Hot Wheels is a licensed title based on the toy cars from Mattel and attempts to recreate the playing of toy cars. You start in a car showroom with different types of model cars but if they aren't to your taste then you can design and build your own. Once you are happy with your new car it's time to go to the Paint Shop and select a colour before driving out of the showroom and driving it through town.

You view your car from the side at a slight elevated angle and you can drive it to the right or left along the road. To change direction you have to pull into a opening and reverse out in the new direction. The town itself is split into two parts and they are connected by an Expressway where you watch a small animated piece of your car driving along the road. Each part of town is made up of various buildings and some buildings can be drove into to either keep your car running smoothly or participate in various mini games. The buildings you encounter are:

Car Wash: You just watch your car going through the various stages of a car wash.

Gas Station: You control the mechanic and you can fill the car up with gas and check the tyre pressures.

Tuning: Here you watch your car having the engine tuned.

Oil Change: You control another mechanic and once you raised the car you must move a drum below the car and try to catch all the drops of oil dripping from the car without making a mess. Once the engine is empty you can fill the car with oil.

Demolition Derby: You view a square track from above with the whole track on screen as you drive around the track. You attempt to smash the other cars to destroy them while avoiding being smashed yourself.

Firefighting. Pulling into the fire station allows you to drive a fire engine along the road looking for any buildings on fire. Once you find a burning building you must park beside a fire hydrant. When you are in the correct position a hose appears. You move the hose around and attempt to put out the fire. Take too long and the building will burn down.