London parents - views on Uppababy Vista vs Uppababy Cruz

[monkeyinlondon]

Hi all

I'm hoping some Vista and Cruz owners will be able to help me with my pram quest for our first baby. We've pretty much narrowed our choice down to the Uppababy Cruz because of the narrowness compared to a Cameleon or Vista and it still having a bassinet (hence we've ruled out the Bugaboo Bee).

However, I still love the Vista because of the fact it is a smoother ride and the baby can sleep in the bassinet over night (the Cruz can't although I have heard one is due out soon that will meet the right standards).

Could anyone with experience comment on:

• Is the Vista too wide in London (it's 3.5cm wider than a Cameleon) - mainly in terms of manoeuvring in coffee shops/restaurants/small shops as I think I have an idea it's not the best on buses from other threads.
• Is the Cruz ok from a smooth ride point of view. My one concern is that it's not as good with the suspension as Cameleons and Vistas

Many thanks for any input!

we have coffee shops/ restaurants/ small shops in the rest of the country you know

Thanks for your response. I wasn't intending to offend anyone. Perhaps to put more context around it - there will be no car use at all, it will all be on foot, public transport (which I think it isn't good for) and lots of small shops etc due to where we live. We don't go to out of town supermarkets etc which I did do when I lived outside London, it's all small local ones within London. Which obviously exist elsewhere. I just thought London parents would have similar experiences/needs form a pushchair.

If you've not got a car, you'll need to think about how big a basket it has. The vista basket is huge, I'm not sure if the cruz will be as big.

I lurve my vista and baby hasn't even arrived yet

I hate width, no matter how good the pushchair is (and the vista is) it will always drive me bonkers. If the uppababys are really your final shortlist then you need to decide what's more important to you, narrower or smoother ride. Lots of people use the vista in London, others say it's too wide and something narrower is a lot easier. The overnight carrycot is a useful but v short term feature imo.

There are one or two pushchairs that would imo offer a middle ground of being more compact than the vista but a cushier ride than the Cruz.. stuff like the easywalker mini, the graco evo xt, perhaps one or two others.

Thank you EeyoreIsh and Ihateparties. That's really helpful. I think if I have a concern now about the width of it - particularly given we will be walking everywhere so the car isn't an option to then take the car seat into a cafe - we should probably stick with something narrower.

I'll take a look at the Easywalker and Graco - thanks for the suggestions.

I tend to agree, if you're concerned about width now it's unlikely to be an issue that will completely disappear when you're using a pushchair daily. I would be trying to talk you into a bee but I like a good carrycot so I see your point there. If you weren't bothered then a bee or Icandy raspberry is the best of both worlds.

Another option might be something like a yoyo 0+ for when you plan to go somewhere small, buses, tubes etc. and a different walking pram, where size is less vital and comfort is more important. It would be possible to do that on a similar budget to say a cam or easy walker mini or considerably less if you looked second hand for the larger pram. You only need to look on eBay or gumtree to get the picture that a lot of people do end up selling the larger systems for something smaller after 6-12m of use. Not everyone does but enough to give plenty of choice on the second hand market.

I'm a non driving Vista owner with a one year old. I cannot recommend it high enough. We regularly go into small independent shops and cafes with no problems.
Bus wise, usually have to board via back doors but spaces tend to be pretty wide. A couple of weeks ago we shared the space with a wheelchair user.
I wasn't sure whether to go for cruz or vista either (colour choice and width were my drivers) but really happy that I chose vista. Will be sorry to see it go as now looking to purchase a double!

Thank you 2blessed, that's really helpful. And thank you Ihateparties for your yoyo and larger pram combination suggestion. We'll have a final think on it and then it's decision time!

Hi Monkey
In a similar dilemma and I think I like the Cruz. What did you end up going for?

Hi firstimer30s
We have decided on the Cruz! We looked at all the other options suggested by everyone here and they didn't quite suit us. We then looked at the customer reviews on Which and that tipped the decision to definitely be the Cruz. The Vista reviews were very positive on Which but there were several people saying they got the wheels caught on doorframes and that they found it too bulky in the city so that was a big factor in the decision.

I've also found out that the new Cruz bassinet which is approved for overnight sleeping is already available (not sure if occasional overnight sleeping or all the time) but this also helped us decide. You just need to make sure that the bassinet you order has the right product code for the approved sleeping version (Uppababy customer service are very helpful and can give this to you - I haven't got it on me to pass on I'm afraid).

The final deciding factor was discussing it with my mum who felt that having super smooth suspension wasn't such a major issue. I'm sure it's a big plus but I guess children have slept happily in prams and pushchairs before the modern options we have now and the Cruz suspension is still better than whatever existed when I was a child!

I hope all that helps. Good luck with the decision!

Great thanks very much! Actually just ordered it too. I hope I got the right bassinet. It is called jake 2 or some such? Will ring uppababby and check

Hi just an update, I got in touch with uppababy and John Lewis and the new carrycot on the John Lewis website is indeed now good for overnight sleep. It is called v2.
Thanks all!

Hi monkey, I see you already ordered but some thoughts here from a vista owner!

LOVED our vista until number 2 came along 17 months later. We bought it because it is light, huge basket and we used the bassinet for sleeping for almost 4 months.

Live in London, walk MILES every day, in and out of shops and on buses. Car very occasionally and fits in small car fine when needed. Yes, v occasionally you'll bump things because of the width but I've never not been able to get in/on anywhere and it hasn't caused fluster doing so. It does fit down the aisle on the buses on our route (note that some are narrower than others ) but you can always board at the back which is easier anyway.

Access to huge basket is not very easy with the bassinet but no problem with the pushchair. We've moved into pushchair with infant insert at 4 months.

We were really sold hard on the fact it would convert to a double with the rumble seat but were not thinking when that would be or giving it much thought. With 2 (17 months apart) it is ridiculously heavy to push and they both get 'dropped' down curbs! The weight is all on the small 2 front wheels with the toddler (who can only see out the sides if that bothers you, and doesn't have that comfy a seat to snooze in, although mine has managed). Our suspension with 2 is pretty much bust.

If you want to future proof for two babies close together, consider the Phil & teds amongst others. Whilst I love my vista, using it for 2 has totally put me off it. If you're not concerned by that the vista is ace and was a good investment for #1. We got a maclaren too as did everyone we know for zipping about, but only when #2 arrived as the vista was so comfy and never had a need for another. Easy to steer one handed whilst drinking coffee, SMSing too

Oh and get some buggy clip things to hang shopping off regardless of huge basket. I promise you'll use them every day. :)

Hi Firsttimer30s and Happyfrogger

Thanks so much for all the helpful advice and info. It's good to know the Cruz carrycot is out and we haven't actually bought it yet - waiting for Peppermint to have their Baby Show prices this coming weekend - so the info on the Vista is also really useful.

Also good to know about the pram clips as well!

Thank you.

My issue with the Cruz was not so much about a smooth ride, but that there was barely any suspension which actually hurt my hands to push. i would happily have 3.5cms on the Vista to be able to push the pushchair comfortably. I know its a bit late for Monkey, but anyone else, go and push the Cruz a fair bit around a shop first.