The Cosatto Ooba may be the brightest set of wheels out there but is it any good?
Quick Summary: Cosatto are without doubt one of the THE movers and shakers in the pushchair arena right now. The Ooba is yet another product that combines sensible pushchair design with on trend colours and materials to produce a very desirable product.
Whats good?
- Style
- Clever brake
- Everything included
Whats not so good?
- Price
- White tyres
- Carrycot removal
- One car seat option
The Cosatto brand has become synonymous with creative, bouncy, colourful design lifting their products onto a different plane from most other brands out there. The Cosatto Ooba is their attempt to break into the high end pushchair market. Does is cut the mustard (or should I say Marzipan)? Find out in our Cosatto Ooba review.
Chassis
Cosatto have set the Ooba up to compete at the top end of the pushchair price scale, the Ooba retails at a price that sits among iCandy, Bugaboo, Joolz and Stokke. The whole product marketing push is based on attracting buyers that are thinking of purchasing the ultimate pushchair.
The Ooba certainly stands out amongst its peers. It is striking! The chassis is colour coded to match the wheels – even the tyres are white, matching the chassis, the whole thing just looks ‘right’.
That being said, the aesthetics are very divisive, some will love them, some hate them. I sit somewhere in the middle, I think the whole package is really well coordinated, I am just not sure it is a man’s colour scheme!
The chassis itself is fairly light weighing in at 7kg. It has a central pivot point which the front and rear chassis members rotate around when folding. This dominates the design. Up from there, the handle, complete with Cosatto logos pivots off from an upright. The overall quality is good, but not at the level of say a Bugaboo product. The plastics are good, but they just lack that extra polish that other brands have managed to achieve.
Starting with the handle, it is height adjustable from 99 to 109 cm’s across 4 positions. Height adjustment is handled by a single ‘pull in’ white button in the center. The handle also has a nice trick, it can be rotated up and over to the other end of the pushchair meaning that you can easily roll your child up to a table at lunch time, or even go big wheels first across rough terrain.
Speaking of the wheels… The Cosatto Ooba has white tyres and chassis coloured rims. They look great although how long they stay white is anyone’s guess. The rears measure 29cm in diameter and the fronts measure 19cm. Both have EVA tyres and the fronts are lockable. There is good all-round suspension. I should also point out that the hubs are simply designed and will be easy to clean.
The brake level is located on the handle. Pull the white ‘tab’ that is located up at the top and on the inside of the handle. Once you hear a click, the brakes are engaged. Press the smaller white button to release. It is simple and very effective and I love its location.
The Cosatto Ooba’s basket is neither small nor huge. It measures 49cm x 28cm x 15cm and is suspended from a black frame that is attached to the lower part of the chassis. There is good access all round and space for a couple of bags of shopping.
The Cosatto Ooba chassis has great functionality it is clear that time has been spent to ensure that it will do everything a mum (or dad) could want. It is a shame that the Ooba cannot quite meet the, admittedly, very high quality level of the other brands in this price range.
Seat
At 33cm wide and with a back height of 48cm the seat on the Ooba is a good size. It has a white frame and movable calf support which can be fixed in one of 3 positions. The overall look of the seat is great with contrasting colours, faux leather on the hood and the bumperbar and cosatto logos on the footrest and harness shoulder huggers.
The bumper bar is gate opening and fully removable. It comes covered in a contrasting faux half-leather (not shown) and can be zipped off for cleaning – nice touch…
Seat recline is dealt with by squeezing a button on the back of the seat located at centre, right at top. It is one handed and very easy. The entire seat rotates around a central pivot and can be positioned in 3 different reclines from completely flat to upright. I would say that Cosatto have the 3 recline positions absolutely right meaning you will always have a comfortable child.
The hood is covered in the same faux leather as the bumper bar having a fabric liner carrying the Oobas 3 leaf design. I like the contrast and it is so much better than the regular black you see so often. The hood comes out all the way until it is at 90 degrees to the chassis. Cosatto have resisted adding the ‘on trend’ flip out sun visor, instead adding a couple of toy ties to the lip of the hood. Moving the hood back and forth feels good, with a nice chunky quality action, it’s quiet too. Overall the hood does not perhaps provide paparazzi avoiding coverage, but it is plenty large enough for our climate.
The harness is 5 point with crotch and chest protectors. It is simple to adjust and you can do it up one side at a time, one handed, which is great when trying to deal with a reluctant child. There are 2 positions for the shoulder straps which can be altered via the rear zipped access panel.
Seat removal is not as slick as some, you have to press in two white buttons while lifting the seat with the seat pillars. It works, but just feels a little ungainly as there is actually no lift point on the seat itself, you just grab the pillars and lift.
The rain cover is excellent. Quick to fit, taught and with the added Ooba logos to complete the look.
Lastly, I like the mesh pockets that are on the back of the seat, it is a small thing, but it is a nice touch.
Carrycot
The Cosatto Ooba comes complete with a carrycot that is suitable for occasional overnight sleeping. It weighs 3.6kg. On initial inspection it looks quite shallow. Passing a tape measure across shows it to be plenty deep enough though at 15cm. It is 74cm long and 32cm wide which is actually a very good size. The hood is attached to the handle which comes up to 90 degrees. At the top of the handle there is a foam ‘grip’ making lifting a little more comfortable.
The Ooba carrycot comes with a raincover which fits really well. It is also covered in the small Ooba leaf logs and looks great when in place.
When it comes to removing the carrycot, all is not well. As with the seat, the carrycot release buttons are located down on the pillars that fit into the seat mount point. To remove the carrycot, you must push in these buttons and lift the carrycot at the same time. You then have to lift the carrycot away holding the pillars or, try and switch to holding it by the carry handle – three hands please. All this is made more difficult as with the extra weight of a child, the carrycot wants to sit back down on the chassis and click back into place. The easiest thing to do is remove your baby from the carrycot before removing the carrycot from the chassis. It is a shame as the carry cot is great, but I think this could become quite a frustration during the early months.
Car seat
The Travel system we have here comes complete with Cosatto’s Hold car seat. It is a good looking seat in coordinated colours. You have the option of a belt or ISOFIX base and there is a babynest insert for very little ones.
If you want to fit a Maxi-Cosi, Britax, BeSafe or other type of seat I am afraid that you are out of luck, you can only fit the Cosatto Hold to the Ooba.
Fold
The fold on the Ooba is very simple. You must remove the seat first. Next make sure that the handle is pushed all the way in. Once done you simply pull two black tabs up at the top of the handle and drop the handle to the floor. Next, move focus to the centre of the chassis and follow the 1,2 steps to release the central catch, once the catch is released, lift up the chassis by the central handle, it will fold as you do so.
There is no auto lock, but the final fold of the chassis is easy to handle and light weight.
To unfold, simply lift up the handle and swing out the front wheels. Install the seat and off you go.
Conclusion
Cosatto are without doubt one of the THE movers and shakers in the pushchair arena right now. The Ooba is yet another product that combines sensible pushchair design with on trend colours and materials to produce a very desirable product.
At £800, the Ooba is quite expensive even if you get virtually everything in the package. Add in the Cosatto Hold car seat (which you have to buy if you need one) and it takes the price up to £935. When compared directly with say a Cameleon or an Xplory, there is a distinct difference in product quality, don’t get me wrong, the Ooba is not a poor quality product, it is just not quite at the level of the established competition but is a similar price.
What you do get though is a pushchair that will stand out from the crowd, something new and something that is clearly ‘on trend’.
There are a few niggles, the carrycot is tricky to remove, the white tyres will get grubby very quickly and the finish could be better in places.
The thought that has gone into the style of the Ooba is very evident. The fact all the materials have been carefully coordinated and carefully selected elevate this pushchair above the crowd. You will not be missed if you are pushing this around. If only it cost a little less. I cannot help thinking the Ooba would be a great buy if it were priced at around £750 – £800 with the car seat. Those who do go for it will undoubtedly be very pleased with their purchase. If you are looking for something very different, with unmatched flair and a look at me design, then the Ooba is for you.
