This is one of those iconic toys that anyone under the age of 20 will either have had one, known someone who had one or have played in one at least once.

I'd always said we wouldn't buy one for either of our daughters, after seeing kids slipping from the seat to fall underneath, or having other mishaps in it. But after seeing my youngest little girl happily playing in one at mother & toddler group, and desperate for something original to buy for her for Christmas last year that we didn't already have, I relented and agreed to buy one.

After researching the best price online, amazon came out tops, and it arrived in a big box a few days after ordering. Knowing it would require assembly, I set my husband the task of putting it together on Christmas Eve. It must have taken him over an hour to do, and I had to abandon my doll's house assembly a few times to help him out.

The main red body of the car was the biggest piece, and everything else fitted onto that somehow. It wasn't a case of slotting things in or pushing them together, there were screws and hammers and much cursing involved! Whilst I can't give full details of what was involved as I didn't do it, I do recall from watching and helping out with the trickier bits that it was hard to get some things fitted where they should be, and it was definitely not just a one-person job. A hammer was needed for the wheels, and although he tried managing without, not wanting to wake the girls up, he had to in the end to get the wheels fixed on. Not wanting him to wear himself out completely with the task, I kindly offered to help him out by putting the stickers on (mouth, dashboard, etc).

It was worth all of his effort on Christmas morning when she tore the large piece of wrapping paper off, and proceeded to spend much of Christmas day sat behind the wheel, beaming away, only to be lured out for food, and the occasional glance at her other new toys.

The car has been played with on a daily basis since then, with frequent squabbling over who gets a turn (her and her big sister, not Daddy). She's two and her sister is 4, but tall for her age, yet still fits comfortably behind the wheel. My 4 year old scoots around quite happily on her own, moving it herself, but my 2 year old demands to be pushed, which can put a strain on your back at times.

Although we didn't make a conscious decision to keep it indoors, that's where it's ended up living and I think they've got much more use out of it than if it had been kept outside.

I'm happy to report, that so far, touch wood, they haven't had any major accidents in it, apart from getting stuck while exiting the car, but that's their own fault for climbing out through the window rather than using the door!

Now for the car itself. The main body of the car is a red/orange colour, with the yellow roof supported by four pillars that curve slightly inwards. Entry to the car is supposed to be via the door on one side, but as you've read above, some children prefer to climb through the window on the other side. Two large white eyes sit on the front of the car, with a smiley mouth sticker underneath (ours got pulled off within a short time). The smiley face on the front of the car appeals to children and makes it look very friendly and fun. The door has a catch on it which needs to click over a piece to shut properly. This is difficult to do, even for adults (I just trapped my thumb doing so!) When my girls are using the car they don't bother shutting it totally because of this.

The seat is slightly curved so comfortable to sit in - well it looks to be, I haven't actually been able to squeeze into it myself! The car runs on foot power (think Flintstones), so there's a big gap in front of the seat for which to fit little legs through. Should foot power fail, you have two options- open the white fuel cap on the side of the car at the back and fill with imaginary fuel. Or get an adult, or willing sibling to push the car from behind, for which a hole/handle is built into the back of the roof. Having tried both methods I can only vouch for the latter as a working option.

Turning the steering wheel in the car doesn't make the wheels turn, but makes the young driver feel like they're actually driving the car. The back wheels are fixed and don't move from side to side, but the front wheels are on metal axles (is that the right word?) and turn around enabling the car to turn corners. Pushing the car, or powering by feet, it's easy to steer.

Other parts that make the car more "authentic" to little ones are the key, which is fixed into the ignition, but can be pulled out so far, and turned round to start the engine. Stickers which stick on the dashboard showing a fuel gauge, indicators, etc, and a wing mirror - only two of the three remain stuck on ours. There are two cup holder holes in the back of the car for kids to put their juice cups in, although chunkier cups won't fit too well. There's horn to beep in the centre of the steering wheel which kids love pressing.

There's a piece you can fit as the floor rather than having your feet go through to the floor, but we left it out as even a small child would be sat with their knees up their nose if it was fitted.

Overall I'm really glad we purchased this car and can't see any major faults with it. I'm going to knock one star off for the difficult assembly.

The car retails for £49.99 at Mothercare, but is currently available for £40 at amazon.co.uk.

Also available are a pink version, a police patrol car version, a "Cozy Cab," a princess version, and a green/yellow "Grand Coupe."