’t jerk him around too much and even if he does hit something I’m not worried at the 3 mph speed about him getting more than bruises or mild scrapes. His attention span hasn’t used the entire battery life in any outing yet, after about 10 minutes he usually wants to visit the ducks or go to the playground, so for now it’s more than enough.
The go-kart was easy to throw in the back of our compact SUV to take to the park. For his first ride, I attached a strap to the front bumper and physically pulled the kart to the left or right if he was veering off the path. He’s getting better at steering now, but until he fully masters the concept the strap solution is working out fine.
What I like about the Droyd Zypster Kids Electric Go Kart
- Good balance of fun while seeming fairly safe for a go-kart
- UL certified Lithium Ion battery – some kids toys have questionable batteries these days
- Adjustable seat and wheel and parent speed controls mean we should be able to get years of use out of it
- Light enough to carry around and hang on wall hooks with the front steel bumper.
What needs to be improved?
- Could just be my review unit – but the seat doesn’t lock as firmly into place as I’d like (or as the seat peg’s design visually indicates)
- Making the steering column easily collapsible for storage/transport would be nice
- Front headlights for more visibility would be nice
Final thoughts
As much as we love the previously reviewed FUNTOK Jeep-style electric car, the Droyd Zypster Kids Electric Go Kart has surpassed it as our go-to ride-on car option for our toddler. It’s easier to transport and store, he can control it much better at his current size, and it should grow with him for years to come. The large park near our house that’s usually mostly empty is sure to be home to our little racer, who will need that practice on these curving paths to perfect his racing lines and be the next F1 champion someday.
Price: $249
Where to buy: DROYD or Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by DROYD. DROYD did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
