LEGO recently celebrated 15 years of their City Modular Building Collection with the stunning 10297 Boutique Hotel. Now they’ve unveiled a new set that seems to slot right into that downtown area.  LEGO 40532 Vintage Taxi will be available as a Gift With Purchase from LEGO Shop Online. While LEGO has yet to officially confirm the promotion details, it’s rumored to be available starting January 28th with qualifying purchases of US $200 | CAN $200 | UK £200. This 163-piece set comes with a driver, taxi stand, and a very sweet-looking ride. But is it worth the price of admission? Come along and see for yourself!

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early, non-embargoed copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

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Unboxing the parts and instructions

This set comes in a small tab-sealed box that has 18+ “Adult Collector” style design, making a strong suggestion that this is tied to the Modular Buildings line – although that’s not explicitly stated on the packaging. The age range is indeed set at 18+. While we’ve often grumbled about how that age limit is clearly a marketing ploy, it really rankles here on a set that would have a challenge rating of ages 8+ normally.

The back of the package is even more minimal, with no insets or text beyond the LEGO logo.

Inside the box are three part bags, a loose chassis plate, and a 60 page, stapled instruction booklet.

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Taxi Stand

The set comes with a small strip of pavement, with a small crossing light and a trash can. Inside the trash is a lump of poo. Is it some sort of commentary from the LEGO designers? Just a silly inclusion?

…Yeah, probably just a silly inclusion.

The set comes with a single minifigure. Is he the driver of the cab? Is he a passenger? All we know for sure is that he has a 1×1 round printed donut tile in that suitcase. Another hidden detail…another mystery from the designers! Or maybe this dude just likes donuts.

…Yeah, he probably just likes donuts. Enough to carry them around in a briefcase. (In fact, this could be the Donut Thief from the Police Station Modular!)

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Vintage Taxi

The star of the show is obviously the Vintage Taxi itself. The parts are all fairly common, but the titanium-metallic front grill has had only one other appearance, in 76180: Batman vs. The Joker: Batmobile Chase.

The build itself is quick and straightforward. There are also a few head-scratchers—like why is there a grey engine block piece hidden inside the build where no one will ever see it? It would make sense if the hood were removable – but it’s very firmly locked in once the build is done.

The majority of the build focuses on the look of the exterior. There are no doors, requiring you to remove the roof to put minifigures inside. But who cares when you get a six-stud-wide beauty like this?

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The finished model

The best parts of this build are the gracefully arcing fenders. The colors, too, are very nice, with the black and yellow providing some great contrast. The transparent orange cheese slopes work as the in-service light, and the headlights are built at an interesting angle thanks to a clip-based connection. The taxi looks great from every angle, and is clearly ready to pick up some passengers.

Well, a passenger, anyway. There’s only room here for the driver and a single rider. There is, however, space in the trunk for some luggage. Too bad our driver has already claimed that spot for his donut stash.

The inclusion of the small strip of sidewalk makes this set feel more like a tiny vignette than “just” a car and driver. A second minifigure would have been a nice addition, though. Even if it would just help us know if this is a self-driving Vintage Tesla Taxi or not.

Assuming this is indeed a Modular Building accessory pack of sorts, I tried to incorporate it into my existing display. Of course, it’s only just now that I realized that the taxi is clearly driving on the sidewalk here. Oops.

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The minifigures

The single minifigure included in this set doesn’t have any unique pieces, but the combination is new, making him one of those “somewhat exclusive” characters. His head has had 11 other appearances across many themes. (In fact, this is the clone of the chef from the 10260 Downtown Diner.)

His dual-sided torso has also had numerous previous incarnations, including being spotted in the 10264 Corner Garage, where another one of his clones works as a mechanic.

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Conclusion and recommendation

Gift-with-purchase sets are a little tricky to make recommendations on. We can talk about the set itself—is it creative? (Yes.) Is it fun? (Yes!) Is it cool? (YES.) But is it worth shelling out $200 US to get one free? I’m going to go out on a limb and say “yes” to that, too. If you’ve got the LEGO budget, then this is a great little set that will help take the sting out of a larger purchase. If you don’t have the cash to blow? Well, LEGO has thankfully not included many elements in this set that are challenging to source on the secondary market. There’s really nothing stopping you from building your own fleet of Vintage Taxis, and filling a whole city block’s sidewalks with trashcans full of poo. You know. If you’re into that.

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LEGO 40532 Vintage Taxi will be available as a Gift With Purchase from LEGO Shop Online, likely from January 28th with qualifying purchases of  US $200 | CAN $200 | UK £200. It may also be available via third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early, non-embargoed copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

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