Mamas and Papas Sola City

[Zahrah5]

We are just about to order the Sola city for our first child to be.

Other contenders were- all affordable price cathegory
Graco Evo (looks too plastic and cheap to me),
Joie Chrome (like but not sure how good are the wheels for walks on grass and unpaved roads)
Mothercare Orb- love the look, but looks like they have lots of quality problems later on
Mamas and Papas Zoom- same as Sola city, but 3-wheeler, however wider so maybe not so good for public transport?

We live on outskirts of London, totally dependable on public transport- mostly bus and trains, I assume this will be heavily used as we have no car.
It needs to be able to handle occasional walk in the middle of city as well as on grass in parks and unpaved roads in the forest.


Sola city looks to have quite suitable wheels and some suspension for offroading. Shopping basket looks OK, the walls are low, but hopefully we will be able to pile stuff in high as there is lots of space.

It does not have the bumper bar, I am not sure if the bumper bar has any function but most strollers seem to have it, honestly I like the look with no bumper bar and would be easier to put child in and out, but just curious what is it for.

Currently it is on offer of basis, seat and carrycot for 275 what is a great deal so our hand is itching.

Any advices? Should we look again on some of the contenders or other models?

[politics31]

Hi, we have the sola city and overall it's a great buggy. Amazing in malls/shops, so easy to push and small turning circle. Basket is a good size and I can get a fair amount in there. Lack of bumper bar has been fine up to now but now Ds is 5 months I wish we had one to attach toys etc to.

The only negative has been punctures, we've had quite a few and so pretty much stopped using it anywhere it might get one, I think we are a bit more rural than you are though. Overall I still love it though and can't find anything else better.

[Zahrah5]

Thank you politics.

Great to hear that you are happy with it.
I was worrying that since the basket has such low sides things might be falling out when tipped but no one has mentioned this problem so maybe I am just making it up.

What kind of surfaces do you usually get punctures? Is it hard to fix it after?
Some parks here have gravel paths and also we are planning to go oves grass and some unpaved trails.
We specifically wanted air tires as we hoped these would be better on trails.

We were trying to find reasonable compromise between city stroller and all terrain with big wheels and suspension while still narrow which can fit into a bus.- less than 60 cm wide.

[Mumblefireplace]

We have got a sola city and after 7 months of use have some positives and some negatives about it.

Pros

The basket fits a lot in: I use it to do a large supermarket shop and just wedge everything in and it doesn't fall out!

The back wheels are fab for bumping up/down steps and on/off trains and busses.

It's easy to push one handed.

It's small for pushing around shops, cafés etc.

It's great to have parent facing option.

Cons

The bassinet is tiny and my baby hated going in it - would have probably preferred to go straight into the seat with the wedge, but I ended up using a sling until she was 4 months old.

Lack of bumper bar means it's harder to attach toys, although this isn't a massive issue.

The main problem we have had is the brake keeps locking, and have had to send it for repairs with m&p. I am just about to take it back for the second time as it came back from head office unrepaired! I haven't been very impressed with customer services.

All in all though, it is a great little pushchair for public transport use and city life.

[Jeaslea]

Hi Mumblefireplace,

I was very interested to read your review about the m&p sola city faulty brakes. I have had exactly the same issue - sometimes when releasing the brakes the back wheels stay locked. Needless to say it is a major safety concern - I have had to tip the pram and push my baby home on the front wheels. I've discovered this fault happens when the metal brake cable comes loose from the plastic housing. The first time it happened in December 2014 (after only 2 weeks of having it) my local store exchanged the chassis for me but it has now happened on the replacement one and I am currently in a battle with m&p customer services to get a refund. A gift card refund is the best they can offer, despite my local store recently closing down so I would be forced to buy from their website. I have been told by them that I am the only customer this has happened to and they are struggling to understand why - this is clearly not the case if you have also reported the issue. I think this should have prompted a product safety recall notice as a faulty brake design is hardly a minor issue. What has been the outcome of your dealings with m&p? Is your brake fault similar to mine?
To anyone else considering this pram I wouldn't recommend you purchase this given the issues I've had with brake system. It's not 100% reliable.

[Mumblefireplace]

Oh no! Jeaslea I'm sorry to hear you had the same problem.

After various problems with m&p customer service, they agreed to replace the chassis and I sold it and bought a different pushchair. I had a really negative experience with them and wouldn't buy a m@p branded pushchair again due to the terrible customer service.

[Mumblefireplace]

I feel bad about selling it now in case it happens to someone else!

[HomeIsWhereTheHeartIs]

I have the Zoom and I love it - small turning circle and the handle bar folds right back on itself so that you can pull it in really close in a tight space. However it is wide at the base.

[katismo]

I realise this thread has not been added to for a couple of years but I am currently in a dispute with Mamas and Papas about the safety of my Sola City pushchair. The front wheels spin constantly and if you hit small holes or dips they hit the front chassis causing it to stop dead. This buggy has flipped completely on one occasion injuring me and my 9 month old son. Mamas and Papas refuse to give me a refund despite some media attention which shows others have complained. If anyone else has had this experience please let me know.

www.standard.co.uk/news/london/mother-sues-mamas-papas-after-buggy-flipped-and-threw-10monthold-baby-into-middle-of-the-road-a3278786.html