Chicco Nunu Review

Quick Summary: From as soon as I started unpacking the Chicco NuNu I have been impressed with it. From the look and feel of the fabrics to the black chassis, to the matching accessories, it's delicious. Oh! didn't I mention accessories, well not only do you get the raincover and footmuff but also the matching changing bag!!!

Introduction

Chicco are a renowned nursery brand who make everything for your little one, from highchairs to toys and almost everything in-between...If you need it, they make it!

In fact Chicco's mission is to make happy parents and happy babies. Everything they create is geared to making your baby smile - to Chicco nothing is more important - but will it make me smile?

Unpacking the box and laying out its contents makes me feel like a contestant on the Krypton Factor!! (Remember that?) There are an awful lot of pieces! After a quick flick through the instruction booklet I'm ready, then 15 minutes later it's done and yes it's worth it!

At first glance I'm very impressed, sleek fabrics, satin black chassis and matching accessories - sophisticated, classic and contemporary!

Chassis

Let's start with the chassis, as I've already mentioned, it has a satin black finish which I love, after all, black is the new silver so I'm led to believe!

The Chicco NuNu boasts of 'adjustable double twist ergonomic handgrips' which in English means the punch grip handles can rotate on the stem as well as being able to move up or down vertically, which I think is a fabulous feature as I struggle to find a perfect handle height or angle - not so with the Chicco NuNu. However, I would prefer them to be fabricated from something a little more luxury than simple plastic.

The Chicco NuNu has a reasonable sized shopping basket, it's easy to attach and remove for cleaning and can hold up to 5kg in weight. You can access it from both sides and the front but due to the nature of the chassis, with the cross bar being over the basket, it limits the size of any items you can put into it.

The NuNu has lockable front swivel wheels for ease of manoeuvrability. The lock is situated between each of the front double wheels and is very simple to apply, just push the lock up and you will hear a loud click, to release the lock and put back into swivel mode you simply push the lever down and again you will hear a loud click. I prefer to use it with the wheels on swivel, otherwise I tend to run into things!!

The rear wheels are fixed with a linked brake in-between each of the double wheels. One gentle click downwards will apply the brakes and one click upwards will release them. So easy, they are flip-flop friendly.

The wheels are all 18cms (7ins) in diameter and made out of EVA foam so they should wear very well. It also has rear suspension so it would handle paths, gravel and grass quite well! 

Fold

The fold on the Chicco NuNu is a compact telescopic fold and is very simple to achieve, so shouldn't leave you stranded at the bus stop in the pouring rain unable to fold it.

Firstly, pop the hood back, then pull up the two small triggers on the shafts of the handles, then lift the lever in the centre back with your foot. As you lift up the lever and push down on the handles, the chassis will begin to contract horizontally and vertically. Give the pushchair a little push down on the front till you hear the click and it will lock the pushchair shut.

To open again, its very simple. Standing behind the pushchair you pull up the small triggers on the handles, which release the lock, and press down on the centre back lever until you hear an audible ‘click' to re-tension the frame. Voila... Its done!!

If you want to make the folded pushchair freestanding, ensure you have the front wheels in a straight positions.

Seat

The Chicco NuNu has a very generous seat unit, both my 2 year old and 3 year old had plenty of head room and fitted comfortably...from the back of the seat rest to the top of the hood is a whopping 61cm and the back rest from top to bottom is 44cm - so as you can see lots of room for an older toddler too! I also found the width of the seat is generous at 27cm. 

The seat unit itself is suitable from birth to 15kg as it has a 4 position back rest which includes horizontal for a newborn. The seat covers are nicely padded, feel good quality and look easy to keep clean..I really like the colour combination of the Cocoa colourway, it's very unisex.

Another fabulous feature is the one handed recline, it's a simple device on the back of the seat unit. Using your index finger and middle finger under the 'T' bar and using your thumb on the circular button above, you simply squeeze them together and pull the back downwards to whichever angle suits your child. To sit them back up, you just push it up.

The 5 point safety harness is very easy to fasten but from the ages of 0-6mths you must thread the shoulder straps through the adjuster slots before you fasten the harness. To be honest it could do with a few more height options, some chest pads to stop the straps from rubbing and the crotch strap to be adjustable and padded.

The NuNu has a removable padded bumper bar that fortunately doesn't need to be removed when you fold the pushchair. It also has an adjustable calf rest which can be altered using the easy-to-access triggers that sit underneath it.

The hood is one of the NuNu's best features as it has three modes..one for pram, one for stroller and one for stroller in summer. When in Stroller mode the hood has a great head height, is showerproof and has a super cute rosette (which is removable if it's not to your taste).

Summer mode means you can remove the rear aprons for ventilation and angle the hood to ensure you are protecting your little one from the sun!

Carrycots and car seats

As I've mentioned, the Chicco NuNu is suitable from newborn and has a soft comfortable carrycot insert which transforms the stroller into a parent facing pram in just a few simple steps. But be warned, you will need to pay attention to the instructions, this is not something you will be able to second guess...

Firstly, fully recline the back rest then un-zip and remove the rear apron of the hood. Ensure you have the bumper bar attached as it will help to form the rim of the pram body. Place the carrycot insert on the reclined pushchair, sliding the back rest of the stroller into the pocket on the bottom of the carrycot. Fix the vecro straps to the arm rests. Flip up the calf rest to be stand vertically upright and then fold the excess fabric on the head of the carrycot insert over the bumper bar and the upturned calf rest . This makes two neat ends to the body of your pram.

Lastly zip the rear apron of the canopy onto the opposing side of the hood, letting it drop down to encapsulate the head of the pram. This probably sounds horrifically complicated in words, but when you've done it once or twice it will become a doddle.

The Chicco NuNu is still foldable with the soft carrycot in place but is slightly more bulky. An additional apron comes supplied for when you are using it as a pram. Although there is no harness inside the carrycot there are slits which line up with 'D' rings on the stroller so you can add your own reins. The soft carrycot is really well padded and spacious for your little one, it measures 33cm width ways (which does taper at the bottom slightly) and 72cm long, perfect until at least 4-6mths depending on the size of your child.

The Chicco NuNu is also travel system compatible if you add the Auto-fix fast car seat, which is available separately.

Chicco have their exclusive Clik Clak system which allows you to fit the car seat to the Nunu or to the base with one hand! It's so simple and takes only a few seconds to do. When you have the seat on target and placed properly, you get that reassuring ‘Clik Clak' so you know its fitted safely and securely. The beauty is, you don't need any extra adapters to fit it to the Chicco NuNu as the stroller has inbuilt adapters underneath the fabric on the arm rests.

Conclusion

From as soon as I started unpacking the Chicco NuNu I have been impressed with it. From the look and feel of the fabrics to the black chassis, to the matching accessories, it's delicious. Oh! didn't I mention accessories, well not only do you get the raincover and footmuff but also the matching changing bag!!! However,  I felt the raincover wasn't that great. It's thin, flimsy and a fairly poor fit plus it's also hard to attach. Yet, the footmuff and changing bag are great - I'm a sucker for matching accessories, especially when they are included in the price!!

The Chicco NuNu is quite heavy when folded but its seat size, manoeuvrability, simple fold and the ability to be a parent facing pram seem to outweigh this negative for me.

The hood however cute with that little rosette has one annoying feature..the big rear apron just hangs there and it gets in the way when you're trying to recline the pushchair.

All in all I think the Chicco NuNu is a fabulous all rounder and would suit someone from birth to toddler and is well worth the RRP of £329.99!!