Overwhelmed by amount of prams on the market!

[Watermelonsugar21]

I’ve read tons of reviews, pram specs, brand comparisons and I still have no clue what to buy!! Any suggestions for a pram that would meet the following needs would be hugely appreciated:

-Easy to fold down/unfold again
-Fits in boot of VW Polo
-Wheels able to cover bumpy terrain such as country parks and woodland paths (and don’t puncture)
-Includes both carry cot for newborn and pushchair (for when 6mnths+)
-Reasonable size basket underneath

Not bothered about having a car seat that will attach as I’m too lazy to keep taking it in and out of my car! Will do most pram walking straight from my house anyway, as I live in the countryside.

Budget wise I don’t really want to spend more than £500.

Thanks in advance for any replies xx

Slightly over the budget but I'd say Bugaboo Bee.

Would you consider 3 wheeler?
Mountain Buggy Swift is about £370 and you can get soft carrycot for £59 but it's forward facing seat in toddler mode.
Phil and Teds Sport with a proper carrycot for £550.
Baby Jogger GT is pretty good as well and most compact of all of them but pretty stiff on terrain with tiny baby.
They are pretty good on rough terrain and wheels easy to remove to fit small boot.
I am a big fan of proper,traditional prams for newborns where the suspension is super smooth and baby can stretch comfortably in big carrycot but I do walk everywhere and it was pretty standard when I lived in Germany.
I won't recommend Bugaboo or Uppababy as they are useless in places you have mentioned,they are good for smooth pavements and nothing else,babies just rattle about in them.
Good luck with your search.

My icandy peach was amazing I bloody loved that Priam. It was way over budget at approx £1200 new, we found a really good secondhand one on market place, barely used for £300 best baby purchase we made definitely getting a better quality but second hand over lower quality new one

Pram

Quinny Zapp Flex Plus.

Can't help on the specifics as we had big boots in both cars but I'd just caution against looking for a pram for a small baby that's truly off road. If you're walking anywhere there aren't premade paths, there's any form of stile, kissing gate etc you will be really limited. I have a smallholding and was sure I wanted an off-road buggy but in reality it took all the pleasure out of walking even with a decent buggy, we use a backpack now and I wish I'd tried to get on better with a sling when she was smaller.
Buggy copes ok on premade tracks as long as they have gateways at the end..it's good on grass as long as there's no significant ruts as well. It's a maxi Cosi that isn't made any more but they may well have something in your price point as that was my budget too, I didn't want to spend four figures! Agree with PP that second hand can be a really good way to go too.

By 'decent' I mean in terms of designed for the job, not the brand 🙂

I spent £500ish on a Jane Epic pushchair and matrix light 2 carrycot/carseat with isofix base.

Fantastic pushchair that has handled every terrain thrown at it with ease, is light and easy to turn and the chassis folds down to be very compact.

The Matrix light 2 is a combination of pram carrycot and lie flat car seat which I wanted as our lifestyle involves a lot of long journeys and overnight stays (not all pram carrycots are suitable for overnight sleeping).

If you don't do a lot of long journeys you'd be better off with one of their standard car seats and just the simple carrycot attachment for the pram. It would come in at a similar budget.

Friends have all been envious of the Epic pushchair and just how easy it is to manoeuvre.

Have a look at the micralite get go. I think that is around £500, they make all terrain prams. I have the smartfold and absolutely love it. The get go looks really nice too. They are the sister company of Silvercross so they are well made but without the price tag.

I've used a venicci for my two, still going strong

We've used the Ocarro from mamas and papas for both and has been fab, still going strong four years on.

No idea about prams but I'd recommend getting a which subscription (you can get a month free) to check out loads of different options and see how they compare. We used our loads when looking for baby items.

We never used the car seat attachment with our first but it's been a lifesaver with our second so might be worth keeping it in mind if you're planning on having more children.

It’s over budget but I love my Uppababy Cruz. The basket is great and the buggy is easy to fold. It’s the city model so slightly smaller but it’s fairly good at off-roading. If we ever go anywhere too bumpy, I put DD in the sling. I still do now and she’s nearly 7mo.

I have had a bugaboo since 2013. It's still going strong and has had daily use since and is now on its 3rd child.
We also use a cybex balios s which has been great and very versatile.

I love my bugaboo bee and easily fits in my tiny boot but it's not great on uneven surfaces. The Out n About Nipper might be good as folds down pretty small and you can buy a carrycot too. I have the sport version for running and its brilliant off road but I find it too big for shops etc.

I wouldn’t recommend the uppababy Cruz for off roading, the vista maybe more robust.

Do you even need one?! I say this as I didn’t! I couldn’t justify or afford the expense, even £300 for a secondhand one would have been unaffordable. I live in a hilly town with narrow, paved uneven pavements, in places no pavement. The shops are all small. I liked to walk out from home, straight into the country (stiles, gates, mud, more hills). So I decided a pram was pointless, as it just wouldn’t get used! Instead we had a sling. We were given a hand me down baby car seat from family. Then we spent £8 on a buggy in the charity shop (once DS was 6 months). That folded quickly and was handy for bus journeys. I never once thought ‘I need a pram.’

I’d recommend an Uppababy Cruz- great size basket, smooth to push, very well built.

What made it so much easier for me was a colleague just asked me if I wanted to buy her old one for 50 quid and I just removed the hassle from the million other decisions I had to make while pregnant.
Then when my daughter was just two weeks old it got nicked.
I found the same one on Facebook second hand being offered for 15 quid in a slightly less good condition and i picked it up the same day.
After 6 months she was already sitting up so didn't even need the cot part.
At one I switched for a fold up buggy.

Peaks get used for such a short time vs how much you pay for them.

I think I spent a couple of hundred on the sling/carrier though. She spent a good four hours a day in that from birth to age one.

Prams not peaks

Get a decent baby carrier and a normal small pram. If you’re truly in off roading then it’s 10x easier with a carrier than any pushchair.

We live rurally, have a mountain buggy that’s lasted 6 years so far and lots off rough terrain but it was easier when I could carry them in a sling.

We have a second hand Bugaboo Bee. We knew it wasn't an off-road buggy though. You can lock the front wheels for uneven paths/cobbles but the wheels are small. We take the sling (stretchy wrap till 6 months then Ergo for older baby/toddler) if we're going somewhere without paths everywhere. It's great for walking in town, getting on public transport or places with paths though. We chose a smaller buggy as we have a small boot and not much storage in the house and we liked the idea of using slings.