My eldest son has had the Vtech playtime bus for nearly two years now. He got it for his first Christmas when he was eleven months old. At the time he was in my eyes very young for it and enjoyed just pushing the bus along the floor. It is a sturdy toy for him. Overtime he has realised it does a little more than that and enjoys sitting on the floor with me and listening to the sounds each button makes. Admittedly it's not a toy he chooses to have out every day but it has been frequently used in the two years we have had it.

The playtime bus is typical of Vtech with lots of educational buttons and its bright and colourful look to attract those little ones hands. The bus is bright red a good choice as I would think if you asked most children what colour a bus is they would say red! Along one side of the bus are the alphabet and the numbers underneath. Above the alphabet are four smiley children characters that look as if they are on the bus looking out of the window. On top of the bus is the big chunky shape buttons for the horn, brakes and accelerator. They make the bus seem more realistic when my son just likes to push it around.

The bus is an interactive bus with many different sounds on. I think it is a wonderful educational toy for a young child. The age range is one to three years, I think by the age of three it may be classed as a little babyish as your child will want more imaginative play. My son will be three at the beginning of next year but he doesn't understand the alphabet. I think this bus works to the best of its ability when you spend the time and sit with your child and use the different modes available. He can count to ten though and has been able to for a while now. I'm not sure that is down to the bus though more from us counting the eggs when we buy them in the supermarket, while checking their not broken!

The bus has chunky button easy for little ones fingers to press. My son found it easy to use as soon as he got it for his first Christmas. It has four modes too it phonics, letters, quiz and music. The music has always been a firm favourite with my son he loves a little dance to it. There are two sound levels to it but I don't think there is much difference to them. When it starts to irritate you (and believe me any of these noisy toys do) turning it down a level doesn't help!

The phonics mode is pretty much as you would expect when you press the letters you get the sound.
For letters you press a letter and it will say the letter and give you an example for it, like B is for ball. I have found this useful in my recent task of trying to get my son familiar with the alphabet it hasn't worked yet but we have only tried it a couple of times.
The quiz is only really for children who know the alphabet so although it may be seem as a bit of a babyish toy by the time your child is over three this quiz would be fun for them. You press one of the four characters and they will say the sound of a letter and you have to find the right one on the alphabet section. Not something we have even tried yet!
As I have mentioned the music section is my son's favourite. You press a letter of the alphabet and it plays a nursery rhyme or tune. The numbers play a note so you can play your own tune, something my son enjoys.

The bus has lots of songs and tunes which are catching for a young child. The bus has places to go like the zoo, train station and school. You can press a character to hear a catchy song about the place they are going to. I have found myself singing along to it now and again!

As all singing all dancing toys batteries are a must. It takes two AA batteries which isn't too bad for a battery powered toy.

Overall I think this is a great gift for any young child. It offers more than some of the popular toys children want from their favourite tv characters. It is a toy that will grow with them through their first few years of their life's leading them up to nursery school. It is fun and educational something any parent wants for their child.