Automoblox

I am a sucker for wooden toys. I just love the feel (and smell - we have a toychest of mainly wooden toys in our dining room and when you lift the lid you get a waft of the most amazing woody smell) of them and love the fact that they will last and last. I envisage my kids being able to hand them down to their children at some point in the future. They can be more expensive than the average plastic toy but definitely worth the investment in my book.

My boys each received one of these from Granny and Grandad last Christmas and they have to be the best quality toy I have ever seen. Extremely well made and also educational. They break apart into three pieces and can only be put back together by slotting the correct shaped pegs into the correct shaped holes. The passengers, wheels and windscreens can also be removed and all the parts can be mixed and matched with other models

The website (click link above) is great - really informative plus you can register your car (they all have unique registration numbers), print off colouring pages and read about the learning benefits.

They are available from several online independent toyshops in the UK - just do a search.
I know a certain small boy who has got his eye on this one.