If your boys are into radio controlled cars, these innovative Air Hogs Zero Gravity micro cars are sure to please. Who wouldn’t want to drive their car up walls and across ceilings? Well you parents might not be too keen, but they should not damage your paintwork – honest!

So what is the Air Hogs Zero Gravity Car and is it worth buying?

Highlights

“Driving Air Hogs Zero Gravity Cars on walls will appeal to boys. Light, manoeuvrable with quick charge time, but needs a smooth wall. Fan is loud.”

Air Hogs Zero Gravity Car – What Does It Do?

This radio-controlled Zero Gravity micro car is like no other. At 12cm long, it is a 1:43 scale model of a real sports car. However as well as driving it along the floor like every other RC car, this one also defies gravity by allowing you to drive it up walls and even upside down on ceilings or the underneath of tables.

This amazing scientific feat is made possible by the use of a high speed internal air suction (fan) system that allows the car to “stick” to the surface it is driving on. This fan creates a vacuum in the thin space between the car and the wall that actually pulls it into the wall and keeps it there.

Air Hogs Zero Gravity

(Hover over image for current price.)

The Air Hog Zero Gravity car has three settings – off, driving normally (ie, on the floor), and driving with zero gravity (ie, on walls and ceilings). The normal mode does not use the fan so makes the battery last longer. In zero gravity mode, the fan kicks in and is quite loud. The suction also means that driving is a bit slower. Watch out when you’re driving down a wall as it will go faster than up a wall and if you try to go sideways you will have to guide it upwards to keep it straight.

You need 6 AA batteries for the controller. To charge the car, you plug the charging cord from the controller into the jack socket on the car. You should get about 10 charges of the car out of one set of good quality AA batteries. A 30 minute battery charge allows for 10 minutes of run time.

There are four designs of the AirHogs Micro Zero Gravity: a green rally car, a green SUV, a black rugged car and a blue sports car. They are all well styled and are each on a different frequency allowing them to be raced head-to head with each other. The cars also feature working head and tail lights so you can play with them at night. Beware when the headlights start flashing though as this means the battery is on its way out. Be quick to get it off the wall or ceiling or risk it falling on top of you.

Each set includes one car, one rechargeable battery and one handset. This toy is for ages 8 and above.

Air Hogs Zero Gravity Car – Is It Any Good?

This is not a particularly cheap present, but does offer crazy boys hours of fun. The car is very lightweight, which is good if it falls off the wall, as it will do less damage to whatever it might fall onto! Keep an eye on the headlights as they flash if the batteries are low. You want to remove the car from the wall before the batteries die. It is also pretty durable as it does not break when it falls off the wall.

Manoeuvrability is superb. It steers like a normal car when driving but when stationery it will still turn. It just spins on the spot. This is great for going around tough obstacles or for changing directions almost instantly.

The car runs on any smooth surface – the smoother the wall the better. Some people find it even works on mildly textured plaster walls or ceilings. It also doesn’t leave any marks on the wall, thankfully.

Its smallish size makes it easy to store and more convenient to use in more places. It also looks good so is bound to be a popular present for boys. Once they have the hang of it they will be spinning and skidding it all over the place.

Education wise, there is something for children to learn about gravity and how the fan, whilst working, allows the car to defy this law of physics.

The quick charge time is also a bonus.

Air Hogs Zero Gravity Car – Are There Any Downsides?

The Air Hogs Zero Gravity Micro car is a real love it or hate it toy. Some people have no luck with them at all and others love them.

The wheels you can see on the car in the photos are not real. They are non-moving pieces of the plastic car mould. The two real wheels are underneath the car and are very tiny. This is why you can only really drive the car on smooth, hard surfaces, such as walls, ceilings, wood panelling, patio doors or windows. It will not work on carpets.

The fan is loud – about as loud as a hairdryer, and the car is made from cheap plastic.
The battery life could be longer but the recharge breaks will give you a rest from the fan noise.

The track and signs that are advertised with the car on television are not included in the set.

The recharge connection plug is very fragile. The prongs are made out of thin wire and if you don’t plug them in just right, the wires will bend and break.

Buy Now

          

You can also buy these Air Hogs Zero Gravity cars from The Toy Shop or Toys R Us.

If your child has an Air Hogs Zero Gravity car I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. Please leave me a comment.

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