Britax Vigour 3+ roadtest and review

You may have noticed that our blog seems to be less about travelling and London life, and more about our new baby. It seems that the title above ('ramble about the travels and trials of London life') might be inaccurate to some degree now - or at least more trial and less travel.

We can solve this by unifying them into one big blog posting - about how we get our baby Elly to travel in London. If you don't want to read about prams/buggies then stop now.

When we went buggy shopping we wanted something small, light and zippy. So we chose the Britax Vigour 3+ - which is different to the Vigour 3 because it has a plus after it. Apparently. (I guess upping the model number to 4 was impossible because that is what they call their 4 wheel buggy)

Pros:
- Big wheels. I have always believed in theatre you can't beat a big prop. The same goes for wheels.
- Great maneuverability. Goes around corners easily, and can steer one-handed. Perfect for the mother-on-the-go-using-a-mobile-phone.
- Fits in the back of a VW Golf for when we use Streetcar.
- Wheels come off for fitting in even smaller cars. Actually got it in the foot well in the back seat of a small car.
- Not too expensive - at least compared to other options.

Cons:
- A pivoting front wheel can be a problem when making a big step up or down onto a curb as it can turn to the side and go off at an angle. Front wheel is lockable but at the expense of maneuverability.
- Wheels are soft plastic, but still somewhat solid - so can seem a bit hard against edges. Still Elly doesn't seem to mind too much.
- Back wheels are too wide to go down a bus aisle. This of course puts you at the mercy of bus drivers to open the rear doors. Though looking at the aisles, I'm not sure how any buggy could get down them.

We aren't even using the seat part right now as Elly is too small. Instead we have the Baby Safe Sleeper - a cot attachment that can be used directly in the backseat of a car. It also clips directly into the buggy, so Elly can go from house, to buggy, to car, and back again - all without waking her up.

Pros:
- one cot suits all - therefore minimising waking the princess.
- saves on buying a separate cot and car seat.
- attaches using the existing seat belts.

Cons:
- Heavy
- Fiddly one-hand release system doesn't always disengage. Combined with the weight makes it difficult to get Elly in and out of the buggy.
- I think it will only last 6 months before she outgrows it.
- Requires 2 of the 3 seats in the rear.
- Can be a bit fiddly to attach the seat belts to the hooks.
- Has a big unattractive Britax logo on the front

Summary
Are we happy - yes. Elly loves going on the bus, can sleep through the melee at Sainsburys & Tesco, and she draws stares because it looks a bit different.