Review: LEGO 72032 Mario Kart – Standard Kart

March 10, 2025 | 2

Editor-in-Chief

Jay Ong

Today, the 10th of March is Mario Day (Mar10 Day, geddit?) and I thought it’d be a great time to review 72032 Mario Kart – Standard Kart, which released as part of the LEGO Mario Kart wave at the start of this year. LEGO are having a whole raft of Mario Day offers online that’s running until 11 March if you want to score some GWPs or 2x Insider Points.

No, this isn’t 72037 Mario Kart™ – Mario & Standard Kart, which we know is coming thanks to the LEGO Instructions portal… Maybe you’ve seen it online or on social media? I planned this review weeks ago… but hey, good timing?

(I cannot share any images or information as I am now under LEGO’s NDA, which only permits me sharing officially-sanctioned images and news from LEGO.com. The LEGO Certified Store now is deemed by The LEGO Group as an unofficial source, so I cannot republish images from unannounced sets.)

72032 Mario Kart – Standard Kart is a pretty great inexpensive set that’s a fun little toy for younger fans, as well as LEGO Super Mario fans, thanks to the introduction of a new Mario Kart game mode that you can use with your interactive LEGO Super Mario figure. At US$19.99 / AU$29.99 / £17,99, it’s also great value… but now that we kinda know a bigger one is coming… does this set still stack up?

72032 Mario Kart – Standard Kart Set Details

Here’s a look at the sticker sheet and the large Glider foil sheet. There are only 4 wheel stickers, which are fairly easy to apply.

There are only 2 numbered bags in the box, and as it’s only a 174-piece build it’s a very quick build that you can knock out, making this a great candidate as an impulse buy, or to scratch your LEGO building itch.

The set comes with only 1 minifigure, a Toad Pit Crew, which is the same as the one from 30702 Mario Kart Toad (Pit Crew) polybag.

It’s a great looking figure, and I especially like that all the decorations are printed.

He has a small pit stop with a target for the Mario Kart to practice shooting turtle shells at!

One of the fantastic new elements introduced in the LEGO Mario Kart sets is the Mario Kart Banana Peel! It has a printed face on it, and looks terrific. Just the kind of hazard anyone with experience playing Mario Kart would typically avoid.

It’s really interesting that LEGO went out to produce a whole new Banana Peel mould, just for LEGO Mario Kart, when we already had a Banana Peel. The only difference is that the shorter banana peel is made out of rubbery plastic, whereas the LEGO One is hard.

Here’s a look at the underside.

For Potassium and Banana enthusiasts, it’s pretty exciting to get yet another banana! We’ve had 2 introduced thanks to LEGO Super Mario, including the bunch of bananas that we got from the Donkey Kong sets.

And here are some banana minifigures for the complete collection.

Apart from Banana Peels, we also a Red and Green Shell, two iconic Mario Kart projectiles! They’re designed to go into a launcher, which allows you to fire them from the Kart.

Here’s a look at underside of the shells.

The completed Standard Mario Kart looks really good for a US$19.99 set. It doesn’t use a lot of pieces, yet captures the look and colours of the iconic Mario Kart quite well.

The hard wheels are pretty good looking, and the Mario M symbol on the front is printed as well, which is another nice touch.

Here’s a look at the side profile.

And the back, which has flames erupting from the exhaust!

A glider is also included, which can be detached if you want a more traditional ground-based Kart.

Of course, you can pop Toad in the Kart right out of the box.

Of course, the Mario Kart is designed for the LEGO Super Mario figure which is sold separately. There’s an interactive tile that can be scanned once you pop the LEGO Mario figure into the driver’s seat.

The model really comes to life with the LEGO Mario figure in the driver’s seat, and fills out the entire model.

When you pop the Mario figure in, you also unlock a new Mario Kart game mode to collect coins. Here’s what it looks like when Mario Kart mode is engaged. Like most other LEGO Mario game modes, you have 60 seconds to perform actions like power sliding, turning, and also flying in the air to collect coins.

Here are some of the new animations on Mario’s screen. The sound effects are also really good, and are quite nostalgic if you’ve spent hundreds of hours power-sliding away in the Mario Kart games.

What I liked:

• Neat little set that won’t break the bank
• Great for play or display
• Plenty of interesting new Mario-themed elements and printed decorations

What I didn’t like:

• Required the Mario figure to get the most of it

Final Thoughts

For Mario Kart fans, 72032 Mario Kart – Standard Kart really does scratch the itch you might have for a buildable LEGO Mario Kart that won’t break the bank. For US$19.99 / AU$29.99 / £17,99, you’re getting quite a lot of value here with the Toad Pit Crew minifigure, new banana peel and turtle shells.

The sub-200 piece count also doesn’t detract from how good it looks as a small display set, and it looks its best when you plop the LEGO Mario figure into the driver’s seat.

The Mario Kart play features are a nice little bonus, but its appeal greatly varies based on how invested you are in the LEGO Super Mario ecosystem, and how much enjoyment you get from it. I personally have found it most appealing to younger kids, as it’s a nice screen-free alternative to playing mobile/video games, and is great for younger kids who aren’t quite old enough for actual video games, but still want to play with Super Mario.

If you’re on a budget, 72032 Mario Kart – Standard Kart is a great pickup, especially if it goes on further discount, which is quite common with LEGO Mario sets, and its diminutive size also makes for neat and tidy display model, especially if you can’t afford the bigger one coming..

Final Score

3

Build

A fun build, even if it ends a little too quickly.

3

Minifigures

The Toad Pit Crew minifigure is fun, but you know what would be even more fun? Mario minifigures

4

Real Value

Really good price for all the bells and whistles, although you do need to invest in a LEGO Mario figure to get the most out of it

3

Innovation

Fun and novel way to integrate the LEGO Mario figure and introduce a new minigame, but the Mario Kart mode feels stale after awhile

4

Keepability

Great little model for a mini Mario Kart display, but will be superseded by the larger more detailed version

Audience rating

How would you rate this set?

1 2 3 4 5

Thanks for reading! 72032 Mario Kart – Standard Kart is available from LEGO.com, Amazon.com and most toy stores.

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