Uppababy Cruz 2015 or Bugaboo Bee3

[WhoKnows2016]

Hello there, am a FTM trying to choose a pram/pushchair system. 39 weeks pregnant so cutting it rather fine.... Have narrowed choice down to Uppababy Cruz 2015 or Bugaboo Bee3 based on following:

1. Live in London so need something relatively light and easy to manoeuvre, and narrow enough to fit on buses easily;

1. Live in second floor flat so would like bassinet that I can detach and carry upstairs with sleeping baby inside (rest of system can live in communal hallway downstairs so won't need to carry that up and down often).

Would also like something that can handle walking in parks and woods - doesn't need to cope with heavy duty off road action, but does need to be able to cope with some bumpy paths and wet leaves. Any thoughts on the wheels/suspension on these two pushchairs?

Do have a car but don't use it very often so as long as system fits in somehow, would be OK.

Does anyone have thoughts on which of the Cruz or Bee3 would be best? Have tried both in shops but found it hard to tell what they would be like out and about in real life. Any advice/personal experiences would be very gratefully received - thanks in advance!

Cruz would probably win for me as it has an enormous basket, and if you don't use your car much you'll probably be doing your shopping on foot, yes? Also my friend has it and it's fine for lift off roading.

I love my bee , it's by far my favourite buggy . It's so compact and hard wearing .
I use it for town and it fits into cafes etc much better than other buggys I've had , plus bugaboo have great customer service .
It's coming up for two years and it's still as sturdy as the day I bought it and I use in daily , plus you can carry it with one hand

Oh and it is great at the park and on long country walks

Thank you both - it's a one all draw so far! Bluejasmin, do you find the low seat a problem with the Bee? Hufflepuffin, agree basket nice on the Cruz. Tricky...

I've got a 2015 cruz and I had a bee+ with previous child (not 3, not sure how different how they are?). I like them both. The cruz is better for walks in the woods, the bee is smaller and folds as once piece. It Really depends on how small you want to go. If boot space, house space and public transport (as in daily£ is not a massive issue then the cruz would win hands down. If those factors are top of the list then the bee is better.

I like the higher seat on the cruz, my baby is 6 months so this is a important factor but it won't matter so much when he is older. I have friends who have used their bees to beyond 3 years old whereas I imagine I will dig out the Maclaren by that point with the cruz.

The basket on the cruz is AMAZING, I'm on baby number 4 and have had lots of pushchairs and I've never seen anything like it, it's dreamy.

Can you detach the bee 3 bassinet? The cruz one can but only lasted for 4 months here with a just above average sized baby. I

The seat has suited me fine as you can have it forward or parent facing .
It takes a while to get used to but I don't notice any difference now .
The basket is small due to the way it folds that is the only con.
Have you been in and folded and unfolded them yourself ? That was my decider lifting them up and putting them up and down a few times

Thanks for more thoughts FankEwe. Bee 3 bassinet can be detached, yes (and has advantage of being lighter than the Cruz one). Interesting to hear Bee might last till toddler older, that's useful. Cruz being good for walks in woods a big advantage though.

Bluejasmin, have been to shops and played with them but think I might need to do once again.

Thanks all, really useful and much appreciated. Back to the shops for one more (final!) comparison I think...

I'm using a bee plus for my tall almost 3 year old and she'll fit in it for ages yet. She's over 75th percentile for height and weight and the bee is great. I bought mine second hand and it's in great condition so they age well it would seem.
It's great to push one handed pretty much anywhere, have taken it on dirt paths, grass and quick trip on beach and it's done well. It's definitely not an off road pushchair but manages poor paths well.

The baskets ok, not huge but at least it'll force you to pack changing bag well and not bring everything but the kitchen sink. I normally have the raincover, medium sized bag, jackets and can jam bucket and spade under there too.

The iCandy Strawberry 2 is quite nice apparently, have you seen this?

Thanks again for more thoughts, much appreciated. Icandy Strawberry was our third option and it looks really nice - I can't remember exactly why decided against it, was something about it maybe being less good for older toddlers in some way - must admit was seizing on anything by that point to narrow field from three to two options.

Went back to shops and had another play and have decided to go for Cruz as it just felt a bit more stable, probably better for walking in woods, and I like the higher seat. Big basket useful too as I'm rubbish at travelling light (kitchen sink comes too Teapleasebob!). In the end I guess they are both good options, just glad to have made decision.

Thanks again!

Haha I was definitely the same when my daughter was tiny. Still seem to cart about loads and she's nearly 3. Don't know what I'm going to do when she no longer needs the buggy!

Cruz looks lovely and as you say probably bit more stable for walking in woods etc...

Hello!
I was wondering what are your thoughts about the Cruz now that you've been using it for a bit. I'm struggling between the Cruz and the Bee like you were. My lifestyle is pretty much the same than yours ( from your description). I just want to be sure that the Cruz is not too " heavy" or " big" to carry out everywhere.

Many thanks!

Hi HellyCo, we're happy with the Cruz - comfortable to push about, feels stable, not too heavy to manoeuvre. I can carry the bassinet up two flights of stairs with baby in (fairly easily at first, rather less easily now he's pushing 7kg) - it's not the most comfortable thing to do and in an ideal world it would be lighter, but it's not such a problem that I would change choice of pram. Apart from carrying the bassinet upstairs, I haven't really noticed the weight (and I am quite a weakling). I've also not had a problem using it on buses (haven't tried trains or tube).

Good luck!

PS meant to say too that the big basket on the Cruz is really useful - even more so than I expected beforehand - however much baby clutter I expected to carry around with me, the reality is even greater....

anymore thoughts on the comparison between these two?

Hi there,
I also decided on Cruz, even bought the bassinet already as it was a bargain on eBay.
My only concern is that with the bassinet on, it's not super easy to access the basket in terms of bulk - but once you get past the opening, it's huge. How have you all solved it? Do you just put in 'narrow' bags?