From Mountain Buggy's luxury collection comes the new look cosmopolitan GEO.
Quick Summary: Mountain Buggy have released the cosmopolitan GEO as part of their luxury range, and it's certainly that. The fabrics are beautifully made and the GEO print gives it a designer flair.
Whats good?
- Attractive fabrics
- Good suspension
- Large basket
Whats not so good?
- Large fold
- High price point
Table of contents
Chassis
Assembly of the cosmopolitan GEO is just a case of putting the wheels on. These slot into the chassis smoothly and once done, you can unfold the chassis and add the seat unit or bassinet, the hood and the bumper bar.
The look of the cosmopolitan GEO is one of the main changes from the original cosmopolitan. This time, the seat, hood and bassinet fabrics are made from a soft charcoal melange fabric with a checked print. When the box was opened, we were struck by how much the new design reminded us of the iconic Louis Vuitton print. Style and sophistication epitomised, so exactly what Mountain Buggy were going for with this luxury edition. The black chassis compliments the fabric, with a matt sheen to it, and as it is anodised, it should be protected from the elements to keep it in tip top condition.
Handlebar
The handlebar is adjustable via a rotating end and spans from 94-108cm. There are two buttons on the inside to do this and it’s another update from the previously static handlebar.
The new Aeromaxx tyres (a blend of EVA and rubber) allow you to travel over all terrain easily without the risk of puncture, but they still have the performance of an air tyre. To aid the ride, there is visible suspension on the front wheels and built in suspension on the rear. The wheels themselves are a couple of centimetres larger than the previous model, at 30cm on the rear and 20cm on the front. They look sleek in black with the three simple spokes and are really eye catching. The front wheels swivel 360 degrees to allow great manoeuvrability, but are easily locked off with the press on press off button at the top.
Brake
We like a simple brake here at Pushchair Expert, and things couldn’t be simpler with the cosmopolitan. The large red brake is placed to the back of the rear right wheel and a curved shape that you rock forwards for on and back for off – definitely flip-flop-friendly.
Basket
As an urban pushchair, storage is essential, so it’s great to see the large curved basket of the cosmopolitan GEO. It can carry up to 10kg of shopping and is really accessible.
Accessories
Mountain Buggy have also gone a step further and provided a matching satchel style changing bag as part of the package. As it includes clips to hang your bag from the handlebar, it can be kept close to hand which frees up a bit more space in your basket! It’s a great size and has a changing mat inside too. We’d just like to see some of the style of the GEO print on the bag too, as it is plain grey with black leatherette straps and detailing. When in bassinet mode, there is also a decent sized pocket at the end for essentials such as your phone, change and keys.
To create a complete travel system, you can purchase car seat adaptors to add your infant carrier to the chassis. Adaptors are compatible with the Mountain Buggy protect, phil&teds alpha, Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix, Maxi-Cosi Pebble and CYBEX Aton to name a few.
Seat
Not only are the fabrics used on the cosmopolitan GEO top quality, but they also look great. The chequered design screams fashion, and like we’ve mentioned, is very reminiscent of a certain highbrow fashion house. The GEO print features on the hood and the seat liner, with the liner being reversible to a darker charcoal if that takes your fancy or you’d like a change.
The seat looks a comfortable, slightly rounded shape, with the thick liner in place to make sure your child is comfortable. The rounded shape is quite deceiving, as it makes it look smaller than it is. At 50cm from the bottom of the seat to the top of the liner and 31cm wide, it’s a great size, even for toddlers.
Able to sit on the chassis in parent or world facing position, it’s a bucket style seat. To switch the seat round, the mechanism requires you to rotate the inside of the circle round with your thumb on both sides and then lift. You will need two hands to do this.
Another update on the cosmopolitan GEO is to the harness. The 5-point harness now has a one touch buckle with the two shoulder straps and two waist straps clipping in separately. It’s easy to adjust the height to three different settings by moving up or down from under the fabric loops on the seat and threading back through the seat liner. There are also plastic sliders on each strap to adjust the length.
The same hand stitched leatherette as the handle bar covers the bumper bar. It’s gate opening with the buttons on each underside and slots easily into the frame. To keep your little one warm, a cosytoe is provided with the pushchair and poppers into place over the bumper bar for a neat look. It is made from the same GEO print fabric to fully coordinate, with a grey interior and Mountain Buggy branding. You also use this same cosytoe on the bassinet.
The lever on the top back of the seat allows a smooth recline in three different positions, either parent or world facing. With a bucket shaped seat, it’s good to have an adjustable footrest, and that features on the cosmopolitan GEO. To adjust there are two buttons on the outside for a more nap friendly angle. The footwell of the footrest has a textured rubber lining which will be easier to keep clean.
The hood is a really good size and extends further with the third panel unzipped. The print covers the whole hood and there’s a small peekaboo flap that can be folded back to show a plastic window. As well as connecting to the chassis at the sides, it poppers on to the back of the seat to keep it in place.
As a high end, luxury pushchair, you are paying the higher price, so it would be great if a raincover was included with the package. Unfortunately, this is an extra, as with all Mountain Buggy pushchairs. The storm cover fits the cosmopolitan seat snugly and doesn’t leave much room for a child with long legs, but the plastic is thick and good quality.
Carrycot
Unlike the previous model, where the seat converted into the carrycot, the bassinet for the cosmopolitan GEO just uses the same frame as the seat unit, with separate fabrics. If you have a newborn, you’ll need to swap the fabrics over straightaway. You also use the same apron, hood and bumper bar in both modes.
As it takes a while to swap the fabrics over, it might have made better sense to receive the bassinet built first, as this will generally be the order that you would use your pushchair. The seat fabrics are pretty easy to remove, there’s just four poppers, a zip and two metal clasps to undo. Once you have the bare frame, you can then slide the bassinet material over the top, zip into place and add the mattress. The mattress has a hard bottom and is quite thick for good comfort. The interior of the bassinet is made from pure bamboo fabric, so really soft as well as breathable. To keep out drafts, the cosytoe fits nicely over the bassinet.
You can also use the bassinet separate from the chassis if you want to take a sleeping baby inside with you.
Driveability
Though an urban pushchair, Mountain Buggy have definitely lent their off roading experience to the cosmopolitan GEO. It handles very well and can still cope on all terrains with the Aeromaxx tyres and fantastic suspension. It’s smooth to push and manouver whether you’re on a bumpy lane or town pavements.
It can also now be driven by any parent with the adjustable handlebar, which doesn’t detract from the great engineering that allows an easy kerb pop.
Fold
The fold of the cosmopolitan GEO isn’t the smallest, but it is a neat package and will free stand on its end. To start the fold, press the small buttons that are placed on the outer edge of the chassis, about half way down. Once you’ve done this, press the button on the centre of the handlebar and push the handlebar down, to let the top half of the chassis slide telescopically in and the seat drop down. The automatic lock will catch on the chassis as you fold down and you can do all this with the seat unit on world facing.
To get the pushchair back upright, release the lock on the left and pull the handle up. At the same time, you’ll then need to push your foot on the plate to the back of the shopping basket to press down firmly. We have found this to be easier with the brake off as you have a bit more movement to press the plate while pulling on the handle, and you do need to do it all quite firmly.
The new fold is really easy to do, and can even be done one handed, which is great when you have your hands full with shopping or a small child.
Conclusion
Mountain Buggy have released the cosmopolitan GEO as part of their luxury range, and it’s certainly that. The fabrics are beautifully made and the GEO print gives it a designer flair. Not only that, but the chassis looks solid and well made, with each feature functioning perfectly and with ease. There’s a ‘no faff’ feel to everything that you operate. The best change is to the handlebar, from static to adjustable, which now opens up the pushchair to people at either end of the height spectrum.
Though slightly more work to swap from bassinet to seat, we think that the updated seat is well executed and it’s easy enough to swap the fabrics. You’re left with a proper carrycot that you can also use stand alone in your home.
Do the updates to the features and improved fabrics justify the nearly £300 increase in price from the previous model? We’ll leave that up to you, but we love the functionality, quick fold, huge basket and looks of this beautiful new pushchair.
The cosmopolitan luxury collection in GEO print launches in selected nursery stores in February 2016. Visit mountainbuggy.com to find out more.
