City Mini Zip anyone?

[ShelaghTurner]

DD2 is just turned 3. I really thought I'd waved bye bye to pushchair purchases . I have a City Mini GT and a City Mini 4 that I love but am about to sell and I was looking for a small car pushchair for holidays and tired awkward child situations. This looks perfect. Has anyone seen one in the wild before I take myself off to John Lewis and hand over cash?

I am watching this with interest!

Ps. How has the city mini 4 been? Would it cope with towpath type off road or is it strictly pavement only?

The 4 is great, sturdier than the three wheelers although they're sturdy enough IYSWIM. It would cope easily with mild off road situation; across grass and the Iike. Towpath should be absolutely fine.

Yes I have had a Zip for about 8 months now and I LOVE it...absolutely LOVE it. Its got a tiny fold which is simple to do but needs a strong arm to tug it shut. The seat is huge. It is easy to steer. It has a huge basket and storage pocket. The harness isn't great, but with a 3 year old I am sure you would get buy.
If however, you don't need the tiny fold, get a standard City Mini 3 or 4.

Thanks that's exactly what I wanted to know. I didn't want to get rid of the CM but I needed it to fold a lot smaller than it does to justify keeping a pushchair so it sounds perfect. Not bothered by the harness at all. We rarely use it now she's so much older and always have a bumper bar.

Tiggy - do you think there's a workable workaround to use the harness for a boisterous 8 month old?

I hope so because I just ordered it!

Do you like it Lentilpot?
The UK harness isn't as bad as the one I have (an import), but it still could be better :) But there's always the option of adding a harness on.

I got a Zip on Friday and a bit broke off the harness yesterday on its second use. The harness is by far the worst I've come across but the Zip is great otherwise and perfect for my huge 2.9 year old who only really needs a pushchair for longer days out/holidays.

So far so good on the harness front for us! I love the whole buggy, it complements our versa really well (can't believe how much easier it is to pop up kerbs!).

anyone have any experience of this buggy for a newborn? and also does it seem sturdy enough for daily use around town (including stairs and buses) or is it more of an occasional use type thing?

Don't know about use for a newborn but it's certainly sturdy and robust enough for everyday use.

Does the zip seem more sturdy than a Maclaren techno? Also would it accommodate a 98th percentile 2 year old? The harness sounds a bit of a worry and surprisingly sub standard for the price tag

Can't comment on how it compares to the Maclaren as I've never used one but it is perfect for my 2.9 year old who is above 99.6th centile (104cm and 21kg at last HV check - about the size of an average 4 year old). It's easy to push with her in it and it's got a nice upright seating position, decent basket etc.

The harness is my only gripe about it. My broken one is being replaced without quibble and I've offered some constructive criticism about it as I had a BJCM GT previously and I can't fathom why they've changed the harness design so radically on this model.

I don't think the harness is awful, it's not as good as my 2014 versa but I think that some law somewhere has said that harnesses need to be able to break into five bits now?

A change in requirements would explain the change to the harness. Because I've just sold my GT, I'm obviously comparing to it. If I'd never had a BJ before, i probably wouldn't consider the harness to be anymore than a niggle. I agree that the harness should by no means be a deal breaker when considering the Zip though as it is a really great little pushchair in all other regards. And the tiny fold more than makes up for any of my gripes about the harness.

Thanks ladies, it sounds like a go - er.