Am I missing something about the UppaBaby Vista?

[windy2909]

Hi!

I’m expecting my first baby in July and I have been doing my research into travel systems. I can’t get past the UppaBaby Vista....of all the reviews I’ve read it really stands out as the best for me. However, looking online there seems to be limited places to buy and websites that have it does not always have them in stock. Are they hard to come by in the UK?

My other question is does anyone have any other suggestions as an alternative to the Vista if I struggle to get it. The main features in my looking for are:

Large shopping basket
Not too heavy
Easy to push/manoeuvre
Easy to fold

Any information would be appreciated. TIA.

I love my uppababy vista. I was given the bugaboo chameleon by a friend and got rid of it because although nice the basket was too small and drove me mad!

The big thing for me though is that we don't have a car and we walk everywhere so a big basket was really important for shopping etc. It also needed to handle lots of cobblestones and country walks. It does well!

I did buy a cheap second hand maclaren about 1 year in though as we needed a smaller buggy for travel.

The vista is big and wide and quite cumbersome. I wouldn't choose it if we drove everywhere.

Got ours from John Lewis. If you struggle with their online shop I'd give them a call as they will have it delivered for you.

ICandy orange has a similar basket size and I was told it's practically the same buggy. My vista was cheaper tho so I didn't consider it. I managed to buy the JL floor model of previous version when the 2017 came out so grabbed a good bargain!

A few top tips - think about how you will use it? How does it fold? How heavy is it? Can you fold one handed if the bus is busy and you are asked to collapse it? How much shopping will you really do? Our big expensive mamas and papas was used far less than my $20 umbrella stroller because it was so impractical despite looking amazing. I didn't drive and there was steps on the buses (no lift) then. Most people end up with multiple pushchairs so think about how much you really want to spend? A sling/carrier is often better at first anyway!

We love our vista. We bought it in 2014 so it is an older model (got it from a local independent shop in Denny red with a good offer and free maxi cosi pebble car seat). Yes it is wide at the rear wheels but it's brilliant for all the reasons already mentioned and if you're tall it's perfect. I particularly like the ride height, all other prams seemed so low to the ground in comparison. The tyres are pretty sturdy too so cope with different terrain. We've had it in storage for a while but I'm now expecting baby no 2 and can't wait to get it out again. It was well used with ds but still looks like new

Vista is great. Get with the pebble but make sure you get the 2 way base so you have options for extended rear facing if that's what you want to do.

Glasgow Pram Center and other shops online did bundle deals.

And. Added bonus is you can use the carry cot for overnight sleeping if you are away or for nap time downstairs.

www.pramcentre.co.uk/uppababy-m102

I had a Joolz Geo for similar reasons, big basket and thought I would add a second seat at some stage.

In reality I stopped using it at 8 months and went for a Baby Jogger GT as it was much easier to get in and out of car and push. For my second I’ve just had an out and about nipper. A tandom double is a nightmare to push and the nipper is just a dream. I bet you won’t get as much use form a Vista as you think.

I was totally sold on the vista after trying it out in a pram centre and then I went to mamas and papas and was shown the ocarro - it has all the same functions (things I wanted were big basket and easy to fold too) and I thought it just looked a bit plusher especially the buggy bit which lets face it is the bit that will get the most use!! (I went for grey twill) and they do good bundles with car seat and base etc plus if you ever have any issues with it u can take it back n they give u a spare to use while they sort the issue (hopefully there won’t be any issues but good to have that guarantee!) I’m due June so not used it yet but I did so much research and tried so many and ocarro defo ticked all the boxes for me! I know lots of ppl with the vista too though and they all love it, I just personally needed up preferring the ocarro!!

Re car seat we have the Uppababy Mesa, which goes directly on to the Cruz base and has been an excellent choice for us as an infant car seat.

Just be warned that when using the Vista as double it's gigantic, like driving a bus, and heavy, i struggle to get it up curbs! Otherwise love it, had it three years and it's great.

I’ve gone for the new bugaboo Fox. Has all the features you mention and can be folded in one piece which I like. Looks like they’ve taken all the best bits of the chameleon and buffalo and made one mega pram. Such good quality I’m hoping it’ll last any future DCs we have too.

I loved mine. Lasted two children nicely. It is a bit of a beast though especially getting it in and out of a car- if you're going to do a lot of that I wouldn't necessarily recommend. By the time kids were 2ish I was mostly using the baby-jogger instead- hopeless basket but extremely easy to fold and compact.

However mine did break, just out of warranty. The lovely folks at JL arranged for it to be fixed- they literally changed the date of purchase on the form! So don't buy from anywhere other than JL. And don't get black either- too boring!

Have a look at the babyjogger range, they're slightly smaller and easier to fold but very sturdy and a dream to use. I went for one instead of the vista. We've got the versa which is now discontinued but asaik they've replaced it with an even better version.

I've been using mine for 4 years now and I still love it, no way would I swap it for a stroller!

@BritishRail - Is the MESA out in the UK now? When I enquired directly with Uppababy they said it wasn't coming until Spring.

Have a look at the Recaro Zero one elite for a car seat. It’s absolutely brilliant. It works with the uppababy vista and is such a clever design. It lasts from 0-4.5years, has the benefit of being a 360swivel design so you can get them in and out really easily and it’s extended rear facing. The genius of the elite version though is that it has a clip in newborn insert. It’s like slimline version of a normal car seat which clips into the big one. Means it’s very light to haul around and super quick and easy to get them in and out. I love it. It’s expensive, but when you compare it to the price of two maxi cosi seats (you’d need two to cover the same age range) it looks very good value!

I've got an Uppababy Vista which I’m about to advertise for sale, it’s in great condition. If you’re anywhere near Edinburgh and are interested please do give me a shout!

Absolutely love our vista. Bought it in 2013 for DD1, now using it for DC3. It looks as good as new. We got ours from John Lewis.

Thanks to all of you for your opinions and experiences. I went to a local prams shop today to order the Cruz or Vista, and surprised myself by ordering the Oyster 3! I found them very similar weight/push/fold etc and they were doing a deal on the Oyster 12 piece set, everything included for £950.

Plus I thought the Oyster looked nicer!

A word of cautiom. My friend had to send her Oyster back as it broke twice and also she said it was terrible to push if you are tall as everything is so low. A year or so after that the person we sold our Vista to on eBay said they bought it because their Oyster broke and they needed to replace it ASAP. This was 4+ years ago though so perhaps they are better now