Phil&Teds Verve

The verve looks good, is reasonably comfy and all in all is a pretty good pushchair if you have 2 small children to fit in. It folds easily and is flexible enough to accommodate my 22 month old and 5 week old quite well. When I have my toddler in the doubles seat on top of the cocoon I do think the seat is too reclined and it's not adjustable. I end up having to put a pillow behind him so he doesn't look uncomfortable and can sit up properly. But apart from that and as another review mentioned, the clunky shopping trolley feel sometimes, it's a good buy. I think you always have to compromise on something with a double pushchair and this makes the right compromises.

I'm afraid I really did not like the new P&T Verve. I bought it with the doubles kit to use for my 22 months old and newborn, and I sold it a month later. I found that I was avoiding using it, and it had cost so much, I thought it was not worth keeping.

It did handle nicely.... on flat, totally even pavements. But anything with a funny slant on it, like most of the pavements in this country, and it started to feel like a shopping trolley. Combined with the seriously narrow handle, I found it was pinching my lower back and my shoulders every time I walked up to town. That was the most serious problem.

Apart from that, there were a number of annoying things in the design and how it all fitted together - for example, my newborn always seemed to have sun on her face, no matter what I did. Even if I used the little mesh screen and pinned it down the back, P&T's hoods basically gape open at the back, and so you just don't feel like you are protecting your baby.

The rain cover was also incredibly heavy - I didn't have reason to use it - but carrying it around just in case took up a lot of room.

The basket in the bottom is big, so that was a positive.

I feel like P&T had a good idea once, and have gotten lazy, bringing out new models that reuse a lot of the features from older buggies. They don't pay enough attention to detail for me - I have ended up with an Emmaljunga Nitro with toddler seat on top, which is packed with comfort features, and everything just fits together.

I used to have the E3 but now have a spanking new Verve...and I LOVE it!!
I always liked my E3. With 2 children and a shopping habit, it was fab. It gets through shop doors easily, you don't take up whole isles and it fits well in the back of the car.
The Verve has all these perks and more, like the fabric on the pram has been improved and it's all soft and snuggly and nicer to hold on the handle.
It's so easy to put together when you buy it and it's really simple to put up and down again.
I find it a lot easier than the E3 and the handle sits in just the right place when folded up so you can lift it in to the boot...fantastic! You can also fold this one up with the doubles kits on which makes it very speed to put in the back.
The toddler seat in the back is simple to attach and my little boy finds it very comfortable.
The straps in both seats are quick and simple to use and getting children in and out is very easy, My toddler climbs in and out himself which is great.
My favorite new addition to The Verve is the brake on the handle rather than the bar under the back of the pram. I wear flip flops nearly all year so the bar was really tricky to push up with my foot on the E3 but The Verve has a button you press on the handle which is so much easier and makes the pram much safer as you use the brake far more.
This pram is great for using with 2 children and can be used with twins or a small baby and a toddler. The toddler back seat is also great for putting shopping in when you're older child is at nursery!!!
The Verve has 4 wheels as opposed to 3 which I find makes for a much smoother ride and feels much more stable. The wheels are also greatly improved as the E3 could be prone to flat tyres.
The stormy weather cover is brilliant and like the UV Sunny days cover, it folds up in to a neat little bag that can hung on the pram....leaving yet more room for shopping!! The Sun shade blocks out nearly 100% UV apparently which is reassuring to know.
Overall I love this pram. It's practical yet beautiful and I feel proud to push it around!!

The Phil & Ted's Verve is superbly streamlined, stylish and swift. Thoroughly designed with the whole family in mind, it's got some real guts under all the gloss, gliding over surfaces with superb suspension and stability. Bringing together all of the brand's best elements, the Verve also debuts a Phil & Ted's first; a phenomenally flat, no fiddly-bits, space-saving standing fold ...; with both seat units still attached. We're currently using it several times a day, in Newborn/Toddler mode. Here's why our family has some major love for it...

MAMA ON THE MOVE
With a shiny frame and a sleek silhouette, the Verve really is gorgeous - even the stylish box was worth a blog! It's SO compact it looks like a single buggy. People keep asking where I've left my new baby. It really does glide along without much effort from mama, mounting curbs and cobblestones with ease - and I can push it and er...;. text at the same time (shameful face)!! We've been on billions of buses, pushed through parks, schlepped round shops, used it in the garden and it stays smooooooth. It's even a peach on the beach! The shopping basket is generous, and I'm sure the right change-bag will still slip easily into it once we've progressed to the
toddler/toddler mode (I'm thinking a Skip Hop messenger -tall and slim). Make-life-easier features abound; the handlebar brake, the rain-cover pouch that velcros to the frame (no need to remove for fold either), the flexible tipping hood, the simple multi-recline positions on both seats, the 3 point harness clip, handy arm strap and most importantly, the cup holder!

MAN ON A MISSION
Striding in at 6 ft 4, the man's impressed by the generous adjustable handle height. With its super-springy suspension and 4 sizable wheels, it steers superbly even when the boy eggs him on to leg it at considerable speed. He's also fascinated by the fold (muttering about mechanics, engineering etc) and salutes the locking system which prevents unprovoked popping-up and makes the Verve easy to load and carry (carrying stuff, after-all, is the man's main job). He really rates this ride & reckons it's a bit of a big boy's toy for dads. Although a child-free friend was also impressed by our new "Ben & Jerrys"; Buggy. Bless.

TODDLER UP TOP
The boy loves his black and red 'racing buggy' and sitting high up in the 'driver' seat. The double seat unit is padded and plenty big enough - especially with the height-adjustable hood. The harness height is also very well designed and easy to adjust without scrabbling behind seat covers - big brownie points for this! He seems very comfortable and opts to ride rather than run now - unusual, but useful! Boy can also scramble into the buggy unaided thanks to the stability provided by the four wheels. In this mode, the seat doesn't recline, but is set at quite an angle - he sits forward off it if he wants or leans back to chill.

TEENY TUCKED IN
The cocoon is GENIUS! Babe snuggles down happily inside for a ride, and it doubles as a handy day-bed, so we're able to lift her in and out of the buggy without disturbing her snoozes. It's warm, well-cushioned and cozy. It nestles into the newborn platform, which is really sheltered. The Verve also comes with 2 panel pieces which toggle onto the back of this platform, providing complete sun and rain protection. Can't wait for her to fit the doubles seat and try that exciting 3-position recline.

IMPROVEMENTS
Because the buggy has a standing fold, the handlebar is taking some
serious wear on the floor - I hope it'll hold out but the brake section is already quite scratched which makes me a little sad - want my beautiful buggy to stay as pristine as possible (yes -I know I'll be scrubbing playdough out of the seat soon enough!) The handbrake itself is a bit stiff but I think that'll warm up. Finally, I'm hoping the P&T team will adapt the 'Lazy Ted' to fit the Verve, turning the double seat into a rocker chair, making this the perfect package!