Uppababy Vista 2 & Small Boot - City Car

[PurplePansy05]

Hi All!

I know there's a pushchairs board but it's very quiet there and I'm hoping to get practical responses from those of you who have this pram and a small car.

I am looking into buying Uppababy Vista 2, currently have a small city runner (a Toyota Aygo).

Can anyone who has an Aygo (or equivalent, so say, the smallest city cars like Skoda, Seat, VW or Citroen) tell me if it actually fits in your boot?

There are articles online which say it does, but I think they relate to the previous version of the Vista, not Vista 2.

Secondly, if it does fit, does the carrycot fold and fit in the boot too? Or do you need to unclip it first, fold it (I am looking at the photos and I think it folds??) and put it elsewhere in your car?

Finally, do you need to take any wheels off to fit this pram in your boot, please?

TIA 💐 xx

Have you looked at bugaboo bee? They now have a carrycot for it, but it’s fine used without with the bugaboo cocoon for a newborn and that was the main selling point of it originally. Then it’s light, faces both ways and folds on one piece

I would put the frame in the boot and the carry cot in the passenger footwell if possible.

I did look at the Bee, but I don't fancy the design of it. I might be mistaken but from various reviews, I don't think it would be all that great for our various trips, it'sa city option. I don't think we need an all-terrain buggy either, but just something versatile for city/town and country without going off-road.

I am guessing it is possible to buy a cup holder to fit with any buggy, isn't it?

@MindyStClaire That sounds like a sensible option, I hope we can try this out next weekend at the appointments. We're taking my car specifically to do this. Thank you. xx

Oh I'm glad you're able to do that, definitely take the car with you and take your time checking everything. The carry cot stage doesn't last long, both of mine moved to the seat at about 3 months, so you could live with compromises for that period if it's workable with the seat.

We had a Suzuki Swift. I didn't have an Uppababy, but there was absolutely no way any carrycot was fitting in our boot! We used the carrycot for walks from home, and if we wanted to take the buggy somewhere in the car we used the seat unit, laid flat. I think the ability to lay the seat unit flat is really important if you have a small car for this reason.

Defo ask to try different models out in the car boot :) And if they go "Oh it's so easy to fit in, you just have to completely disassemble it" including things like taking off wheels, consider whether you will actually want to do that when it's pouring with rain, the wheels are all muddy and your baby is screaming because they are strapped into the car seat but the car isn't moving, or whether you'll be cursing the shop assistant and yourself :o

Yeah cup holders are normally universal, or at least you can easily find universal/compatible ones. Or pay ££££ for the branded one!

Heaviness of the buggy is nowhere near as important as how it handles. We have a really light cheap one which is awful to push, whereas some of the all-terrain ones are smooth and easy as anything but weigh much more. Unless you have loads of stairs up to your house you'll probably only ever lift it in and out of the car and if you need to take the seat off to do this, it's usually totally managable as each part individually doesn't weigh very much.

If you want to go over farm fields and deep into woods without footpaths then you'll need a proper all-terrain. For countryside footpaths, something hybrid will be absolutely fine, but something like the Bugaboo Bee with smaller wheels will struggle with that kind of surface - they're only really made for pavement and shopping centres.

Hi @BertieBotts 😄 Invaluable advice, as always.

From what you're saying, both Vista and Cruz would be good for what we need. Tbh I can't see doing much travelling on my own with the carrycot anyway, more with the stroller. I'd like to test how it folds on each of the prams we're considering.

Taking the wheels off, even if easy, does put me off, I must say. I can just see myself going over some dog poo and then realising I need to take the wheels off before even being able to drive off 😳🤦🏼‍♀️

I've just been reading a good comparison between Vista 2 and Cruz 2 and I might be swayed towards the Cruz. Lots of improvements in 2020, very impressive.

The shortlist is now:

• Vista 2
• Cruz 2
• M&P Flip
• M&P Ocarro
• iCandy Orange

I like the look and features of the Orange, but apparently UK customer service is awful and lots of people report faults with their buggies recently. That's not something I'd want to bother with with a newborn so it's dropped down to the bottom which is a shame really.

I always thought that the M&P own brand prams were a bit cheaper though, but actually they aren't so much cheaper because of how M&P priced them up in bundles and individually. Annoying.

Which then sort of brings me back to the solid, nice looking and ticking most of the boxes on paper Uppababys.

Ultimately I need to try them out next week, but I think that's a sensible size shortlist. xx

I had a vista for DS which I loved at the time. It was easy to push, massive basket, great off road, folds down with seat attached etc

However, it was massive - filled my corsa boot carrycot would have had to go in the back had DS used it.

Also, for the size of the pram, DS grew out of the seat part way earlier than I'd have liked so overall didn't feel like I got my money's worth from it.

Currently 32 weeks and not even considered it this time round.

Actually we do take the wheel of mountain buggy as it fits in flat then ( just one), but it does fit in side ways with wheels both on.

Maybe a car sets that lays flat and can be used on frame might be better. That way you can use carrycot on elks from house and when larger car, but have the choose of not taking carrycot if a squash.

Our car seat is a swivel so doesn’t come out, but I kind of wish we had. I would get the doona car seat on wheels next time for that option. I use the sling a lot so not worried about time in car seat as such, but would be handy to take car seat out when baby is sleeping still and I arrive somewhere and move into sling when they woke. But it’s expensive extra IMO

Swivel seats do come out now no problem. There's a selection of Joie, Cybex and MaxiCosi. Out of those, Cybex reclines fully but still the advice is newborns shouldn't be in any car seat for longer than 30 mins, not only due to how it reclines but also the restriction in movement. We just spoke about this exact thing with a John Lewis nursery assistant and she also confirmed that the Cybex doesn't go completely flat either (although it's the flattest of them all when reclined).

The JL assistant was exceptionally knowledgeable and honest and I think we have a clear favourite now in terms of buggy and car seat, now onto trying them out next week 😊 Thank you all again for all your help, you've really helped with my shortlist which was very useful for discussion with the assistant today! xx

@PurplePansy05 - I do agree on the car seat thing, hence we got one that didn’t remove so we didn’t overuse it. However in hind site like I said removal would have been helpful sometimes , so I would get removing in future. They aren’t newborn forever, so the 30 min thing isn’t as important, and for us using a sling a lot, something like the doona would have been handy for travel ( but Covid meant we haven’t), as could use sling 90% of time, but have something small and compact to put them in when needed.

Good luck with your purchase

@PurplePansy05 have you now made a decision? We think we're set on that Cybex Cloud Z car seat and debating the Uppababy Vista 2 or Bugaboo Fox 2 at the moment. Seem to change our minds daily! We wouldn't do that much walking "from home" I don't think, so ability to fit it in the car is important and I'm glad I read this thread! Does make me want to actually physically have one to try in the boot though. I actually found the Vista2 to feel much lighter and easier to maneouvre and lift up curbs etc than the Bugaboo and others we considered (icandy peach and egg) so it's interesting that that's not actually true and people are saying it's too heavy!

As a bit of a germphobe I am not sure I would want to take the wheels off every time it goes in the boot but maybe I can establish some kind of process for that if needs must! Already worried about the handle of the vista2 resting pretty much on the floor in its folded position...but I vastly prefer its handling to the fox!

@PurpleCurtain Yes! I tried the Vista 2 and it's a lovely buggy, however felt too big and bulky for me for every day use. It also would not fit in the Aygo boot. And on top of that we have a narrow hall in our house and it would be really impractical for us. I have to say I absolutely loved Cruz 2 and this is what we bought. It really isn't far off Vista 2, but it's lighter and nippier, a dream to push. I also rated Mamas & Papas Flip XT3 highly, it's even lighter actually. Both fit in the Aygo boot without taking wheels off for those wondering. However, carrycot and toddler seat need to be removed and strapped in on the front seat - which is easily done, I've tried it out. So happy with this buggy and really pleased I've asked because it has actually made me consider my choices and look at buggies I may not have considered before.

Word of caution from a great John Lewis nursery assistant we had, they get a lot of returns from iCandy buyers and in her own words "nothing ever goes wrong with Uppababy". So just something to consider. Trustpilot isn't exactly great when you read up on iCandy either.

Also if you book a virtual JL nursery appointment first, you receive a 10% off a £750 baby items purchase or 15% off a £1500 baby purchase. It saved us £240 today, win! I'm planning to reuse the items for DC2 hopefully in the future, then sell, so worth the investment.

Re car seat, we tried Cybex Cloud Z swivel and MaxiCosi Pebble 360 and both are excellent. However, MC is lighter and less bulky, and it does come in and out of the swivel base easier than Cybex if you need to move it between cars - which for us was a definite consideration.

Hope this helps any future buyers & good luck 😊👍

Thanks again for all your thoughts all xx

So sorry just to say, I've gone with MaxiCosi 360 Pebble.

I am not that into Bugaboo personally, but I read lots of people are happy with it. If, however, you are thinking about Fox, I'd say having seen it over the weekend, with this size back wheels you'd struggle to fit it in an Aygo or similar size boot @PurpleCurtain. Definitely pop to the shop first if you can and try them out. xx

@PurplePansy05 that's all so helpful, thank you! We definitely intend to go through John Lewis, have made a lot of use of their warranties for things over the years! Have people found places where they can actually try out fitting them in their cars - is that a thing?! I think ours is slightly bigger than an aygo (new suzuki swift) but probably smaller than a fiesta.

@PurpleCurtain I had to go to a local independent retailer to try it in my boot. Good luck!