Both Hot Wheels and Matchbox are the Iconic and Diecast miniature toy car brands that are also currently owned by Mattel. Both the products of this company have many things in common but there are also some differences in these toy cars as well.
These toy cars are very eye-catching and have become famous over the years as both brands have been around for decades. When people are looking to compare these two brands they often will do so based on a variety of factors but one thing that many people wonder about is the size of the vehicles.
Both Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars are almost identical in size for their normal small toy cars but the Hot Wheel cars are normally slightly narrower than Matchboxes are.
The size difference is virtually imperceptible to most people however if you are trying to race Matchbox cars on a Hot Wheel track you will likely notice that the tires of the Matchbox cars are much more likely to rub on the edges of the track thereby slowing them down.
Although the sizes of the two brands are virtually the same there is a pretty significant difference between the two. The main focus of the Hot Wheel brand is on the sports models of cars and also fantasy cars.
The typical Hot Wheel cars include Ferrari, Lamborghini, and other sport model cars.
However, the main focus of the Matchbox brand is on real vehicles and utility vehicles such as military type cars and even miniature pieces of equipment like trucks, bulldozers, etc.
Both of these brands of vehicles are made of high quality materials so can choose either of them without any hesitation.
What Are The Hot Wheels & Matchbox Size Differences
Although there is not much difference in the sizes of the Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars there are some slight differences between them as mentioned above.
There are currently two different sizes of the Matchbox cars available. The smallest car model, which is considered the “normal” size and it is 1 to 75. The other related series are classified as a scale of 1:64. This series contains the whole range of vehicles from small to larger cars such as smaller than 1:100 and larger than 1:64.
If you consider this in inches, Matchbox cars will be about 2.5 inches to 3 inches or 6.5 to 7.5 centimeters in length.
Hot Wheels car sizes are also between 2.5 to 3 inches.l so there is not a giant difference between the two except that Hot Wheels are typically marginally smaller at slightly less than 1:64.
Of course the exact sizes of both the Matchbox and Hot Wheel cars can vary depending on their prototype model and what the manufacturer feels is best for that specific toy car.
Hot Wheels & Matchbox Similar Size and Design with Slight Changes
Both of these toy car manufacturers have almost the same size vehicles even when comparing specific models. For example, the Matchbox Ford 150 is virtually identical in size to the Hot Wheels F150.
The only difference is that the Hot Wheels vehicle has less detail than the Matchbox, and it has a bit of a slimmer body (as mentioned earlier) which means it works better on the Hot Wheel tracks for racing.
Another example involves the similarity in the size of the Matchbox Pontiac GTO and the Hot Wheel version of this car.
The trucks and cars of both brands differ very little, but they have no standard dimensions. After getting several cars from both brands, you will understand each and everything about these brands and how different and similar they both are.
Most of the “normal” cars made by Matchbox are about 1/64 scale, but it is not a strict and rigid rule. You can also find buses, dump trucks, and many more vehicles as well that can range from small to large depending on what age groups they are designed for.
Most of the Matchbox cars are around 3 inches in length and 1 inch in width. But you can’t take this as a strict rule because there are many cars smaller than this size available and of course semi-trucks and dragsters are quite long.
Matchbox and Hot Wheels both produce cars that are larger in scale as well.
One significant point of focus is that there are no strict rules or strict guidelines/standard dimensions. The cars can be large or tiny and you will also find buses, dragsters, trucks, and other types of vehicles.
The vehicles can be of any size they have to be to fit for a specific track or use.
Build Quality of Hot Wheels and Matchbox
All of the modern models of these toy vehicles of both of these brands are very similar to each other not only in size but also in build quality and other facets such as similar body shape and structure.
The material used by Mattel in its manufacturing is also the same for both toy cars brands. They use plastic bodywork, plastic tires, and a small amount of metal is also used by the company to construct the car bodies.
The modern designs of both brands are different from their old versions and they are normally better and upgraded when compared to the older models of toy cars. The quality of the material used also differs from vehicle to vehicle and brand to brand, but the company uses high-quality material in manufacturing the cars of both of these brands.
Indeed, no matter which of these two brands you choose to buy you will be happy with the quality of vehicle that you receive.
Conclusion
After looking at all of the different aspects of both of these brands, we can conclude that both the Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars not only don’t have much difference between the cars’ sizes but also don’t have many other differences at all besides the types of cars that the brand offers.
Since Hot Wheels are typically designed to look like faster or fantasy style cars they are incredibly popular with younger children who love to play with their Toy cars in different scenarios. As the children grow older they might want to transition into other more realistic vehicles which is where Matchbox reigns supreme.
Both of these brands are popular among various people and collectors and they are some people who would swear by only purchasing either one of them.
Both of these toy car brands are available all around the globe, and you can purchase either one of them depending on which style or models you prefer.
Ultimately which you want to buy depends on you, which type you feel is the best and what you like about these cars.
Not only are all of these cars superb, but the vehicles that they offer are also fantastic and attractive. There is virtually no difference between the sizes of the vehicles of both brands so you can select any car from these brands and they should be almost entirely interchangeable (except in regards to using them on some Hot Wheels tracks).