We asked our 19-year old summer intern, Matthew Weinstein, to test this vehicle and give us a review. This was the right toy for the right tester! Here is his review: "One of the most thrilling toys to come through in quite a while. The Porsche will have children and parents jumping up and down with excitement. The car itself is a thing of beauty that matches its real counterpart. Through use of a free app the user connects to the Porsche with Bluetooth. Once connected the car's movement can be controlled two ways. The first uses modern tilting-technology to accelerate and turn the car, while the second method utilizes two old fashioned joysticks that appear on the screen of your device. The latter is much easier to control. The joysticks allow a precision of movement that the wildness of tilting a device does not. The Porsche also comes fully equipped with hazard and head-lights. This SilverLit product is as near perfection as a remote controlled R/C can get, but I’ll have to wait for the bat-mobile version with working rocket boosters before I am truly happy."

Age: Later School Years, Tweens, Teens, Adult. Award Year: 2012.

The latest in the line of RC vehicles from Mattel's Tyco line.  It moves forward, it does circles--most interestingly, it moves side to side. With a range of 65 feet, you can really put this car to the test on all types of terrain. We did not have access to snow (it promises to handle snow as well).  Our big complaint was that the vehicle does not come with the charger (an additional $30) - making this a $90 remote control vehicle.  Apart from the expense, we're really much happier (as are our testers) when everything is included. 

Age: Later School Years, Tweens, Teens. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

"Amazingly fast" for such a small rc car was the uniform reaction the RC Nitro Speeders. Comes with it's own carrying case that also serves as the charger and remote control. We tested the Mustang, but there are other vehicles in this micro line of racers including a Chevy Camero and a Ford Fiesta.  We would be careful with these cars around pets that may mistake them for a snack!

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years, Tweens. Award Year: 2011. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Star Wars fans are likely to have this remote controlled Millennium Falcon on the top of their wish list.  It is very lightweight and takes a certain amount of practice to get it to fly well which is the only reason it's not on the Platinum List. It's not the type of toy that you can hand off to your 8 year old and they will be good to go right from the start.  That said our tween and teen testers really liked adjusting the trim and working on their own ability to work the remote control. And it is the Millennium Falcon after all!

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years, Tweens, Teens. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Our testers gave this Iron Man inspired RC a rave review.  Red, yellow with a big thick bumper in the front--this car was easy to steer. The "controllers work really well", "it really moves fast!" noted our kid testers and the parents commented that they really like the moderate price.   Silverlit also has a sleeker (all black and grey) RC for older fans ($29.99).  The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years, Tweens. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

We're going to start with the warning.  This amazing toy comes with three loose small batteries (the kind that look like metal buttons).  Now while this toy is marked for 8 & up as a result, we know that Hot Wheels are bought for much younger kids.  We almost decided to pass on this toy entirely because these batteries can pose a safety risk to small children.  That said, the toy is appropriately marked and it is super cool.  If you have an adult in your life that longs for the Hot Wheels of their childhood, you need to get them one of these!  Ok, here's how it works.  The car goes completely flat. That's right. It collapses so that you can put it into the flat controller.  Yes, I said controller--the controller doubles as the case but also is actually the controller for your RC HOT WHEELS!!  Unbelievable but true.  One of our favorites of the season!

Age: Later School Years, Tweens. Award Year: 2010. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Hands down one of those super cool toys that everyone wants a turn trying.  The new DISNEY TRON movie will launch December 17th and while we haven't seen the movie, we can tell you that the toys are fun.  The Tron Legacy Zero Gravity RC will drive all over your walls AND upside down. To add to the fun, it lights up as it goes leaving a light trail.   The vehicle is controlled by  a wireless remote control and can go both backwards and forwards pretty quickly.  The sound is a tad too loud (so that if you're supposed to be asleep you're parents will know you're still playing with this great vehicle). 

Age: Later School Years, Tweens, Teens. Award Year: 2010.

Wow! was pretty much the universal review of the new remote-controlled helicopter from Spinmaster with a built in video camera.  "It really works" noted one of our senior toy testers. The age range is appropriately marked 12 & up. The on-board video camera can capture five minutes of video and is meant to be used indoors exclusively (of course our toy testers enjoyed bending the rules on this one).  Our testers also thought the video was decent- (320 x 240 pixels at full color).  It can also capture photos at 640 x 480.  Comes with its own USB cable so that you can download the files on your computer. The company has also added a video eiditing platform at www.airhogs.com.  Takes 3AAA batteries but you can charge the heli through your computer. The batteries are for the controller.

Our testers also really loved the control they had over the new Missile Launching Helicopter--but even our tween and teen testers thought the actual missiles (hard plastic projectiles) were not particularly a safe bet.  They did think that it was the most sensitive heli they had played with and were able to land it on particular pieces of furniture (and cross beams!) in their house.  We love when kids tell us that we should tell the company to replace the missles with foam or just get rid of them altogether! 

The company has signed a verification form complying with our safety requirements. We did not independently test this toy in a lab.

Age: Later School Years, Tweens, Teens. Award Year: 2010.

If you grew up throwing little gliders, you'll want to try this new steroidal version from Air Hogs. Its wing span is an impressive 4 feet.  We tested it over several days, and it does as the packaging indiates soar 45 feet if you get a good throw.  Our sample broke apart several times but did not break.  At $9.99 this seems like a reasonable novelty toy that will be enjoyed by many--and there will be no serious tears if it ends up stuck in a tree! A gentle wind or long broom will get it down. We also liked the "no batteries needed" - a welcome departure for the Air Hogs brand.

Age: Later School Years, Tweens, Teens. Award Year: 2010.

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2003.