The Urban Jungle from Mountain Buggy has undergone a comprehensive make over. We exclusively tested their Pepita model from the new Luxury Collection.
Quick Summary: In its standard form, the Urban Jungle is a great pushchair, handling both the town and forest with ease. I love that all round ability and there are some elements that are brilliant. The brake and fold for example.If you love weekend walking in the wild, but can be seen in the shops in the week, the Urban Jungle is probably your perfect pushchair. Just wait until you push it.
Whats good?
- Great on and off road
- Fold locks
- Quality
- Excellent maneuverability
Whats not so good?
- Fiddly harness
- No raincover
- Tricky carrycot
Mountain Buggy are undergoing a bit of a design and style revolution right now. The introduction of their luxury collection signifies their intention to move the brand further into the luxury end of the market. We have our hands on their brand new Urban Jungle Luxury Collection in Pepita. How does it fare in our Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle Review?
Chassis
The Urban Jungle has been with us for some time now. In fact looking back, the last time we reviewed this model was 2011. Mountain Buggy have completed a major upgrade of this venerable model and we are the first in the UK to get it in for review in the Pepita fashion. Initial impressions are very good. The chassis looks fantastic, finished in black. The alterations Mountain Buggy have made the design and construction are very apparent. Quality is excellent.
Changes include a new brake location, 15cm shorter one hand fold, larger basket capacity and new fabrics. The overall effect is subtle, but as you will see has a far-reaching effect on the overall functionality of the pushchair.
Perhaps the most obvious change is the relocation of the Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle’s brake. This has been re-positioned up on the handlebar. This is such a logical location and a growing trend with manufacturers. The previous foot operated brake has now gone – this is a good thing as it was always hard to take off and looked a bit of an afterthought. The new brake lever is located on the right hand side and is clearly labelled with red for on and green for off. It is light to use and very effective.
The brake acts upon the 2 rear 30 cm wheels. The lockable front wheel is also 30cm. All tyres are pneumatic which we know are not everyone’s favourite, however our experience is that pneumatic tyres deliver a superior ride when compared to the new crop of airtech type.
Suspension is handled by a set of rear shocks the sit up near the seat at the centre of the chassis. The spring system is simple and non-adjustable, but when combined with the pneumatic tyres is effective. There is no front suspension which, due to the centre of gravity is not a problem. The front wheel does not take the bulk of the weight. This small but important detail is what makes the Urban Jungle so easy to push as we will see later.
The handle is leather covered feeling just right. It has a huge range of height adjustment moving from 85cm to 108cm, over ten positions. I really like the ability to hold the handle on either side when it is in it uppermost position, this provides great control when moving over bumpy terrain
Down to the basket, Mountain Buggy have increased the carrying capacity to 10kg. You will also find a range of pockets some zipped, some with stretchy sides. These are perfect for wipes, nick nacks, toys etc. The basket is triangular in shape and measures 40cm x 40cm x 20cm at its widest point. It is not the biggest, but you will get a couple of bags of shopping in there.
Seat
The Mounting Buggy Urban Jungle comes with a world-facing seat attached. It is a hammock style seat as is common on this style of pushchair. Don’t be disappointed though, if you love the Urban Jungle and would like a parent facing option, the new Carrycot Plus which we will be reviewing further down the page will solve this problem.
Back to the main seat and starting with the recline. Virtually all hammock seats have a strap recline of some sort, the new Urban Jungle is no exception. There are two strap toggles either side that need to be loosened to lower the seat. The good news is that the seat goes fully flat. To put the seat back up with a child in situ, you will need to use two hands. It works, is effective, but can still be a bit of a frustration at times. When reclined, the cocooning effect is excellent and your child will be well shielded from the weather as the seat has its own apron at the back with is very well sealed.
Seat back height is 50cm (45cm usable – the hood will get in the way above this when not extended) and width is 36cm.
The seat utilises a padded liner for comfort. The liner also doubles as the element that adds the splash of design. If you need to spring clean, you can pop the liner in the washing machine at 30 degrees.
Cover is provided by the Urban Jungle Hood that you must first attach. Initially it looks like it may struggle to provide enough cover, however, once you pull out the front sun shade extension, you realise that cover is ample. Hood operation is silent, and with silent magnets, so is operation of the viewing window up top.
Mountain Buggy provide a leather covered bumperbar which is gate opening. This feature is a function of the way the bumperbar attaches to the chassis. Some might find this hard to operate with cold fingers as the fit is quite tight. The interesting thing is that this bumperbar sticks out further than other bumperbars. It initially looks a little odd, but does give you plenty of space to drop your child into the seat with it in place, so you don’t have to detach it as often.
Harnessing your child is taken care of with a 5 point harness. The shoulder and waist straps are all separate which does make strapping a struggling toddler in, a bit of an ordeal. Shoulder harness height adjustment is quick and simple.
Raincovers are always an extra with Mountain Buggy and this Urban Jungle is no exception. For £29 you can purchase the storm cover. While we believe a raincover should be included. However, at least when you do purchase one you get a very high quality product. It is quick to fit and once on, has excellent access via the zipped front flap.
Carrycot Plus
For £169 you can purchase the Mountain Buggy carrycot plus.
This where the Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle gets a little ‘Meccano’.
When you open the box you are presented with a completely disassembled carry cot. Assembly takes a few minutes, and is made easier by the simple to follow instructions, however as this is supposed to be a luxury product and because it costs £139 I would at least expect the carrycot base to arrive assembled.
That said, the carrycot design hides a little secret, it can be transformed into a parent facing ‘reflux’ carrycot/seat. I like this concept as it means you can move from carrycot to seat as your little one grows but still maintain the parent facing option. The seat itself is very simple, it cannot be reclined and cannot word face, but it will provide the parent-facing seating option if desired.
Once assembled, the carrycot measures 75cm x 31cm x 20cm. Inside you will find a perforated foam mattress and breathable base. Lastly metal feet and well placed fabrics allow you to place the carrycot on the ground even when outside.
The hood rail is also the handle and can be retracted by pulling out the right hand leg (looking from the foot of the carrycot) and folded back. The handle itself is very thin and although rubber covered, is not particularly comfortable when carrying the loaded carrycot for a while.
With the carrycot you receive two adaptors that clip on the frame. They are simple to fit on the chassis. They do however harbour a frustration. When fitted they are able to rotate, this in turn means that you must carefully re-align them before placing the carrycot on the chassis. I guarantee that, at some point in your ownership, you will arrive at the pushchair carrycot with baby in hand only to find you have to faff about re-aligning the adaptors with one hand while holding the half installed carrycot with the other.
The frustration does not end there either. When you come to remove the carrycot, you will find you need three hands to do this – even with no baby present. The adaptors have two small clips that require pulling out at the same time to allow the carrycot to lift off, once you have unclipped these, there is nothing to get hold of to lift the carrycot, so you find yourself grabbing the handle only for the carrycot to drop back down into the adaptors…
The parent-facing reflux carrycot is a clever idea. Disassemble the main carrycot, and attach the reflux carrycot fabrics to the frame – good instructions help here. Once done, you can mount the carrycot onto the carrycot adaptors. It doubles as a parent-facing seat from when your little one is just out of the carrycot, but you are not ready for them to face the world. It is a shame then that the fabric that makes up the seat is so thin, it just seems a little insufficient for our winters.
Fold
Folding the new Urban Jungle is so much easier than the old model.
Ensure the brakes are on, the handle is in its lowest position and the seat is upright. At the base of the seat you will find a flap, lift this to expose the fold handle. Press in the grey button, twist the handle and lift the front of the pushchair up. Roll it right back still holding the handle and over until the pushchair sits upright. The autolock will engage and you are done.
To unfold press the grey button, twist and unfold the pushchair onto its wheels. The fold mechanism is quick simple and surprisingly compact.
Drivability
One thing is for certain, anyone who give the Urban Jungle a go out and about will not believe how it pushes. The weight distribution combined with handle position and tyre design make the Urban Jungle feel absolutely brilliant whether you are pushing it on or off road.
Conclusion
This new version of the Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle is big step forward in terms of design and finish. I love the black frame and the revised fold mechanism. Oh and the way it drives… You have to try it, it is one of the best manoeuvring pushchairs on the market today.When you look at the standard package, it is compelling and there is not much to fault. It should have a raincover included – why not replace the (included) changing bag with this? The strap recline is a little fiddly at times and the harness is a real pain when your child does not want to play ball.
The carrycot is a surprising let down. This is supposed to be a luxury product. For some, it will be disappointing when they receive a box of parts that eventually become the carrycot. The way the carrycot fits to on the chassis is also fiddly and frustrating. You have to keep realigning the adapters if they get knocked and this is hard with a baby already in the carrycot.
In its standard form, the Urban Jungle is a great pushchair, handling both the town and forest with ease. I love that all round ability and there are some elements that are brilliant. The brake and fold for example.
If you love weekend walking in the wild, but can be seen in the shops in the week, the Urban Jungle is probably your perfect pushchair. Just wait until you push it.
