The Maxi-Cosi Fame Travel System combines luxury, comfort, and innovation in one sleek design. In this review, we uncover how it caters to modern families.
Introduction
The Maxi-Cosi Fame Travel System is a shining example of how style and functionality can seamlessly come together. Designed to make life easier for parents while ensuring the highest levels of comfort for babies, this sleek and luxurious stroller promises to be a future design icon.
Its modern aesthetics, combined with pioneering features, ensure it stands out in the competitive world of travel systems.
Whether you’re navigating city streets, tackling uneven terrain, or meeting friends at a café, the Fame adapts effortlessly to your lifestyle. With thoughtful details like its magnetic harness, all-terrain wheels, and integrated LED lighting, Maxi-Cosi has truly considered the needs of today’s parents.
In this review, we’ll explore its key features, share our team’s hands-on experience, and uncover what makes the Fame such an exciting choice for families.
Seat Unit
The Maxi-Cosi Fame’s seat unit is packed with features that make it both practical and luxurious, ensuring your little one’s comfort and safety. With a maximum weight limit of 22kg, it holds its own among competitors in the same space, while offering added versatility with its adjustable footrest and three recline positions, including a lie-flat option. The seat is reversible, allowing parents to choose between parent-facing and world-facing modes with ease.
We Loved:
- Premium Feel: The textiles are high-quality and well-padded, giving the seat a luxurious finish that both looks and feels comfortable. Ventilation is a standout feature, with a breathable 'ClimaFlow' mesh backrest that helps regulate your child’s temperature. On warmer days, the backrest inlay can even be removed entirely for optimal airflow.
- Intuitive Harness Design: The sprung harness, inspired by Maxi-Cosi’s car seat technology, makes getting your child in and out incredibly simple. The top straps move out of the way on their own when unfastened, and the magnetic 5-point buckle is both intuitive and hassle-free to use. While opinions on magnetic buckles vary, our team agreed that the Fame’s design felt smooth and user-friendly.
- Canopy Excellence: The UPF 50+ canopy extends impressively far, offering excellent protection from the elements. The addition of a see-through ventilation window ensures visibility and airflow for your child.
Ease of Use:
The Fame’s memory buttons, used to detach the seat unit from the frame, are a fantastic feature. Unlike some other systems that require both buttons to be pressed simultaneously, this one-handed release is a game-changer for busy parents holding their baby and got the seal of approval from the Pushchair Expert team.
Overall, the Fame’s seat unit balances style, comfort, and practicality beautifully. From its generous backrest height of 52.5cm—one of the tallest in its class—to the thoughtful details like the adjustable footrest, it’s clear that Maxi-Cosi has prioritised both child and parent needs.
Carrycot
The Maxi-Cosi Fame carrycot is clearly designed with newborn comfort and parental convenience in mind. Its wide and spacious design, coupled with innovative features, ensures that your little one enjoys a cosy and secure environment right from birth. Approved for overnight sleeping, the carrycot is ideal for parents who value versatility without compromising on quality.
We Loved:
- Innovative 'SoothingSlope': This feature allows parents to gently raise the baby into an inclined position by simply pulling a strap at the foot of the carrycot. This is especially helpful for babies prone to reflux, and the mechanism is far easier to use than other systems that require separate panels or inserts. However, it’s worth noting that we found the incline is more subtle than it appears in some promotional materials, just to clarify expectations.
- 'Close2Me' Adjustable Height System: A standout feature that impressed our team, this unique system allows the carrycot to be set at one of three heights without the need for additional adapters. Whether switching between parents of varying heights or lowering the carrycot at a café, the adjustability adds an extra layer of convenience and ensures minimal disruption to a sleeping baby.
- Ventilation & Comfort: The carrycot includes a reversible, breathable memory foam mattress and a ventilation window that promotes airflow, keeping your newborn at a comfortable temperature. Combined with a large, extendable canopy for added protection, the carrycot offers a perfect balance of luxury and practicality.
Thoughtful Details:
- The memory buttons, also featured on the seat unit, allow for one-handed detachment of the carrycot from the frame—perfect for multitasking parents.
- A small, handy pocket at the foot of the carrycot is ideal for storing essentials like keys or a phone, adding a touch of practicality, it's the little details that count!
Overall, we found the Maxi-Cosi Fame carrycot to be a premium choice for newborns, offering comfort, functionality, and ease of use. With features like the SoothingSlope and Clsose2Me systems, it really does set a benchmark for carrycots in the same category.
Frame
The frame of the Maxi-Cosi Fame blends thoughtful engineering with premium aesthetics, offering durability, stability, and convenience for parents on the go. From its robust puncture-proof tyres to its innovative folding mechanism, every detail is designed to simplify your daily adventures with your little one. Even from launch, the team have always commended just how unique this system looks compared to the masses.
We Loved:
- 'LumiRide' LED Lighting: One of the Fame’s most innovative features is its integrated LED lighting system, which illuminates the area beneath the pushchair. Unlike other systems with small spotlights, the LumiRide offers a more even glow, making navigating dimly lit streets safer and easier.
- 'CosiCruise' Suspension: This system provides independent suspension on all four wheels, offering exceptional shock absorption over uneven terrain. The suspension feels balanced and controlled, providing a smooth ride over bumps and curbs without unnecessary bounce. Despite our best efforts to challenge the system on cobbled roads or uneven pavements, it held its own.
- Practical Fold Design: The Fame’s frame folds compactly with the seat attached, regardless of whether it’s parent- or world-facing. A clever plastic foot ensures the frame remains freestanding when folded, keeping the handlebar off the ground and free from dirt or scratches—a thoughtful touch that stood out during testing.
- Powerbank Convenience: The included powerbank powers the LumiRide lights and features a USB-A port for charging devices on the go. While battery life varied during testing depending on usage, the addition of a powerbank is undeniably handy for modern parents.
Storage & Tyres:
- With a 10kg/32L shopping basket, the Fame offers ample room for baby essentials and more, outperforming many of its competitors with smaller storage capacities.
- The puncture-proof solid tyres are both durable and practical, featuring removable front and rear wheels for easy maintenance. The sizeable 19cm front wheels and 30cm rear wheels enhance stability and manoeuvrability, making the Fame equally adept at tackling urban environments and bumpy country paths.
Considerations:
- At 15kg, the frame is on the slightly heavier side compared to other systems in this category. While this adds to its sturdiness, it may be a consideration for parents prioritising lightweight designs.
- Unlike some travel systems, the Fame bundle does not include a matching bag, which could be a minor drawback for parents looking for an all-in-one package.
The Fame’s brake system, dubbed "Flip Flop Friendly" by our team, is as user-friendly as it gets. A flat panel near your feet allows you to apply or release the brake with a simple push, avoiding the need to hook or lift the mechanism—a detail that made a big impression during testing.
Overall, the Maxi-Cosi Fame frame combines innovation, practicality, and luxury. Despite being on the ever so slightly heavier side, its clever design features, such as the LumiRide lights and compact fold, made it a joy to use in daily life tests.
Ease of Use & Comfort
The Maxi-Cosi Fame excels in creating a stress-free experience for parents while ensuring unmatched comfort for babies. With thoughtful details and intuitive design, the Fame caters to the needs of families, whether navigating city streets, meeting friends, or embarking on day trips.
Ease of Use for Parents:
- Close2Me Adjustability: The carrycot’s height adjustment system is a standout feature, allowing parents to switch between three heights without additional adapters. This not only minimises back strain but also adds convenience in settings like cafés or when alternating between parents of different heights.
- One-Hand Release System: The memory buttons used for detaching the seat unit, carrycot, or car seat make switching modes effortless. Parents juggling a baby or other essentials will appreciate the simplicity of this system.
- Compact Fold: Folding the Fame is seamless and can be done with the seat in place, regardless of its orientation. The freestanding design keeps the handlebar off the ground, ensuring cleanliness and durability.
Comfort for the Child:
- Spacious Design: The seat and carrycot offer ample room for babies and toddlers alike, accommodating growth from birth up to four years. The carrycot’s reversible, breathable memory foam mattress ensures optimal comfort during naps, while the seat’s ultra-padded HD memory foam inlay provides luxurious support.
- Temperature Control: The Fame’s ClimaFlow mesh backrest promotes ventilation, helping regulate your child’s temperature, particularly on warmer days. The option to remove the backrest inlay entirely allows for maximum airflow when needed.
- Adjustable Features: From the reclining seat positions to the extendable UPF 50+ canopy with a ventilation window, the Fame adapts effortlessly to your child’s needs, ensuring they remain comfortable throughout the day.
Real-Life Usability:
- The Fame’s seat is positioned at table height, making it perfect for coffee catch-ups or mealtime stops.
- Its "Flip Flop Friendly" brake system adds convenience when wearing open-toed shoes, offering quick and easy control without tricky mechanisms.
- The integrated powerbank and LumiRide lights further enhance usability, ensuring parents are prepared for any scenario.
The Maxi-Cosi Fame’s focus on ease of use and comfort makes it an excellent choice for busy families. By combining intuitive features with luxurious materials and thoughtful design, it delivers a premium experience for both parents and children.
Final Thoughts
The Maxi-Cosi Fame Travel System sets a new benchmark in the world of luxury strollers. From its innovative features like the SoothingSlope carrycot and Close2Me adjustability to practical touches such as the memory buttons and single-press brake system, this travel system has very much been designed with both parents and children in mind.
Its seamless blend of modern aesthetics ensures that it stands out in a crowded market, in our opinion. The Fame’s spacious and comfortable seat unit and carrycot cater to a growing child’s needs, while its robust frame and all-terrain wheels made it comfortably suitable when tested in a variety of environments.
While the Fame is slightly heavier than some competitors and lacks a matching bag in its bundle, these minor drawbacks are easily outweighed by its innovative design and thoughtful features. Whether you’re navigating busy streets, heading out on countryside adventures, or simply enjoying a coffee with friends, the Fame adapts effortlessly to your lifestyle.
Who is it for?
The Fame is ideal for parents seeking a high-quality, feature-rich travel system that prioritises style, comfort, and usability. It’s perfect for those who want a stroller that will grow with their child, delivering a premium experience from newborn to toddlerhood.
In the Maxi-Cosi Fame, you’ll find a travel system that not only meets expectations but exceeds them, making daily life smoother, safer, and more enjoyable for you and your little one.
