Carrera Hot Pursuit Slot Car Race Set Review

Posted by John on April 6, 2009

Carrera’s new digital 132 line which refers to the scale of the cars included. All slot cars in the past used to be analogue. Thanks to its conversion to digital, slot cars have now evolved as models packed with more features making them more realistic and closer to real racing. The new system accommodates up to six drivers on the same track dueling simultaneously at full speed. With the touch of buttons, you can digitally control your individually coded cars. The feel of racing gets even better for having real time acceleration, braking, high speed passing and wide drifts. Let’s get to know one of Carrera’s new slot car models, the all new Carrera USA Digital 132, Hot Pursuit Race Car Set.

You may be caught surprise when you see a large package of Carrera USA Digital 132, Hot Pursuit Race Car Set at your doorstep same way as I did. Carrera’s tracks are wider than most of the slot car set available in the market. The tracks are as wide as they are since they accommodate the 1:24 scale cars which are the largest. Upon opening the box, the car race set was carefully packed with styrofoam. A manual accompanied the car set same thing as with other new toys. The manual seemed vague in certain areas for covering other car sets instead of specifically explaining the Hot Pursuit Car Set. After gathering all the pieces to be assembled, I began building my own car set. Just a piece of advice, permit a lot of space when you begin assembling this set. Trial and error is the name of the game during the assembling process. You may encounter trouble assembling the bridge section which would have been easy if only the manual provided information. You have to install these supports under the bridge but the manual failed to instruct me where these parts are intended for. Most of the track sections are bigger in size which makes it more difficult to put it into place without initially positioning the supports. Another issue to look out for is the guard rails parts. With the Carrera set, you had to slide this flexible rail into these clips which clip itself onto the actual track. The manual should mention how many clips to use and where they’re intended to be used. Another setback is the track pieces made of hard plastic. These pieces should be more flexible as plastics offer little or no bend feature at all. It’s better to have bendable parts in case children steps on them while helping out on the assembly.

Have patience during the building process of your own Carrera slot car.  When you finally finish building the track, congratulate yourself and your kids (if they lend a hand) for a job well done.   The fully assembled Hot Pursuit car set looks so huge and magnificent towering at 9.22 x 5.54 feet!

Now that the track is full assembled, the fun begins. The layout and the theme of the set are appealing especially the thrilling idea of car chases. You get two cars with the track: a Ford Mustang GT 2005 Highway Patrol car and a Chevrolet Corvette C6. The Mustang’s police car actually lights up for the fact that most cars come with mere front and rear lights that doesn’t work. These cars are quite quick so you have to be careful not to deslot them. I noticed that the car stick to the track really well because of the installed magnets underneath the cars.

Changing of lanes is one press of a button away. It is a simple thing to do just by pressing the lane changing button down on the controller and your car will change lanes at specific locations on the track. The lane change is long so you can take it at a pretty high speed. When it comes to the look of the new models of Carrera, Hot Pursuit cars is detailed that some collectors purchase them to add in their car collection.

Another advantage that Carrera has is that you can set up a pace car or an Autonomous Car which means the car can drive itself. The Autonomous car is great if you don’t have anyone to race with. You can also buy a pit lane as an accessory which allows you to pull in there to virtually fuel your car up. The pace car will also pull in there at the start of a race. In a nutshell, I recommend Carrera USA Digital 132, Hot Pursuit Race Car Set when you have a child or even adult who like racing. Plus, it makes an excellent gift for hours of enjoyment out from chasing the other car.

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