UPPAbaby Cruz Parent Review

I'm 35 and live with my partner, Ben, and our 10 week old son, Oscar, in a small terraced house, in a village in South Leicestershire. As I'm currently on maternity leave from my job as a primary school teacher, I've got lots of time to put the UPPAbaby Cruz through its paces. Oscar and I are doing lots of parent and child classes and groups and getting out and about to make the most of my time off before I have to go back to school and juggle with the joys of being a working mum!

Quick Summary: After living with the Cruz for a whole year, I can honestly say I love it! A super pushchair that has suited our needs from birth to toddler!

Whats good?

• It's Style! It's a nice looking pushchair that comes in 4 different colours. It always got compliments everywhere we went and in the whole year
• I never saw another Cruz out and about!
• It's HUGE basket. Not only is it big
• but unlike many other pushchairs
• it's easy to access.
• Uppababy Customer Service. I only had to contact the company once with a fault that developed but I found their team excellent. They sent out a replacement chassis immediately.

Whats not so good?

• Expensive accessories. Like I said, it's an expensive pushchair and for the price, I would expect a footmuff to be included, not to have to pay another £380. I wanted a footmuff to match the 'Tyler Blue' but was not prepared to pay that much.
• Sticky Brake. After a while the brake sticks and doesn't lock properly, which could be quite dangerous. Luckily this is easily fixed with a little bit of WD40!
• A little difficult to fold. Easy with two hands or two people, but difficult if you're on your own and got a small child. It is lighter than many similar pushchairs but still a bit of a struggled lifting in and out of the car.

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First Impressions

My beautiful new UPPABaby Cruz arrived yesterday! The instructions were very clear and simple and the pushchair was up and ready to use in about 30 minutes. The Tyler colour is a lovely pale blue colour. Both the hood and underside of the seat are in this colour while the seat itself is a more practical black. Unit looks sturdy and steered like a dream around the tight corners of our little house! The carrycot though is only available at the moment in black but is lush. It has a lovely soft fleecy lining. My 12 week old, Oscar, is going to love spending time in there, especially when the weather turns cooler. Just look at him smiling in the photo!

It’s light and fairly easy to click onto and off the chassis with a practical foam grip as part of the hood. I’ve already attached some of his favorite toys onto this for him to look at and play with! The unit is very easy to fold and unfold; its quite heavy but folds fairly flat so I should have no trouble fitting it in the boot of my Ford Focus. I’m even being sent some Maxi-Cosi adapters so I should be able to attach a car seat which is very useful while my son is still quite small.

5th September 2012

We took the Cruz out for its first spin to the local shop. It handled the uneven payments well and even the steepest of kerbs were no problem for it. My partner and I were fighting over who was going to ‘drive’ it. Oscar seemed happy and comfortable in the carry cot too. We’d heard about the large basket and were keen to test this out. Although roomy, the carrycot makes putting items in a little difficult.

6th September 2012

Our first trip into town with the Cruz. Loaded it and the carrycot into my ford focus and it fits – just, with the hood folded down. Room to squeeze in my change bag, but not much else! Luckily I’ve got the passenger seat for any shopping but mums with more children might not be so fortunate. Hopefully when we graduate onto the seat, it will take up less boot room.

12th September 2012

Today was the perfect opportunity to test out the Cruz’s rain cover. It was a good job I got it ready before putting Oscar in as it took me ages to work it out…. (I was trying to put the seat cover onto the carrycot!) Half an hour later and some googling and Oscar was all snugly inside ready for our trip to the shops… Just my luck it had stopped raining by then!

Oscar seemed to like it and it didn’t steam up. Plus it had a handy opening where the handle is to make lifting the cot off and onto the chassis easy.

At least I know how it works for next time… And I’m sure there’ll be lots of next times!

13th September 2012

I managed to get hold of a Maxi-Cosi Cabriofix today which is one of the car seats that is compatible with the Cruz’s adaptors. As I live in a village, I’m always out and about in the car so the ability to attach a car seat makes life so much easier. It’s relatively easy to slot in, but the warnings on the adaptors say that you should remove the baby before putting on or taking off the car seat… not really sure how I’m supposed to do this when I’m out and about on my own and surely that’s was the whole point of having car seat adapters! Besides, taking the seat off seems to be a three handed operation!!

14th September 2012

The chassis spends most of the time in my boot, but sometimes it is necessary to bring it down our shared passage or entry. This means that a pushchair can’t be too wide.

I was very nervous as I attempted to wheel it down the passage for the first time today, especially as our next door neighbours seem to think it’s a storage place for skateboards and other belongings, but yey!

It’s much narrower than many pushchairs on the market and the steering is so responsive that it had no trouble manoeuvring past all the junk!

15th September 2012

Lovely day so we took the Cruz for its first off road experience. It might not have the big rugged wheels of some of its contemporaries but it coped well along the rough terrain of the canal towpath.

It was relatively light to lift up and down the steps and the bumpy ride soon sent Oscar to sleep in his Maxi-Cosi car seat so we were able to stop off at a nearby pub for a shandy!

22nd September 2012

Been using the car seat quite a bit recently as it’s so convenient for shorter trips. Went to the local co-op and could not believe how much shopping squeezed in the storage basket! Had to take a photo to demonstrate this. It’s much more accessible with the car seat rather than the carry cot. The push chair still handles well when heavily loaded too!

24th September 2012

Omg never seen so much wind and rain but Oscar and I still made it out with our wheels. I must say the rain cover has had quite a bit of use…. Shame I can’t say the same for the sun shade! It goes on quickly and easily with no fuss. I’ve bought a rain cover for the car seat too so Oscar stays dry whatever the weather!

25th September 2012

My other half has got this week off so we’ve planned some family days out.

Today we went to an owl and falconry centre in Rutland.

I had to admit defeat with the pushchair and get my sling out as it couldn’t cope with some of the paths which were a kind of mulch bog after all this rain! The wheels are quite small and the basket hangs quite low making it not ideal for heavy duty off road use.

26th September 2012

Today we went to Rutland water. As we intended to go for a longer walk, we took the carry cot. It was quite windy on the water’s edge and the hood and fleecy inside kept Oscar nice and snuggly.

29th September 2012

We went on our first Saturday shopping trip into Leicester. Although the Cruz coped well, we didn’t! It managed the tight aisles and weaving in and out of other shoppers but Oscar screamed most of the way round, so my other half ended up carrying him most of the way round while I pushed. Plenty of room for the shopping though!

8th October 2012

Oscar is now 17 weeks and it won’t be long until he’s grown out of the carry cot. As you can see from the photo, when his legs are out-stretched he reaches from the top to the bottom. The maximum child length for the cot is 25″.

Oscar is not a long or large baby for his age so I’m not sure how this cot can accommodate most children until they are 6 months. There seems to be a little confusion online about the seat and whether it is suitable from 3 or 6 months. I put my son in it and it doesn’t fully recline and I don’t feel there is adequate side protection for him to use this yet, so I’m not sure what I shall do for the next couple of months! I do believe you can purchase a ‘snug’ to fit inside the seat which I may need to look into or I may just have to use the car seat.

9th October 2012

I love the carrycot and hope to get a few more weeks use out of it, but would be a bit disappointed if I had bought it because I would have only got a few months use out of it. Parents of large or long babies would get even less use.

As I will be using the car seat more I decided to buy a ‘cosy toes’ for it to keep Oscar warm as winter approaches.

He loves being in this now and drifts off to sleep on most car journeys!

16th October 2012

I have ordered a snug for the seat but am persevering with the carry cot for the time being while he still fits, (just!) as I don’t think it’s fair to be constantly pushing him round in the car seat. Walked to the post office today and Oscar started crying. Noticed that the carry cot sits quite low, (as do most carry cots), and the handles are quite long so I couldn’t actually reach forward to touch him and comfort him. This also causes problems opening and closing gates and doors because I can’t reach the length of the cot! Maybe I’ve just got short arms!

17th October 2012

Speaking of the handles. These are very easy to adjust with one hand. Not essential for me as my partner and I are similar heights, but will come in handy when grandparents use it as Grandpa is very tall! The handle extends quite a way so the pushchair would suit tall people. I have it on the shortest setting and I’m 5ft 5inches so very short people might find the handling difficult. The handle needs to be extended fully before folding so that the pushchair can stand up on its own which is handy when juggling with a baby and shopping!

23rd October 2012

Oscars not been well since his vaccinations on Thursday and has had a fever all weekend. I took him to the doctors yesterday because he had developed a rash and an ambulance was called to take us to hospital. It was all very scary. We had to leave the pushchair at the doctors surgery – hope it’s still there! Oscars had lots of tests and is on a course of antibiotics to kill any infection and we’ve got to stay in for a few days so I won’t be able to test the pushchair or write any updates for a few days. Can’t wait until oscar’s fit and well and we can get out and about in it again.

26th October 2012

Thankfully Oscar is safe and well and came out of hospital today. We were able to collect his pushchair from the doctors the following day and it came in very useful ferrying him and our belongings around the hospital. He even slept and had some of his treatments in his pushchair as he was more comfortable. What a brave little boy!

27th October 2012

A very cold day today, like the first day of winter; but a lovely bright sunny day, ideal for blowing out the cobwebs. We thought we’d take Oscar out for some fresh air as he’s been cooped up all week. We put him in his carry cot as it’s nice and snuggly and dressed him in his furry pram suit. It was an excuse for me to wear my new hat and gloves too! He seemed very snug and warm in the carry cot, though if it were colder, he would probably need a blanket as well.

29th October 2012

Oscar’s been sick in his carry cot! He’s got reflux so I can’t believe that’s the first time he’s done it. The mattress cover unzips for easy cleaning but isn’t machine or even hand washable. You are only supposed to surface wipe it, which is a bit disappointing and I don’t dare risk it. It came off and dried ok though.

31st October 2012

Oscar has had a bit of a growth spurt this week and has now outgrown his carry cot. Luckily it folds down really flat so you can store it for baby number 2! Ha! I’m so not ready for that yet!

5th November 2012

Walked down to the local library to join so Oscar can borrow books to go to wriggle readers! Plenty of room for booking in the basket.

Missing the carry cot. Oscar looks very cramped in the car seat and is getting very heavy to lift in it.

He fell asleep on the way back….. I took a photo as he does not sleep very often!

8th November 2012

Took Oscar for his first ride in his Tyler Blue Cruz Seat. With the snug insert he fits a lot better and the seat does parent face and lie flat to suit younger babies. However the seat is quite shallow, meaning Oscar is quite exposed to the elements! He doesn’t seem to mind today, he’s just enjoying looking at all the autumn leaves, feeling like a big boy in his new seat!

10th November 2012

Braved shopping in the city centre again today… Big mistake! Parked in the shopping centre multi-storey and ended up on a floor with no lift! Luckily there were two of us and we managed to carry the pushchair up (and down!) a steep flight of stairs. It wasn’t too heavy and easy enough for one to go in front and one behind! Shame that the shops were so crowded and over-stocked for Christmas, proving difficult for even the Cruz manoeuvre around.

14th November 2012

I’m using my pushchair more and more now. Partly because Oscar’s getting too big and heavy to carry around in his car seat, (nearly 16lbs at his last ‘weigh-in’!), and partly because I can’t really afford to be using the car too much on my maternity pay! If we can walk there, we walk! Though I’ve decided that I need to buy a bike lock, or similar, as many places don’t allow you to take your pushchair inside and I worry about someone stealing the Cruz! (As it’s such a stunning pushchair!). Most places I go have a buggy stop or shelter for people to leave their pushchairs.

15th November 2012

We’re still loving our pushchair. I feel that much more thought has gone into the seat, than the carrycot and it certainly gets more admiring looks when we’re out and about because of its striking appearance! The only problem that I’ve found so far is that although it handles well, the weight is balanced differently when parent facing and it is not very easy to steer one handed. But as I don’t have another LO’s hand to hold and have plenty of room in the basket for my shopping…. I don’t really mind!