Razor Ground Force Electric Go-Kart. Customer Review

Our son received this for his 9th birthday and LOVES it. Unlike the review below, he had no problem acheiving 12+ mph.

If you're used to the Peg Perego electric toy ride-ons, this is very different. It's very solid throughout, mostly metal with hard plastic. There aren't any bells and whistles, just a variable speed forward throttle (no reverse) and brake, both of which work extremely well. This is a real go-kart: very low to the ground for tight cornering. The battery is built in, and with a very simple plug for charging -- but the trade off is that you can't stock multiple batteries for longer play time. Our son usually gets near the advertised 45 minutes of play time before recharges, and there is a nice indicator on the steering wheel warning of low charge.

You will need a fairly large smooth area (like a parking lot) for your kid to use this go-kart. It doesn't take bumps well being so low to the ground. The kart is small, so can fit in minivans/SUVs/wagons for transport.

Assembly is simple for those who are mechanically inclined, made challenging only by the poor manual (more on that below). You put the steering wheel on (it requires a plastic inset on top and bottom and to make sure the bottom bolt is very tight) and put the seat on (may require taping down the wires under the seat). Add the flag and you are done.

The one negative is that the provided manual is a joke, and Razor's customer service tells me that a new one is being written. I suspect that the relative lack of availability of this model (at least one national retailer has discontinued it) is due to the poor manual quality. When I say "joke", it is really LOL humorous. The mechanic who wrote it clearly was unhappy that any assembly was being left to the end user. It has comments like "use the provided tools only as a last resort" (they are actually fine) and a suggestion that you find a "real" mechanic to assemble it. It contains unhelpful advice, such as warning you the kart moves while in use, while not mentioning the need for plastic inserts with the steering wheel. The worst is that there is no discussion of the use of the product after assembly, such as what to do if the circuit breaker trips or how to maximize battery life (the customer service tells me that the battery should be used up before recharge, and that it should not be plugged in for more than 6 hours).

So, if you feel uncomfortable with a poor manual, I suggest delaying purchase of this until is fixed. Otherwise, this toy is outstanding.