Ryder Buggy Review & Video: The Best Ride-On Toy?

Head outdoors and go cruisin' with the awesome Ryder Buggy!

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  By: Tali Ditye, Ph.D., Co-founder

  Updated: November 10, 2024

Mommyhood101 independently tests and curates baby gear to help you make informed decisions. If you buy products through links on our site, we may earn a commission.

When it comes to ride-on toys for kids, Ryder knows a thing or two.

From Jeeps to Go-carts and Lamborghinis, Ryder has a huge selection of great-looking and fun toys. 

If you're looking for a Power Wheels ride-on toy, look no further - Ryder has everything you need, at a great price!

We put the Ryder Buggy 24V ride-on toy to the test. 

Our Ryder Buggy Review

Full disclosure, Ryder donated this Buggy for testing. Thanks, Ryder!

To review this ride-on toy, we put it through our full testing process:

• Unboxing.
• Assembly.
• Feature testing.
• Ride testing.
• Battery test.

Ride-on toys are awesome birthday and Christmas gift ideas!

Not only are they a blast to drive, they also get your child outside and socializing with friends and neighbors.

As a child, I had a Power Wheels Jeep, and nearly 40 years later I still remember all my fun with it!

Is the Ryder Buggy worthy of a spot on our list of the best Power Wheels for kids? Let's find out!

Overall Rating

Overall, we give the Ryder Buggy 24V ride-on car a huge 4.8 out of 5, which puts it at the top of our list for ride-on toys.

Keep reading to see how we reached this conclusion!

Ryder Buggy 24V

Take-home Message

Most people don't want to read this entire article to see what we found. So here is the summary of what we loved, and what we didn't.

✔️  Four-wheel drive.
✔️  High capacity 24V battery.
✔️  Replaceable battery.
✔️  Big high-quality tires.
✔️  Doors that open and close.
✔️  Real headlights & taillights.
✔️  Adjustable coil suspension.
✔️  Two-seater bench.
✔️  Two seatbelts.
✔️  Front bumper bar.
✔️  Dual-speed fan.
✔️  Forward & reverse gears.
✔️  Remote control.
✔️  Three speed limits.
✔️  Multimedia touch screen.
✔️  Adjustable seat position.
✔️  Functioning horn.
✔️  Push-button power.
✔️  Easy charging.
✔️  Great battery life (90 mins).
✔️  Suitable for 3-8 years.
✔️  Available spare parts.
✔️  Reasonable prices.
❌  30-minute assembly.

Overall, the Ryder Buggy has a ton of great features that make it competitive with even the best Power Wheels ride-on toys.

We loved the sturdy steel frame, suspension, and steering. The four-wheel drive was great for riding on grass and trails.

The realistic features were pretty cool: working headlights and taillights, horn, doors, and radio - just like mom and dad's cars!

Our test kids had a ton of fun with the Ryder Buggy, zipping around the neighborhood, on local trails, and in our backyard.

The only negative worth mentioning is the somewhat involved assembly. It takes about 30 minutes to assemble, and frankly, the instructions aren't the best (but we made you an assembly video!).

However, Ryder does have an assembly video on their website which was very helpful. Overall this is an excellent ride-on toy that your child will definitely love!

Unboxing the Ryder Buggy

The Ryder Buggy arrives in a large and heavy box.

It weighs over 100 pounds and is large enough that you'll need some help moving it.

My husband was able to drag it into the backyard using the straps:

Unpacking the box is most likely a two-person job.

While it's easy to pull out the tires and smaller parts, the frame itself is pretty heavy and awkward to get out of the box.

Here are all the parts once it's unpacked:

Here are the parts you'll find in the box:

• The large vehicle chassis
• The two-person bench seat
• Two bench seat sliders
• Four wheels and tires
• Four hubcaps
• Two lower support bars
• Four motors
• Front bumper bar
• Two grab handles
• One rear axle
• One front steering axle
• Two red rear lights
• One windshield frame
• Hardware kit and charging plug
• Owner's manual
• Remote control
• Decal pack

The battery is already installed in the chassis, hidden below a panel under where the seats are installed.

Ryder Buddy Assembly Video

The Ryder takes about 30 minutes to assemble.

We recommend using a 17mm socket set and Phillips head screwdriver. If you have a drill driver, even better.

Note that the hardware kit does include a pair of small plastic 17mm sockets, just in case you don't have a socket set. However, you will need to bring your own screwdriver.

The instruction manual walks you through the assembly process. However, we don't think it's great. 

The good news is that Ryder has an assembly video here on their website.  

Even better, we made our own in-depth assembly video, below.

These are the basic assembly steps:

1. Take everything out of the box.
2. Flip the chassis upside-down.
3. Attach the front steering axle.
4. Attach the rear axle.
5. Attach the rear motors.
6. Attach the right and left side supports.
7. Attach the front motors.
8. Attach the front tires & hubcaps.
9. Attach the rear tires & hubcaps.
10. Flip the chassis over, right-side up.
11. Attach the left and right seat rails.
12. Attach the steering wheel.
13. Attach the windshield frame.
14. Attach the side grab bars.
15. Attach the taillights.
16. Attach the front bumper bar.
17. Connect the battery.
18. Have fun!

Once it's assembled, you're off to the races!

Features we Loved

There were so many features to test!

Here is a quick walk-around video showcasing some of the key features of the Ryder Buggy:

Here are our favorite features:

• Four-wheel drive: Gone are the days of spinning wheels while trying to drive up the most simple surfaces. This vehicle has real four-wheel drive, with a motor at every corner.
• The lights: We love the LED front headlights, which look like they belong on a high-end vehicle. And the red taillights look great too!
• The doors: Even though it would be easy enough to climb into the Buggy, the swing-open doors make it much easier. Nice touch!
• Two-seater: Some two-seater Power Wheels vehicles are a very tight squeeze, and some use a single shared seat belt. Not the Ryder Buggy! This one has a spacious seat and two independent adjustable seat belts.
• Remote control: If you have a younger child, maybe 3-4 years old, or it's their first time using the car, you will love having a remote control. It lets you control the speed, direction (forward, reverse), and steering. And the range was decent, about 50 feet outdoors.
• Everything works like a real vehicle: We love how there is a functioning horn - beep beep! And a functioning fan to keep your cool during the summer heat. Not to mention the multimedia stereo with an included SD card to put your favorite music onto!
• Easy charging: You can charge the Buggy by removing the battery and plugging it in using the provided wall charger. Even easier, you can plug the wall charger right into the charging port on the Buggy's dashboard.
• Great battery life: On a full charge, we found that the battery listed about an hour and a half (90 minutes). If you're traveling uphill or over a lot of uneven terrain, it won't last as long. Just like an EV!

All the features worked surprisingly well.

For convenience, we do wish the Buggy came with an instruction manual for the touch-screen radio. It is a little difficult to figure out.

Once you figure it out, your kid will love being able to play their favorite tunes while cruising the 'hood!

Battery and Range

The battery pack includes dual 12V batteries, each of which is 9Ah. 

That gives you a total of 24V and 9Ah (ampere-hours). Note that most Power Wheels 24V batteries have only 4-6Ah.

In our testing on flat ground and medium speed, we were able to achieve about 80 minutes of run time with the Ryder Buggy.

On a trail with some bumps and hills, the battery life was about an hour. That's on target for a four-wheel drive ride-on car.

If you would like to extend the fun, you can always purchase a spare battery and swap it out when one dies. The spare battery is about $95 at the Ryder website.

Some Minor Cons

We encountered only a few minor drawbacks.

First, assembly is more time-consuming than we predicted. If you're very handy it will take about 20 minutes. If not, expect to spend 30-40 minutes putting it together.

Ryder does provide some simple tools to help you with the nuts, but you'll need to bring your own Phillips head screwdriver, ideally a long one.

Second, we wish the touchscreen multimedia radio came with better instructions. It takes a bit to figure it out. Once you do, it's great, but Ryder could have made it easier.

These are small issues, but they’re worth noting.

Conclusions

Overall, we think the Ryder Buggy 24V ride-on toy is an outstanding choice for parents seeking a stylish, durable, and feature-rich vehicle for their child.

With its four-wheel drive, robust steel frame, and impressive range of realistic functions like LED headlights, working doors, and a multimedia touch screen, the Ryder Buggy brings a level of quality and excitement that competes with even the top Power Wheels options.

While assembly can be a bit involved, and the radio interface could be more intuitive, these minor drawbacks are overshadowed by the Buggy’s overall performance and value.

With its safe, spacious design and convenient features like remote control and easy charging, the Ryder Buggy promises hours of fun for young drivers and peace of mind for parents. It’s a fantastic gift idea that will surely be enjoyed for many adventures to come!

Prices and Where to Buy

Coming in at about $799 (with free 3-day shipping!), you can only purchase the Ryder Buggy direct from the Ryder website.

Click the below image to check the current prices.