Review: LEGO Technic 42109 App-Controlled Top Gear Rally Car

Today we talk very quickly about the LEGO set 42109 App-Controlled Top Gear Rally Car, a toy from the Technic range sold for 140 € which is not necessarily intended to introduce you to the principles of automobile mechanics in a LEGO version and which is above all a vehicle that can be controlled remotely via the elements and the application from the 'Control + ecosystem.

Speaking of the Top Gear license associated with this product, there is also little more than the large sheet of stickers and the packaging of the set to be concerned. Everything else is a lambda product that could have been sold for less than 80 € without problem.

We also reach here the limits of the license concept associated with a LEGO product. Top Gear is a car show that takes a bit of the usual codes with scrapping, fast cars, more or less funny modifications which lead to visually spectacular situations, etc ... When the first rumors of a product using this license invaded the small world of LEGO, I naively believed that we would be entitled to a little of this madness seen on the screen.

With 463 parts in the box including the Smart Hub and the two motors (1 x L and 1 x XL), it is assembled in 20 minutes and we can not say that the result is aesthetically very successful. I tried to convince myself that the machine looked like a car tinkered with for stock car, but the vehicle is rather shapeless, the body is sketchy and the stickers that insistently shout the Top Gear license (STIIIIIGGGGG !! !! ....) enjoyed by this set does not really help matters.

Thinking about it, I definitely don't see the connection between the license and the product, except perhaps to seduce the dads who wander in the department of a toy store and convince them to spend 140 € in this box.

On a technical level, what I retain is that we cannot say that the new differential delivered here is at the service of the incredible performance of the vehicle. And that's the least we can say.

As the pretentious visual of the packaging where the machine is staged on a dusty country lane suggests, I expected this rally car, stripped of unnecessary elements and covered with sponsors, to be a real adventurer . It is not so. It's slow, sluggish, and without any sensation: on a very smooth surface, it does not really advance and on a less smooth surface, it is even worse.

The Control + application which was recently updated to incorporate this new product does its best to save furniture, with a nicely done interface and the ability to switch between automatic mode or "manual" piloting which allows " change speed". This relative acceleration of the motors as a function of the stage chosen does not bring anything convincing.

One will also retain the piloting with one hand via the gyroscopic interface. As usual, the most patient will be able to try the different challenges offered by the application. Smartphone under iOS or Android essential as for the other sets which make use of the dedicated application.

On a purely recreational level, the ground clearance of the vehicle is far too limited to make it a real outdoor toy and the battery box, which is easily accessible, is not really protected by the chassis. You risk damaging the latter by insisting on the roughest coverings and you will have to be content with the parquet in the living room or the lino in the hallway. We are really bored, and that's saying something.

And that's not to mention the few pieces that are sure to come off during your outdoor adventures: I isolated the ones that tend to stay on the asphalt, you can remove them before going outside to play.

In short, put away your smartphone and go your way. This overpriced rally car is not the one that will finally offer a level of performance enough to really have fun, even for a child of 9 or 10 years old. Almost all of what is touted on the box is exaggerated and is not in reality. I won't go so far as to talk about misleading visuals and off-topic licensing, but it's just like.

For all intents and purposes: The video below is obviously non-contractual in terms of sound ...

Note: The set shown here, which I bought myself, is happy to play. Deadline set at December 31, 2019 next at 23pm.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.