The term “toy cars” is used to describe both miniature replicas of full-sized cars and very small toy cars often associated with racing games. Small toy cars are referred to as miniatures. The word miniature is used to describe an object that is smaller than the real thing.
Small toy cars are generally called die-cast cars. A lot of times, you can also refer to them as model cars or scale model cars depending on the size of the car. Small toy cars are often referred to as microcars, minicars, or pocket cars. Pocket cars are small, usually gas-powered cars that have been popular in the United States since around the 2000s. These cars are usually less than five inches long and can be bought with or without an engine.