We bought our flame-red Buzz while my wife was still pregnant, and went for the whole package - Dreami carry cot, Maxi-Cosi Cabriobaby carrier/car seat. We've been using it for eight months now, so time to take stock...
The first thing that struck me about the Buzz, apart from its looks (which, with hindsight, perhaps played too great a part in our decision), was the fact that it seems quite 'rickety' compared to other pushchairs. The handlebar is slotted onto two plastic stubs, and held in place with a couple of rivets. There are also some screws holding the joints of the folding mechanism together, and I have had to tighten these up once already as they came loose. Although you could argue that a certain amount of 'give' is desirable, and to the pushchair's credit the joints haven't got any looser despite heavy use, it does make the Quinny feel flimsier than it looks. Also, when negotiating
steps, this makes it difficult to control the 'landing' which can make things bumpy for the little occupant.
By far the greatest niggle is the way the front wheel behaves on smooth-ish surfaces. On a certain type of tiled floor, when you turn sharply the tyre on the swiveling wheel loses its grip and the wheel sticks in a sideways position, refusing to straighten up again. This can be avoided by turning in wider arcs, but one of the attractions of the Buzz was its ability to turn on a sixpence. Softer/more grippy tyres would solve this.
Of the accessories we bought, the car seat was brilliant, the carry-cot a waste of money.
Being able to take the car seat out of the car, without disturbing its sleeping occupant, plonk it onto the Quinny's frame and stroll off to do your shopping is absolutely fantastic, and earned us many an envious look from passers by in the supermarket car park.
The Dreami, on the other hand, is not worth the extra money, in my opinion. First of all, it can't be secured in the car. Secondly, it's very heavy and only fixed at two points to the pushchair's frame. This means that well before you child reached the maximum recommended weight, the whole thing began to see-saw under her weight, often leading to a situation where she was lying on a slight slope, with her head pointing downwards.
Another problem with the carry-cot, albeit one that probably depends on the child, is that our daughter very quickly got bored of being in it except when asleep. Before long she had to be carried when awake, and we could only put her back into it after she'd gone back to sleep. In the Maxi Cosi cabrio on the other hand, she'd wake up, look around for bit, then fall back to sleep again. So the Dreami was soon relegated to the attic. If the Dreami had some way of supporting the baby sitting up as well, and was more stable, it would be worth thinking about. A shame really, because the carry cot gave much better protection from the wind, and came with a dedicated rain cover and mosquito net.
And this is really where the Quinny Buzz doesn't quite make the grade as a "travel system." In the ideal world a pushchair would look as great as the Buzz, and would trundle along as smoothly, but it would also be able to carry a newborn baby lying flat and sitting up, without having to change the whole top of the thing. Even using the proper pushchair seat, there is a compromise. Lying flat on her back, the baby's legs stick up in the air, as the backrest doesn't recline separately from the seat board.
A few more things:
The sheet of plastic inside the backrest, which is designed to keep it rigid, tends to slide out. It does those very slowly, so it doesn't actually fall completely out, but just protrudes a bit and has to be pushed back in. This is because it is secured by Velcro rather than a zipper, which comes unstuck when you fold the pushchair up.
The rear wheels are wobblier than they were eight months ago, and now squeak loudly, especially when cornering.
At the price, I really think they could throw in the shopping carrier and the foot-muff as well. The latter is indispensable in winter, and also lends some much-needed padding to the seat, which isn't exactly armchair-like.
The stability of the Buzz is very good. It isn't in danger of tipping over. However, it does have a tendency to weave off course sometimes, depending on how it is configured - the weight distribution is best when forward-facing. The big back wheels make steps a doddle, taken in reverse, apart from the rigidity problems mentioned above. It also rolls along very smoothly, thanks to the big wheels. The brake pedal is mounted on the wheel assembly, and moves with the suspension, which can make engaging it a hit-or-miss affair.
To transport it, you need a big boot. It does take up less space if you take the top off and just place it on the frame, rather than folding it up in one piece. After eight months of use, the unfolding mechanism on ours now sticks just before clicking into place, so it needs a helping hand.
Overall, despite the negative points and the fact that it is better-looking than it is practical, I can't help but like it. We've become very attached to the thing - it's practically a member of the family in its own right now - and learned to live with its foibles.
Would I recommend it? Well, that depends. Based on its features, practical considerations, price etc., probably not. But if - like us - the first time you saw one you immediately thought "YES, I want one of those," I'd say go for it. If you like the design that much, then you'll probably be able to live with its faults. Just don't bother with the useless carry-cot!
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Advantages: Lightweight. Easily manoeuvered. Rear wheels clip off for easy storage.Forward or rearward facing pushchair. Disadvantages: Large rear wheels make whole frame quite wide when manoeuvering around rails in clothes shops.
mum2hgc 26.08.2008 ·
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