The RECARO Citylife has some lovely features that other lightweight pushchairs miss out on.
Quick Summary: The included cup holder, magnet peekaboo window and rugged tyres all adding to the great functionality, while the sleek black frame means it also looks great. It's an ideal city pushchair, that can tackle the shops with ease thanks to the great maneuverability.
Whats good?
- Lay flat position
- Deep seat
- Large hood with sun visor
- Great raincover
- Quick one-handed fold
Whats not so good?
- Only one harness height
Amongst their top-notch car seats, a full travel system is missing from the RECARO repertoire, so they are looking to impress with their latest offering. Come and have a read as we take a look in our RECARO Citylife Review.
Colour Options
The RECARO Citylife comes in three colours – Ruby, Graphite or Black.
Chassis
Assembly of the Citylife is easy and won’t confuse even the newest of parents – unfold the chassis, attach the rear wheels and bumper bar and get on your way.
Once assembled, the black frame styling of the Citylife is uber modern and sleek. As a lightweight pushchair, it has all the features of one a whole lot bigger. The RECARO branding is evident throughout, with the logo etched on the side of the chassis and embroidered on the material of the seat, bumper bar and harness pads.
Starting from the top, the continuous handlebar allows for one handing pushing and is adjustable via a rotating end. Pressing on the buttons at either side, you can twist the handlebar up or down from horizontal to upright. Though plenty high enough for a taller parent, the handlebar doesn’t rotate down particularly far, so a test drive is essential if you are shorter.
The wheels on the Citylife look rugged and robust at first glance, which is nice to see on a pushchair designed for city living. If you do come across the occasional rough terrain, the Citylife should still be able to handle it and as they’re foam filled rubber, there’s no risk of puncture. The full suspension on each wheel absorbs the bumps in the road to make a comfortable ride. The front wheels can also be locked off by pushing up the grey button on the front. Both front and rear wheels can be removed from the chassis if you need to make a more compact fold.
The curved grey brake is slightly different to what we have seen before – you need to rock it forward for on and rock back for off. This is really easy to do no matter what you have on your feet.
As primarily an urban pushchair, the Citylife features a great sized basket. Not only deep, it’s also wide and long and covers the entire underside of the pushchair. You can easily fit a large changing bag and several shopping bags in there.
A nice extra included with the Citylife is the cup holder. Made from the same material as the rest of the seat and hood, the metal hook slides into either side of the handlebar, giving you the option of where to keep your drink or bottle.
Compatible with either the RECARO Privia or Young Profi Plus, it’s simple to transform the Citylife into a travel system. If you are using the Privia, Maxi Cosi Pebble, Cybex Aton or Cybex Aton Q car seats, then you can use the same adapters as with the Citylife Carrycot.
Seat
At 48cm, the height of the seat back is generous enough to last your toddler. The depth of the seat is the most impressive though at 28cm, enough to keep your little one’s bums and legs completely supported. The seat is nicely padded and features a thicker headrest at the top. With a maximum weight of 17.5kg, it’s slightly higher than other small pushchairs.
The 5-point harness is a slight disappointment. It only features one shoulder height, and so cannot be adjusted for smaller/taller babies. If you’re looking to use your pushchair from six months to three years, you need the adjustability to make sure your little one is kept comfortable. The shoulder, waist and crotch straps can all be lengthened or shortened with the sliding buckles and there’s two shoulder pads to prevent rubbing.
With RECARO blazoned along the front, the bumper bar on the Citylife is certainly eyecatching. The material cover can be removed if it gets dirty and is gate opening from either side, released by a button on the outer edge, though it’s sometimes a little tricky to get it correctly back in place. Sliding into the edge of the seat, it’s easy to miss the catch as there’s no obvious hole, but the fabric of the seat is nicely elasticated here, allowing you easy access to see what you are doing.
To operate the lay flat recline on the seat, there is a toggle to the back of the seat. This moves smoothly up and down the strap, creating multiple degrees of recline. To get it back up, the toggle needs to be squeezed and moved back up – if a child is in the seat, you could struggle and will need two hands to operate. When the seat is fully flat, the material at the back can be rolled up to create better airflow in warmer weather.
The hood on the Citylife is a good size, with a solid rim that helps to keep its shape. It also has a flip-out sun visor that brings it almost down to the bumper bar. There’s a nice peekaboo window that allows you to keep check on your child, with firm magnets at either side to silently keep it open or closed. As it has a UPF 50+ rating, they are completely protected from harmful rays.
For a sleeping child’s comfort, the footrest has a button at each side so that it can be adjusted to horizontal. The footwell features a strong ridged plastic that will cope with muddy boots climbing in and out, while still being wipe clean.
Although a small thing, the raincover can make a big difference to day to day life with your pushchair. Coming in its own storage bag, the Citylife raincover is brilliantly designed. Attaching with Velcro, it has a nice shape to it, that allows plenty of room for a child’s legs. There’s also a reflective strip around the middle of the cover for low light walks, so ideal for Winter. You can also unzip the raincover from around the hood for quick and easy access to your child, without removing the entire thing.
Carrycot
The Citylife carrycot perfectly matches the styling from the pushchair, with the black tubular framing carried over to the handle. There’s a thick apron to keep out the wind, featuring the same RECARO logo on the front and attached with strong Velcro.
The hood locks into position at the highest point, and there are two buttons at the sides to release it. The handle is integrated into the hood itself, with foam on the centre for comfort and it’s balanced perfectly for carrying.
RECARO provide the adapters so that you can attach the carrycot to the Citylife frame. They slot in place of the bumper bar and can be removed again with sliding grey buttons. Removing the carrycot from the frame is really easy, by pulling the lever at the back of the carrycot and lifting with the handle – all done in one fluid movement.
The inside of the carrycot is lined with a soft black material and the mattress is really thick. A perfect place for a newborn, the carrycot is long and slim, measuring 74 x 28 cm on the inside. Though the length is not a problem, bigger babies towards the six month mark may struggle for room.
To make storing it easier once your baby reaches six months, the whole thing can be folded flat into the box.
Drivability
For a lightweight pushchair, the Citylife really delivers a solid and smooth ride. The rubber tyres don’t pose a puncture risk, with the suspension on each one allowing for an effortless push over rougher ground. We found the padded handlebar very comfortable to hold.
It’s also easy to get up kerbs with a large child on board, as the weight distribution is well placed.
Fold
We really like the fold on the Citylife. Not only is it quick and easy, but you can do it one-handed, and there is a handy carry strap integrated into the bottom of the seat.
To complete the fold, push the grey button on the outside of the handlebar to the right and squeeze the grey button on the inside. The back of the seat will drop back down on itself. By grabbing the carry strap from the seat base, you can lift the whole thing up and push it together – the automatic lock keeping it in place. A pretty compact, self-standing fold, the height can then be reduced further by removing the bumper bar.
Getting the pushchair back up again is just a case of releasing the lock on the right side and pulling the handlebar up.
Conclusion
The RECARO Citylife has some lovely features that other lightweight pushchairs miss out on. The included cup holder, magnet peekaboo window and rugged tyres all adding to the great functionality, while the sleek black frame means it also looks great. It’s an ideal city pushchair, that can tackle the shops with ease thanks to the great maneuverability.
Used with the Citylife Carrycot or RECARO infant carrier, it is suitable from birth and will last to the slightly higher weight range of 17.5kg. We would love to see the harness height adjustable, so that all sizes of children are kept comfortable and a parent facing seat would also be a big plus.
The fold is very impressive, and that it can be done one handed makes it great for getting it in and out of the car quickly.
If you need a pushchair that is compact and functional to take you around the shops, but will last your child from birth to toddlerhood, have a look at the RECARO Citylife.
