Bugaboo Cameleon buggy / pram review

13 May 2006 11:52 GMT / By Stuart Miles

With a spec sheet that reads more like a sports car's and a massive celebrity following it is easy to see why dads are drawn to the Bugaboo Cameleon. But does the new Rolls Royce of prams have what it takes to make your life with your new baby easy, or is it all marketing hype and spin? Emily, our chief tester here at The Dad Blog, checks it out.

Front swivel wheels, rear pneumatic tyres, maintenance kit, 5-point suspension, a 24-litre under carriage bag, adjustable handlebar, carrying handle, varying seating positions and the promise that it should last you until your newborn is 4-years-old, the Bugaboo promises much, but at £599 it had better.

The bad news is, that just like Apple Macs, Bugaboo are never on sale either, so there is no point waiting to find a bargain. Pocket-lint has been following the price of the stroller for 6 months now and it hasn't changed once.

Get past the fact that you'll need to become best friends with your bank manager - in our tests the Bugaboo performed amazingly.

Coming with virtually everything you could possibly imagine, the Bugaboo took a few minutes to work out how to use. However once we had figured out how the relevant catches and clasps work, it all became as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Made by a company based in the Netherlands the build quality is also exceptionally good and sits up there with Volvo, Ikea and Lego for its ingenuity.

Get it outside and the Bugaboo gave Emily a comfortable ride both over tarmac pavements, grass and forest dirt tracks. The ability to switch the handles to place either the swivel wheels or pneumatic tyres at the front allows you to get over bumps or ridges with ease, however we found that it worked best with the pneumatic tyres at the rear.

Light and easy to manoeuver - it has a zero point turning circle - the Bugaboo was also easy to put in and out of the car, however those with a small hatchback should expect to either lose the whole boot or back seat in the process.

You can take the wheels off to reduce the size for even better packing, but if you are just popping out this can be just another pain when you get to the other end.

Lasting until your tot is 4 is the device's greatest strength in its versatility.

To start you get the pram element, which is lined with a machine washable fleece liner. For parents on a budget (well you will have to be if you opt for this model) it can happily double up as a Moses basket. In fact, Emily prefers the Bugaboo over the Moses basket we borrowed for her.

After 6 months when they've grown out of the pram element you get to install the buggy seat and this should then last you for the remaining 3 and a half years.

Finally buying a set of optional extra brackets (£35) means you can fit the Maxi-Cosi car seat to the Bugaboo frame. This means that once you've got your tot strapped in to the car seat you can then transfer them straight from the car to the Bugaboo, dash around the shops, put them back in the car and hopefully get home without any tears.

Verdict

It might cost as much as your first car, but in the time we've been testing it, it has performed extremely well. The versatility is its greatest plus as is the promise of longevity - those machine washable covers come into their own later on.

The catch? Well just that. Mrs Pocket-lint is still struggling with all those buttons.

Secondly walking around town with the Bugaboo does draw looks.

"Oh you've got a Bugaboo. The Cameleon no less", was just one of the comments we got.

So is it worth the expense? For us so far yes. It is like an expensive pair of leather shoes, they might cost you a lot to start with, but they will last you a lot longer than those cheap rubber soled ones you bought at the market.

Recommended if you can stretch the budget.