M&P Sola, Urbo, Zoom or Mothercare Mychoice?

[MumToBeInJuly2012]

I know this will have been done a million times before but humour me!!

Sola has been in the lead for ages but prefer the the colours of the Urbo....

Then saw the package for the Zoom at 419 and swung over there..

Then read M&P only do repairs and people have trouble with them...

But they're all lighter than the Mychoice...!

Requirements- All in for as close to £500 as possible- forward/rear face, carrycot, car seat to clip onto frame, isofix base for car seat....

Do your worst PLEASE!!

Thanks

Well, in all honesty, I wouldn't buy any of those and that's not just becuase of M&P's customer service. The obvious answer is the Babystyle Oyster.

Unless you're willing to buy second hand? That would open up your options to things like a Bugaboo Cameleon, Mutsy 4Rider, iCandy Peach, Mima Xari (this would be a bit over budget though) or Joolz Day for example.

Can't comment on the others but I regret buying my Sola every time I walk over cobbles :(

Oyster!

Yeah - Oyster!!

Similar style to Sola but but sturdier, better engineered, does more and miles better customer service.

Hmm thanks- food for thought! A really daft question but.... can you buy an Oyster in shops? Don't think I've seen one on my mothercare etc rounds? Are they an online phenomenon?!

Sob! But look at the poor reader reviews here!! It's a minefield!!

www.madeformums.com/reviews/pushchairs-and-travel-systems/travel-systems/babystyle-oyster/reader-reviews/590.html#review2369

I currently have the Oyster, Urbo and Sola. The Sola is by far the worst by miles - its simple, but too simple ie its not finished well enough. For example if the handle would tuck under then the fold would be much smaller. The hood lining on mine looks a mess. The footrest is always wonky. But the biggest Grrr for me is the size - when open its very long! Believe me I have had my fair share of tandems but I never expected to get a single wedged because it was too long to come through a door and turn left! The handle protrudes far further than sensible and as I said at the start, it doesn't neatly fold down and lock so that you can use it low down. The length folded is an issue for me too as it fills my entire boot. The only positive really is that the weird shaped basket is ok if you stand things up in it. I have to say I can't wait to sell it...

The Urbo in contrast is simple but it works. Everything is just neater about it. The fold is neater, the handle tucks down to tiny. The fold is still a reasonable size but I dont have the handle sticking out miles. The basket is shallow but I have managed to get a fair bit in it. The seat is very similar to the Sola with the same horrible jigsaw puzzle buckle. But the hood is larger and everything about it is just neater and tidier.

The problem with both of the M&Ps is that the suspension is practically nil - in fact the Urbo hurt my wrists to push around an average retail park for about 45 mins. I expected the Sola to have more suspension with it being bigger - I didn't expect much from the Urbo because its clearly an urban type pushchair. I have to say, I thought I was overexaggerating telling someone this the other day, so I got all three out at the weekend and it was clear that the Oyster had reasonable suspension and the two M&Ps barely budged when I put my weight on the handlebar etc. On both the footrest is in a really silly place for a toddler to put their feet - mainly underneath the seat unit - so that my toddler can just graze the edge of the footrest of the Urbo with her feet. I can't remember if she could get her feet on the Sola. You also end up scraping the front edge of both when they fold as the legs tuck under.

I have seen the Oyster for sale in Mothercare. I have to say you get a lot for your money with the Oyster. The spec is pretty high really for the price whether its the hidden insect net, fold both ways seat, button recline, better finish, quality seat fabrics (I am not keen on the colour pack liner and hood), decent footrest for a toddler, big basket etc etc. I think for value for money the Oyster wins....its a good all round pushchair. I do have a soft spot for my Urbo though and it may well stay here a while but believe me it will do the few feet from the car into nursery (with youngest in) and back into the boot and no further. I wouldn't recommend it if you will walk a lot.

I have a Sola and hate it wish I had never bought it,has been back to the factory twice in 6 months.My local Mothercare stocks the Oyster and it isn't one of the large Mothercares,quite small in fact.

Mothercare and Babies R Us sell the Oyster, as well as loads of independent shops. In fact, most places sell it. But BabyStyle are having major stock issues and there are problems getting hold of them. I'm guessing you're due in July in which case you should be fine to get one before then.

Those reviews on madeformums don't give a full picture IMO. Firstly, people who have had problems are more likely to put up reviews. This is always the case and you find a surprisingly high number of negative reviews for many pushchairs.

Some of them are complaining about it not being great off road. Well it's not an off reader and so is not going to be a perfectly smooth ride, it's also in a lower price bracket than others that can do well over rough ground. I have air tyres on mine and they really help with making it a smoother ride. I've taken it over bumpy ground and it's done fine.

They're also complaining about the raincover. That's one thing that isn't great for probably a 2 year old plus but I've never had a problem yet and my dd is 18 months.

And the person saying mind your fingers when folding is clearly an idiot! I can't even work out how you could catch your fingers when folding it!

Like hypatia said, there is low stock in many shops at the moment, but it looks like more stock is due in from May in most places so you should be fine. They have it on display in all the major shops because it's really popular - for good reason!

Oh and the woman on made for mums who said a negative was that the chassis fills her KIA PICANTO boot. how can that be a negative? It's a small chassis and you have a tiny boot, a bit unreasonable perhaps?!

I have the my 4 , it is absolutely fantastic to push and does everything you could ever want a travel system to do . I am going to sell
Mine as I'm moving onto a stroller but honestly I think it's ticks all the boxes for babies up to a year .

Pushchair trader is a good website for reviews. There's another good one but I cant remember it's name. Will let you know when I do.

Ahh, here it is: bestbuggy.co.uk

The reviews on best buggy are much more honest and comprehensive, I'd definitely recommend it if you want the full picture on lots of pushchairs.

I think the thing that's great about the Oyster is that it's not one you'll need to move on from at a year to get a stroller. It's so easy to use and lovely and narrow at 56cm. It's also possible to move the hood up the seat to allow more headroom. Have a look at best buggy's review as her dd is 3.4 years and 102cm tall but still fits ok. Most children would be out of a pushchair by the time the reach that height. Also look at the Urbo photos (Mrs BB hasn't done the full Sola review yet but you can see photos still).