Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Customers like the animation and fun of the non-riding toy vehicle. They mention it looks great, is cool, and is a fun toy. However, some customers have reported issues with the charge rate, connectivity, and speed. Opinions are mixed on functionality and value for money.
Customers like the language of the product. They mention it responds to the movie and speaks. Customers also appreciate the top-notch interactions and the voice seems like licensed real voices of Owen.
"This is VERY cool. It responds to the movie and talks. My son still loves this." Read more
"...Interactions are top notch and the voice seems like licensed real voices of Owen Wilson from or by Disney." Read more
"...The way he moves and speaks is just unreal, you can script what he says, really cool and making him do donuts is perfect, love this car." Read more
"This thing is amazing!! I don't even think you can call this a toy. It talks, comments, jokes, its animated and so much more...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the functionality of the non-riding toy vehicle. Some mention it works well on tile and hardwood floors, while others say it doesn't turn on ever and only works with an app that is loaded on an iPhone.
"Disappointed this one I got doesn’t turn on ever. No lights no sounds. Nothing. Left it charged and tried everything no connection...." Read more
"...Works very well on tile and hardwood floors. Its an indoor toy only in opinion, as the tires will wear on concrete as they seem a rubbery finish...." Read more
"...my 4 year old son just opened this Sphero lightening Mcqueen and it would NOT work! Everyone tried and there is nothing helping...." Read more
"Great idea. Car won't turn on at all. Have tried multiple devices, charging for 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 2 hrs, 2 days and still nothing...." Read more
8 customers mention "Value for money"4 positive4 negative
Customers have mixed opinions about the value for money of the non-riding toy vehicle. Some mention it's a good product, while others say it's a waste of money and expensive.
"Car is great. Charger is crap. 2nd night we had it the charger tip came off...." Read more
"Expensive and hard to use. Can only be used in Europe do not buy" Read more
Customers are dissatisfied with the charge rate of the non-riding toy vehicle. They mention it won't take a charge at all, the charger is of poor quality, and has no power.
"Car is great. Charger is crap. 2nd night we had it the charger tip came off...." Read more
"...Will not take a charge at all. We contacted sphero and were told we foul have a gift card not even worth the car and there was nothing they could do." Read more
"...Charges fast, about 30 minutes, and the app for the car is very cool with 2 modes to drive...." Read more
"...Something is not right and looks like a regular car toy since no power." Read more
Customers are dissatisfied with the connectivity of the non-riding toy vehicle. They mention it doesn't keep a charge, the app doesn't connect, and it's complex and unreliable. Some say they can't download software or connect to Bluetooth.
"...There's some cons: the connectivity is complex and unreliable. The initiation is cumbersome as there are required updates which don't go so smoothly...." Read more
"...This was a complete lemon...charger wont charge and the app wont connect to the car! Seriously SHAME ON YOU GUYS! Ruined my sons christmas!" Read more
"...we got wouldn't finish updating the audio file and would fail to connect to some devices...." Read more
"This product is defective it doesn’t keep a charge and the app doesn’t connect so my son hasn’t been able to use it for more than a couple of min." Read more
6 customers mention "Speed"0 positive6 negative
Customers are dissatisfied with the speed of the non-riding toy vehicle. They mention it's difficult to download and take a very long time. The controls still lag a bit, and the initiation is cumbersome. Some say the product is not as easy to use and impossible to troubleshoot.
"...The controls still lag a bit tried with an iPhone 7 Plus, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 2, iPad Pro and a Galaxy S7, however soooooooooo much better control..." Read more
"...My kid was excited to open, and annoyed after the first hour of updates. I’m on Verizon fios with fast broadband, and takes 2+ hours to update???..." Read more
"...The initiation is cumbersome as there are required updates which don't go so smoothly. As another review pointed out there's no hardware control...." Read more
"...complaint I have is that the app was difficult to download and took a very long time. Once it was done, though, it was great!" Read more
Amazing robotic toy...it's the controls that need work
I was really excited to get this robotic toy for my kids birthday. The car does justice to Lightning McQueen's movie movements and personality. If you've been to California Adventure at Disneyland and have seen the large scale version of lightning and thought that was cool...wait until you see this. The movements, the animated eyes, the voice...it's Lightning McQueen. The fact that they have Owen Wilson's actual voice for all the voice sounds is awesome and shows attention to detail sphero took. The on-vehicle speaker is good quality and loud with volume adjustable via the app.There are capacitive touch panels all around the car, providing feedback when the car is touched. There's an accelerometer as well so Lightning know when it's upside down.The charge port being at the gas cap is another awesome idea.The vehicle is front wheel drive which is where the robotic lifts are as well. The front wheels feel like they have a thin rubber coating (rears are plastic).The screen where Lightning's eyes are is great. It's bright and clear and the processors will adjust the eyes and emotion based on what you're doing (and based on direction & speed).So why the 3 star review?...it's the controlsIf you have Sphero's BB-8 then you'll understand what I mean by the controls. Sphero took that control engine and applied it to a car which should have had 4-way RC car controls. The control interface makes sense for a robotic sphere like BB-8 but not a car. It takes me a few crashes every time we play with this to get hang of it if. As soon as the tail kicks out (which is fun and intentional on how the car is designed...soft plastic back wheels for lower grip) I lose control since I automatically try correcting like I would on a normal RC car control interface...using direction of travel + wheel direction for correction. However, the control interface causes you to constantly adjust control input based on the direction of you + vehicle...e.g. Left isn't left. It's tough to explain...it's not intuitive if you've driven RC cars in the past (traditional or pistol grip).The controls issue is correctable via a software + firmware update, if they fix it with a future patch then I would really enjoy this car and bump up my rating. I'm going to submit this feedback to Sphero through there site since they likely won't be reading it here.Would I recommend buying this even with the control issues...Yes!
11/28/17 Update - Updated to 5 stars as the developers of the App listened and added traditional 4 way controls to the app. The controls still lag a bit tried with an iPhone 7 Plus, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 2, iPad Pro and a Galaxy S7, however soooooooooo much better control over the funky circle needing orientation setup.
Is it worth $300 ... meh depends, powered it up and disliked the controls being a normal RC guy used to sticks and pistol grips, but seeing my 5 yr old daughter finally play with an RC after trying to get her into RC's ... priceless.
If Sphero every adds a traditional stick controls to it's app and I will bump it up to a 5 star
Fell in love with the droids by Sphero and purchased this as a Christmas gift for a nephew. Amazing details, great driving experience and they nailed the drifting. Works very well on tile and hardwood floors. Its an indoor toy only in opinion, as the tires will wear on concrete as they seem a rubbery finish. Charges fast, about 30 minutes, and the app for the car is very cool with 2 modes to drive. Can drive about 90 minutes before needing a charge which is also good. Interactions are top notch and the voice seems like licensed real voices of Owen Wilson from or by Disney.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ultimate is an Understatement - Remarkable Product
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2017
Fell in love with the droids by Sphero and purchased this as a Christmas gift for a nephew. Amazing details, great driving experience and they nailed the drifting. Works very well on tile and hardwood floors. Its an indoor toy only in opinion, as the tires will wear on concrete as they seem a rubbery finish. Charges fast, about 30 minutes, and the app for the car is very cool with 2 modes to drive. Can drive about 90 minutes before needing a charge which is also good. Interactions are top notch and the voice seems like licensed real voices of Owen Wilson from or by Disney.
Talk about joy killer. Open it for kid and have to wait 2 hours to download ‘critical updates’ and then install ‘audio files’. Seriously how bad is your team at developing apps that you have returns because it’s so slow and bad. My kid was excited to open, and annoyed after the first hour of updates. I’m on Verizon fios with fast broadband, and takes 2+ hours to update??? Jezee, will return as on first iPhone didn’t even finish the app install, installed it on new iPhone and finally installed but takes forever to update the app. Sucks, really ruin the excitement, enjoy the return
**update, app stuck on updates, 4 hours in. From online research seems to be a common issue. I f***ing hate this company ruined my 3yr olds Christmas. Take my return and throw it in the garbage pile that I’m sure is 3 stories tall now. Wish I could sue sphero for my wasted wrapping paper expenses, seems small but imagine your kid is McQueen fanatic and crying on Christmas as you jam this turd back into the box for return. Thanks sphero for making my kid cry on Christmas
So far this toy is amazing. You will need to connect WiFi and Bluetooth to update the audio and firmware but it doesn't take long. My son has been bouncing him off walls with no issues. Needs to charge for a half hour so I updated right off the bat as he needs to be plugged in to update. Well put together and the box he comes in makes excellent storage and holds him stationary during transport. No weird glitches or anything I will update if there are any issues.
5.0 out of 5 stars
So far this toy is amazing. You will need to connect WiFi and Bluetooth ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2017
So far this toy is amazing. You will need to connect WiFi and Bluetooth to update the audio and firmware but it doesn't take long. My son has been bouncing him off walls with no issues. Needs to charge for a half hour so I updated right off the bat as he needs to be plugged in to update. Well put together and the box he comes in makes excellent storage and holds him stationary during transport. No weird glitches or anything I will update if there are any issues.
This McQueen is a marvel--like having the character from the screen right in your living room! There's an initial period of sheer joy at the lifelike qualities!
There's some cons: the connectivity is complex and unreliable. The initiation is cumbersome as there are required updates which don't go so smoothly. As another review pointed out there's no hardware control. I actually don't mind this but once the app ceases to be supported, what happens to this? It's basically nothing without the app. So much for collectability.
Update in the year 2022, apps no longer supported or available and seems my car is now dead
I was so excited when I saw that my Lightning McQueen was delivered - and it did not disappoint. Very easy 1,2,3 instructions to get it charged and ready to race. A quick and easy firmware update and Lightning was ready to go! Raced it around the house a bit and excited to get many years of use out of it! Thanks Sphero - now I have to go see Cars3.
This open box purchase was not inspected and arrived with a destroyed box and the charging wire broken off in the charging port on the car. (See Pic). My 2.5 year old was not happy that his long awaited Lightning McQueen was not working. So I had to go buy a new plug for the charging port and solder it onto the original Sphero power source. This was necessary because Sphero uses an uncommon 15v/1000mA power supply so the usual 12v converters would not sufficiently charge the car. So all said, it was a hassle and a half.
After all was said and done, the car works great and my boy can sit there all day and talk to Lightning. Ka-chow! But I would think twice before buying a purportedly inspected open box from this seller. I have contacted them and let them know about the problems. We will see if they respond at all. I will update this review accordingly.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Open Box was Not Inspected and Inoperable Until Fixed
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2018
This open box purchase was not inspected and arrived with a destroyed box and the charging wire broken off in the charging port on the car. (See Pic). My 2.5 year old was not happy that his long awaited Lightning McQueen was not working. So I had to go buy a new plug for the charging port and solder it onto the original Sphero power source. This was necessary because Sphero uses an uncommon 15v/1000mA power supply so the usual 12v converters would not sufficiently charge the car. So all said, it was a hassle and a half.
After all was said and done, the car works great and my boy can sit there all day and talk to Lightning. Ka-chow! But I would think twice before buying a purportedly inspected open box from this seller. I have contacted them and let them know about the problems. We will see if they respond at all. I will update this review accordingly.
Nos llego en su caja, todo bien empacado, un poco complicado la cuestión de la aplicación, los updates, firmwares y esas cuestiones tecnológicas, pero ya en funcionamiento esta cosa no tiene comparación, tiene vida propia!, mi hijo hasta le habla y piensa que es de verdad jajaja, y obvio no me lo quiere prestar jajaja. Tuvimos un pequeño problema con el cargador, que es un poco frágil para su uso en niños, y el servicio al cliente de Sphero nos mando otro sin costo, es increíble la atención al cliente que brindan! Ampliamente recomendable!
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