Strollers - Maclaren or Graco? Please help

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Im looking at buying either a Maclaren Quest or Vogue OR a Graco/Mothercare Citisport/Citilite.
Im flying to europe on my own with 7 mth old in a few weeks time and need an easy to fold, lightweight pushchair/stroller. From research so far, the above seem like the best options as they're 5 or 6kg. Has anyone had experience of any of them. I've heard bad things about Graco's falling apart but also bad things about Maclaren' - not being easy to fold, bad brakes and difficult shopping basket access.
Im hopeless - I just cant make up my mind!! any suggestions or comments welcomed! Thankyou.

We've had a Maclaren and a Citisport in the past three years and personally I much preferred the Maclaren. It was the no longer-made Opus and it did us on a daily, punishing basis for nearly two years (up and down three flights of stairs to flat for a year, on and off buses, tubes and trains, lots of pavement pounding). Sure the brakes were a bit wonky but our Citisport's are no better. I do think the Maclaren was better made overall.
The main difference I guess is is that Maclaren's stuff umbrella folds and the Citisport flat-folds. You can buy a bag for Maclaren buggies to travel in and I would recommend that, because the beginning of the end for our beloved Opus was when it got mangled by the baggage handlers at Stansted.
If all goes well with our current pregnancy I would choose a Techno as our main conveyance this time - never another Graco product. Just find them too plasticky.

Bought the Quest this week and am really pleased... so far! I too bought it for future trips abroad and though we have yet to go I think it'll do the job perfectly. It really is going to be used as a 'chair' for my DS, not too bothered about the shopping (basket doesn't seem so bad), but the folding and slinging into the back of the car has been fine, and should be ok for buses too. It's very hard on him suspension-wise though compared to my 3 wheeler - great in shopping centres but horrendous on cobbles!

If you can't decide between the two makes, go to a local baby shop that has the models you're interested in and check them out. That's what I did and then went through Kiddicare (sorry any baby shop retailers reading this but it was sooo much cheaper).

BTW - I think Mothercare do a cheaper bag for it to go in though I've yet to check that out.

We have a Maclaren Vogue and I love it. It's light, easy to fold, a dream to steer (can be done one-handed while clutching a shopping basket for instance). Shopping basket access isn't a problem if the seat is upright, although the basket is quite small. The Vogue has suspension but it is still quite a bumpy ride. It is a bit pricier than the Quest but you might get a good deal on-line (we got ours from Kiddicare for £90 a year ago; babys-mart is also worth a look). It has a pocket for the raincover which the Quest doesn't have. Also the seat cover can be removed for washing which isn't the case with some of the cheaper Maclarens (not sure about the Quest seat cover).

HTH.

Thanks for the helpful comments, much appreciated! I will start trawling the internet for prices. I have tried baby in both buggies - found them much of a muchness and he seems fine in both. The cheaper two maclarens without the pull out seat extender dont seem to have a deep enough seat though, so it would have to be the quest or vogue. Has anybody found the seat adjusters on the quest awkward. the assistant in mothercare made it look very difficult and it seemed you had to stop and fiddle with the levers with both hands.

We have a graco metrosport travel system and a maclaren quest stroller. From a light stroller point of view the Quest is fab. Like you I didn't go for a more basic/cheaper stroller as I wanted a few nice features (lie-back seat, hood etc) but for me the techno was too expensive. The little leg extender bits are very easy to pull out and in. When my dd was smaller she had this pulled out all the time. Now that she is bigger and heavier I find they slip in eventaully but I've had no trouble with them. Shopping bag access only a prob if seat is fully back. Rain hood hard to put on at first - need to really push the thing on - quite tough. Excellent folding though and pretty good all-round. Agree that it is ideal for shopping centres and not so good on rough ground. Only problem I've had is dh prefers the wheels locked and the lock seems to slip off when on roughish paths. Go for it !

Thanks bigbird!

We've got a Vogue, and I'm fairly happy with it. I don't like the brakes - I'm never confident that they're on properly. But I like the straps and it folds and goes up pretty easily (although only after the application of WD40). It isn't terribly light. I bought it specifically for going on the bus and it can be a bit of a struggle getting on accompanied by an eager toddler. I noticed afterwards that the Maclaren Volo is lighter (3.8kg?) but I don't know how it compares for comfort or whether the seat adjusts. We got ours from kiddicare too.

I bought a Graco Citisport when my daughter was 5 months old and it lasted us till she was 2 (last October). It was wonderfully light after the hefty M&P pram I pushed her round in for the first five months. However, the quality really was poor. First of all the clip that holds the pushchair closed when folded broke within about a week. When I'd had the pushchair for about 3 months the axle bent so one back wheel couldn't turn properly. It had to be returned to John Lewis and Graco had to send out a complimentary replacement back wheel section. Then after about a year of use it became very temperamental about clicking open properly after being folded - I had to fiddle about every time with the collapse button to coax the pushchair into properly snapping up. In the end it became such a pain that I tried to collapse it as little as possible which really defeated the object of having a lightweight pushchair you can sling in the car boot. Friends of ours had exactly the same problem but the husband was less patient at me at persuading the pushchair to click open and theirs ended up in a Spanish skip! A more minor consideration is that the Citisports do tend to look very plasticky and the new gloss soon wears off, leaving them looking pretty tired.

I decided I didn't want to buy another Graco and instead bought a Maclaren Techno last December. I would have gone for the Quest for my 2.5yr old but I"m having another baby this month and thought the Techno would be more comfy for a smaller baby. It is absolutely brilliant and I am delighted with it. Best of all my daughter can climb in and out easily instead of me having to lift her over the Citisport bar. The quality is noticeably much much better with the Maclaren and I would really recommend the Quest. People say Maclarens keep on going for years so you should get quite a lot of use out of it too.

The only advantage of the Graco Citisport is that it has a really generous shopping basket whereas the Maclaren one is pathetic!

I have a Maclaren daytripper & Graco citisport - found the citisport TOO light ie went head over heels with dd strapped in after hitting a tiny crater in the road! she was fine..I scraped my knees and was hysterical until I saw she was ok..

another option - we are travelling overseas soon and wanted a stroller for our dd (7 mths) I got one online at tesco.com baby warehouse and it is a Chicco.

The best thing - it was reasonable - and it included a raincover, shopping basket, suncover that flips over and covers the whole seat or can be put back and a carry bag for the stroller to go into. It has already had a punishing workout - over rought ground, streets, soggy paths through the local country park and through the local feilds. Still going strong and dd loves it. It is also easy to fold and unfold and light to carry when in its carry bag. carry bag sits on the shoulder and has a handle at the top as well.

Just something else to consider.

thanks alot everyone for your comments. I have decided against graco and after much deliberation and many minutes spent examining all the details on the maclaren.com site, I have ordered the new 2003 vogue. hurray - decision made at last!!! apparently they have altered the brakes- same as new techno brakes (we shall see) and it looks like it will be comfortable. I wanted one that fully reclined just in case we get stuck at the airport or anything.

oh I forgot to say - congratulations on your pregnancies anto and marina!!