Pushing pushchairs to their limits
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After complaints about problem pushchairs to government helpline Consumer Direct rose by 64%, we set up a series of unique tests at Silvestone to put 14 buggies from the UK's leading brands through their paces. TV and radio presenter Gabby Logan - whose twins have gone through a total of nine pushchairs - helped our team of Crash Test Mummies through the challenges.
Although not exactly scientific, our tests replicated the sort of everyday challenges anyone using a buggy has to face.
'Pedestrian Slalom' pitted the pushchair against other pavement users, to see how easy they were to manoeuvre.
'Buggy Buckaroo'saw our 'Stunt Mums' do that age-old no no, hanging shopping on the back of the buggy. The manufacturers warn against it, but most mums have done it. So how stable are our pushchairs? How much shopping would it take to topple our pushchairs?
At 'The Buggy Bus Stop' the 'Crash Test Mums' battled public transport and disgruntled passengers, and they saw how quickly they could collapse the buggies on a bus.
Finally, Buggy Bronco tested the pushchairs' straps. Our testers strapped in a doll, admittedly a little smaller than a child, and a modified bucking bronco did its best to dislodge it from the chair. Would any of the safety harnesses be a match for our bronco?
The Results, like most things in parenthood, were far from straight forward. But the most striking result was that, generally, cheaper buggies did prove a match for their more expensive counterparts.
There were no overall winners or losers, but some pushchairs did stand out in individual events.
At the Pedestrian Slalom, our 'Crash Tests Mums' were particularly impressed with the Quinney Buzz, a premium buy at £420, while the Mclaren Sport, a budget £140, cornered like a dream.
For our Buggy Buckaroo, the buggies were split into groups according to the price. In the budget round, the Mamas and Papas Luna was the first to topple, and once our mums had finished loading their bags, only the Safety 1st Easy First, our second cheapest buggy at £150, was left standing.
It was the mid-range pushchairs' turn to be loaded up next, and the Mothercare Xcursion Travel System and Maxi Cosi Mura stayed up longest. In the premium range, the Bugaboo Bee and Mothercare My Choice stayed standing the longest.
Our mums struggled with The Buggy Bus Stop; collapsing a buggy single handed while simultaneously holding the baby, was something none of them enjoyed. And the tuts of their fellow passengers did little to relax them. But two buggies, the budget Mothercare Vesta (£180) and the luxury Bugaboo Bee (£400+) did prove to be easy to collapse with only one hand free, even for our harassed mums. But it was clear problems with some of the other buggies in this challenge could have been down to our user error by our testers...
Finally Buggy Bronco was too much for all but one of our buggies. Only one pushchair, the mid-range Mclaren Black XT (£250) survived a whole two minutes without the doll being thrown from its straps. The other stand out was another McLaren, the Techno XLR (£460), which lasted 1 minute ten seconds. No other pushchair got near to the one minute mark!
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
This was really entertaining to watch, and quite informative, with sensible tests.
One problem. Who on earth decided that a buggy costing over £100 could possibly be classed as budget? That made the whole test ridiculous, if not the test, then the production teams version of reality. None of the buggies in the budget section were priced anywhere near my understanding, or experience of that word.
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[Personal details removed by Moderator] The "tests" carried out on these buggies are completely unrealistic.
The issue about buggies toppling over can be resolved by simply purchasing Buggy weights from the baby catalogue. I also have never had this problem - I have two children!
When trying to avoid other pedestrians, it is highly unlikely that any mum would be running down the high street like the mums in your "test".
As for the bucking bronco test, this was completely inaccurate due to the size of the "child". A child that small should be in a pram and would not require a safety harness as they should be flat. A child in a buggy should be a certain size/weight (as per manufacturers instructions).
As for the bus test, I am a single mum with two children under 5 who doesn't drive I use buses on a daily basis and I have NEVER come across a bus with passengers as rude as your decoys. There is usually a older woman who will offer to hold the child or help you fold it. Also, if the space was as small as your test bus it is highly unlikely that they would have let the mum on at all! Leaving the buggy in the aisle is a safety hazard to other passengers.
This test is completely unscientific and does not accurately justify purchase of any particular buggy.
Before criticising the buggies perhaps a more accurate test is appropriate.
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i really cant see the relevance of the tests completed on the show (other than the bus test & collapsibility) [Personal details removed by Moderator] maybe these tests should have been done on value for money & also if you are buying heavy items at the shops surely you would have placed them in the basket underneath every buggy that was featured that had one instead of letting it fall over !!! every sensible mother puts items in the bottom of the pram!!
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this test was hillarious! from personal experience i have to say that the more expensive buggies have to be the worst, they dont last as long and poor value for maoney. But this was the best thing to watch all night however unpractible the tests were
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Terrible review for something that could have been very interesting. During the ten minutes they dedicated to this, we could have some serious facts about prams that we could have benefited from.
Instead, we have to be 'entertained' instead of finding out the facts. Watchdog seems to have turned into the Ann Robinson Show! Rubbish.
The result of this? "Cheaper versions can be as good as the more expensive".
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What a waste of my time....push chairs mounted on a bull riding machine...what the hell is all that about???
Anne,you are the weakest link!
Bring back Nicky and Julia.
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Really enjoyed the piece and sensible, practical tests. But a budget buggy over £100? What world are they living in? Cheap buggies starts around £30 upwards.
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Pushchairs are for pushing babies around in, the tests were so over the top it was unbelieveable. What mother overloads their pushchairs like that and if they do then what was in the shopping bags would have been counter weighed by a baby or toddler in it anyway and what mother runs around obstacles on the street like that and also what was the purpose of the bunking bronco test, who on earth would put a baby in a pushchair and subject it to that kind of force. It was rediculous and did not reflect what the show was trying to prove!!
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