PLEEEEEEEASE help me find a travel system with this criteria....

[mad4mybaby]

Me and dh are having arguments about what travel system to get. All i want from it is :

must be available in a dark colour (none of that apple green malarcy for me!)
have a pushchair from birth
be comfy and well padded
have a car seat that can clip on
has one long handle (not 2)
and that when you go to fold it in the boot you are not left with having to take the pushchair bit off and putting a chassis in after.

The last bit is the big argument we keep having. Dh doesnt see the problem with having it dismantle it and put it back together each time i get it out the boot and considering its me that is going to have to do this every day (plus with a 2 yr old) i think that should be for me to have as a reasonable criteria. In laws are paying with max budget of £400.

Pleeease help as ds2 due next month!

our graco deluxe did all the above and folds one handed.

hold on a sec, and MUST HAVE 4 WHEELS!! Sorry but cant stand 3 wheelers

we had britax excel travel system and here

On downside, it's quite heavy, but does have cup holders and a parent tray with a cubby box

have had a quick google and it looks like ours is no longer available.

this??

I am reading this thread with interest as I am currently pg with number 1 and our criteria sound very similar to yours (I feel like the only person in the world who doesn't like 3 whelers!)

Our present front runner is the graco quattro tour deluxe here- seems to cover most of what you want.

I will be back!

Is weight going to be an issue?

When I say it's heavy, I could lift it in and out a car boot easily, but other people have commented on it.
Best thing is to go to a pram showroom and have a look at them properly; try folding and lifting them, make sure it'll fit in your car boot etc.
I walked a lot with mine. dh drives but I don't. Had to get replacement wheels after about a year as well, but they weren't expensive

have you looked at product reviews?

That is more or less the same as mothercare trenton, you will see them everywhere. They are very good value as you get the pushchair, footmuff, raincover, bag and soft liner thing, my best mate has one. Very heavy though, you can fold it one handed, but it is very bulky when in a lot of car boots. I am not a fan as I think it looks very ugly but my friend has been very happy with it.

I totally agree with the two part chasis, I had a quinny buzz (hideous sold it when dd was 3 months old) and a bugaboo but it is totally a pain when in the car, I walk with it everywhere when not at work and have a buggy (had a prammette when dd small) that lived in the car. Something like a silver cross 3d sounds like more what you are looking for?

Oops, you want one handle - most two handles suiteable from birth are just too heavy to use one handed if that is why you want one handle. The loola is also good for your requirements, there is one now you can get an insert to change it from two to one handed but it is very heavy to lug in and out of the car it is like weight lifting!!!

graco's are defo the way to go!! I'm a pram addict and between DS and DD i have had a total of 12 pushchairs/buggies/prams/travel systems... From quinny's to bertini's to silver cross & mamas and papas, and by far my favourite of all is definatley the Graco.

I had one that was new out nearly 4 years ago, think the new graco tour deluxe is the closest to what i had, they look good, easy to push, good quality, sturdy, and very reasonable value for money too!! come in a wide variety of colours.... maybe i should be a sales rep for them???

Jane Nomad with Matrix. Matrix will lie flat on the buggy so doubles as a carrycot. Nomad is very very light.

look at them prices!!!! Bargains!!!

thanks guys, just checking in, havent had a chance to look at the links youve attached will do after pre school run.

In answer to the one handle thing its because i find the ones with 2 handles a nightmare to manovere one handed and because i will have a 2.5 yr old i obv will need to be holding his hand, dont really want a boogy board (or whatever they are called) as i have bad back and as im short they will make me lean over him as apposed to stand behind. He does have rains but rather not have to rely on them...

I have a meriva so they do have good boot space.....

the problem that i now have is that i only have mothercare locally and they only have 2 that 1 that i like but want to compare others so having to order online and struggling to find some place that has all of the ones i want to check out instead of paying for loads of deliveries etc!

I would recommend the Jane carrera. It's a lovely pram and does everything you want. It's really lightweight and easy to push. Although it looks like it folds flat it actually folds like an umbrella fold pushchair and the handle drops down making it very short. A buggyboard will fit to it too for your 2 year old.
I had one for both my girls.
Oh... and it also comes in dark colours.

which model? There are a few im just checking online... the wheels look tiny?

I am out of touch!!!
jane now make a carrera millenium and a jane Solo. The solo is like the Carrera I had.
The other looks very nice though!!!!!!

I had a graco quattro tour and absolutely hated it. Its huge, bulky, incredibly heavy, and I felt dd's eyes were being jolted out of their sockets every time she was in it, as its suspension is so poor. And you can't resell them for love nor money. I lasted a three weeks with it. Also you need to be careful with the Graco car seats and vauxhalls. Ours got fitted at mothercare on the graco base unit, dd was never happy in it, we later found out, when we went to halfords to get her second seat, that this was because the shape of the seats in the Vauxhall meant that the baby was at completely the wrong angle. Never felt good about using it since, although we did take the base out and it fitted better wothout it.

Graco all the way mainly because of the auto baby base too so that the car seat just clicks into the base in the car, no fannying around with a seat belt everytime.

We had Graco liberty elite that I still have and love but I don't think they do it anymore. The footrest lifted up to make a carrycot with the aid of a special apron.

You can get them on ebay

this is the same as mine here

forgot to say both rear and forward facing pushchair too, easy to do, squeeze two handles, turn and click back into place

esme what age was your vauxhall? What about the shape of the seats? Mine is 06 and the seats are very 'L shaped' if that makes sense.

Its a 52 plate Vectra, the seats are more angled, almost bucket like, its to give the rear passengers more room. If your seats are flat along the bottom it should be fine I think.

I vauxhall corsa and then zafira and no problems with graco maybe it's just the vectra?

hoping so.... going to order the gracco oasis travel system city and maybe another and go from there. With ds1 we didnt know how awful the carseat was UNTIL he was in it and too late to take back!