At the time of her third birthday my daughter was a big Peppa Pig fan, so I wasn't particularly surprised when she received this scooter from her nan. Coming in a large cardboard box I assumed it was already assembled, but this isn't the case and although the actual frame of the scooter is all in one piece the more fiddly bits (annoyingly) require your attention before giving it to the excited child to play with.

Once put together I was surprised, and still am, at how insubstantial this scooter is. Take away the overly large plastic 'bits' and this is actually quite a pathetic looking thing, even WITH all the 'bits' it looks tiny and as though it wouldn't be able to cope with the heavy handled involved in being the average three year olds play thing. It hasn't coped particularly well either, although to be honest Hollie has never been overly impressed by it so it's actually had very little use over the past almost two years. In fact, it was going to go back when we realised how flimsy the scooter was and it was only due to a missed collection (with all the faffing that entails) that we kept the thing!

The large footplate is pretty well non-slip, a series of raised ridges keeps small feet in place providing they're wearing sensible shoes in the first place. Hollie tends to wear pumps or trainers when she's playing in the garden, but I've seen her messing around on this scooter in sandals and other slippery bottomed shoes and can tell you this isn't a particularly good idea unless you want your little one to slide off the footplate whenever they go around a corner! The footplate itself is attached securely to the scooter, there's no wobble and it's wide enough that Hollie always looks stable while using the scooter. The worry I've had ever since we've had the scooter is the fact that the footplate is made of surprisingly thin plastic, considering how wide it is I've expected it to shatter every time Hollie flings it to the ground - it hasn't, but I've noticed a crack forming on one end which looks like it's going to develop into an actual break soon.

The handlebar adjusts smoothly and easily- normally I have to ask Mark to sort out things like this, but on this scooter it's so straightforward that even I could do it! Once tightened back up I doubt there is any danger of a child undoing it again - even if they did I can't see that they'd hurt themselves as the handlebar doesn't drop with guillotine-like speed, and anyway there are no spaces for a child to put their fingers for slicing!

The plastic wheels are a bit wobbly, and have never been very smooth in the time we've had the scooter. This means it doesn't ALWAYS go exactly where Hollie wants it to, and if she's been out on it and got bored the strangely attached wheels make it harder than usual for me to pull along behind me. Hollie regularly uses her friends scooter (which is a basic ELC design) and I've noticed she goes much quicker on that one, I think the three overly large wheels on this Peppa Pig mean they don't spin as freely which has proved frustrating for her when she decides a fast 'scoot' is in order!

I think the best way to sum up this scooter is to say that you can get better for the money. This one is currently selling at around the £30 mark, which is extremely expensive for such a poorly designed product - as is true for many of the Peppa Pig branded play things in my experience. The fact that the front mud guard fell off within a week of Hollie beginning to use the scooter speaks volumes really, she's not a destructive child and actually looks after her things very well so I don't think it was her being overly harsh with the scooter that caused this. Even if your child is a massive Peppa Pig fanatic I wouldn't recommend this scooter really, it's a shame as the overall design looks very sweet (and equally appealing to boys and girls) but there are definitely kids scooters available - and for less cash if you're prepared to shop around!