mama and papas urbo

[jocie]

hi, my sil is due in oct and is researching pushchairs. She like the look of the urbo with the cybex aton carseat.
Does anyone have any reviews on the urbo and the aton carseat?
Good Points/Bad points.
Thanks

Mamas and Papas customer service is shocking if she must buy this pram and it's not much cheaper than the award winning Bugaboo Bee and Maxi Cosy, then for goodness sake pay by credit card so if anything goes wrong the cc company will take up your cause, I've seen too many women with 6 month old babies in M&P stores in tears with a broken pram.

I have an Urbo elite which I've only just bought so can't give a proper review yet. So far I think it feels nice to push, very sturdy. I like the seat, and it's great it's suitable from birth, although your SIL will probably want a carrycot for a newborn in winter.

The bad points so far are it has little or no suspension, so great for shopping, not so great on uneven ground, and probably not great in the park unless you stick to paths. But that's not necessarily an issue, especially if she's never had a better pushchair iyswim!
I also don't like that it only folds with the seat forward facing. It's not too much of an issue though if you only fold it to put in the boot as you can just fold in two parts.
Oh and the basket is annoying as it's very flat and open, and when the seat is parent facing it means your bag is very exposed from the front of the pushchair and stuff could fall out too.

Have a look on Best Buggy for more info.

I agree with Heswell that M&P's customer service is awful. Other retailers sell the Urbo too. But the offer of £389 for the urbo elite and cybex aton is great value. It's a lot cheaper than the Bee and I don't rate the Bee personally. There's info on the Bee on Best Buggy too.

I'd also look at the Babystyle Oyster. It has lots of similar features, but also folds parent facing, has decent suspension for a standard pushchair, and you can get air tyres which I've found make a bug difference too.

I've had the Urbo for nearly one year.

Good points;

sensible size unfolded (not much bigger than an umbrella fold stroller, so you won't want to ditch it as soon as baby is older!)

Lies nice and flat (never bothered with carrycot, or the cybex aton - its fine for a newborn as is)

Parent facing option

Pushes beautifully on urban surfaces, even one handed (see below about silicon spray)

Loads of space for bag etc underneath

Folds easily, unfolds easily

When parent-facing with the foot rest folded (not needed for 0-6 month olds at least) its FANTASTIC for using with a buggy board, even if you are tall

Adjustable height handle. Anything thats comfy for both me (5'8) and my SIL (4'8) is impressive

Bad points

Doesn't offroad. Struggles in a rough field! It really is urban (urbo)

Folds huge and in 2 pieces, also folds in the wrong order - you put the chair in the carboot first and then the wheels on top so it gets mucky, or else you end up balancing bits of pushchair everywhere!

The footmuff is shockingly expensive (buy a Bugglesnuggle instead imo!)

*NOTE: Wheels need spraying with silicon every month or so. Not WD40. Only takes a few seconds. Otherwise they stick horrendously.

summary
All in all I LOVE it, but it DOESN'T offroad and it DOESN'T travel easily because of the folding-in-2-large-bits problem

I like my Urbo too - its just neat - and yet its not the smallest pushchair folded, but it feels neat when pushing and that does make it nice feeling. It's simple but effective. Unlike the Sola which is simple but a pain to use. Its got a big hood, adjustable footrest, lie flat seat. The basket is open and as itsmylastone says, you have to pack it well so that things don't slide off the top. My brakes aren't as good as I would like. I parked the Urbo up the other week next to a road, put my son into the car and turned and just caught the pushchair as it fell into the road.....I wasn't impressed TBH. The brake looked like it was on, but its not a very decisive brake and almost for that reason, and my experience I am reluctant to recommend it. Its very easy to use but as others have said its an urban pushchair ie not one to take across the park with - and at some point everyone goes across grass or rougher ground. I love the adjustable handlebar, but its easy to catch the clips at the side on your clothes as you lean over and then the handlebar can slide down again. I think the other negative is tied into the Urbo name - there is pretty much no suspension and so after say 45 mins of pushing, I can feel it in my wrists.
I can't say the Urbo is bad, but I think your SIL needs to look carefully and critically at what she plans to use a pushchair for, and how long. The Urbo suits us as a car pushchair to nip into shops, to go from the car into nursery and back, into the doctors etc. ie a car based, short term use. For more lengthy walking or something that isn't just pavement based then there are better choices. Dont let her buy the Sola though! Send her here for more ideas!