Zia - Black

What a brilliant buggy. The buggy collapses down to a very small easily managable and packable buggy that does not invade space in your boot. Putting the buggy up and down could not be easier and you can even do it one handed (like I have on many occassions whilst holding my baby!). Fantastic suspension and very comfortable ride for my baby. Easy and light to push and because you can have the front wheels static (for rough terrain) or free moving for day to day use it is the perfect all rounder. Suitable for newborn onwards as, unlike the Quinny everyday counterpart, this buggy reclines. My 4 month old son loves going out in this buggy and I am so glad I found this product (through a friend who has one!) - I would recommend this to any mum who wants a buggy with style and easy use. Very good value for a very reasonable price.

I wouldn't normally write a comprehensive review for a product, but as this product gets about 50/50 good and bad reviews I felt it necessary to pass on my comments to other potential consumers. We like it!

As with many products that my family and I purchase we always check the Internet to get a feel for what others are saying. Over the years this has proven fruitfull with many of the products we have purchased giving us exactly what we need and expect and so we continue to do so.

After using a large travel system from birth to 1 year of our sons life we had decided it was time to buy a small light weight stroller that was sturdy enough to take the impact that our lifestyle demands.

We proceeded by visiting a handful of local retails, to visually evaluate what we liked and disliked in strollers, our other crucial criteria was, however, that it must be able to recline, and ideally have some storage for small items.

We eventually came across the Zia Star Petite, which we liked but were a little apprehensive, naturally.

We got home and immediately searched the Internet for others' comments and was horrified by some of the negatives we saw.

After going back to the retailer for a second look we decided that the positives outweighed the negatives enough for us to consider the purchase.

We came home again and found the combination price for the foot muff, push chair and carry bag on Amazon was a good deal and purchased the three.

We have owned the product for one month........

The height issue: We can see why the height adjustment issue is a real problem for tall people, this was a consideration issue for both of us, as we are both 5'9, however, we feel that the fixed height for this chair is fine, however, any taller might feel a little uncomfortable agreed.

The slouching issue: It is true your child will be slouched in this chair, you will also notice that your child will be slouched in a car seat, I think this is an ergonomic safety feature, the same with this three wheeled push chair! too much weight too far forward may result in poor push chair stability, however, the chances of the chair actually tipping over if the child is securely strapped in to the chair I feel extremely slim because of this. Because of the width of the chair, our sons peripheral vision is not impaired and therefore, it appears that he does not feel the need to sit up as others have stated.

Product strength over weight: general assembly strength is fine, the wheels; the way that they are attached to the frame is excellent, i especially like the quick release system for packing into the storage bag...the tyres, granted i was initially concerned when I found large sharp stones had pierced the tyre skin and lodged into the rubber, but when removed, simply leaves a small hole that does not impair the ride or function of the product. The weight of the assembly is perfect, the agility of this push chair is outstanding and when locking the front wheel really does help when the terrain gets a little rough, as for shopping in small seaside town shops, not an issue. Unless you walk like a duck you will never hit the brake when walking, even with a males wider stride.

The rain cover issue: What issue? the rain cover is fine we especially like the little access panel at the front so that we can attend to our son when needed. Our son also likes to push his feet against the rain panel, however, even when he did this there was no sign of the cover coming off.

A product improvement suggestion: the one feature if we're going to criticise is the hood would be far better if it was separate from the main body fabric, as was our travel system, as it would be an excellent sun canopy if able to rotate over the body of the chair. Far more stability in this method of sun shading than that of a conventional umbrella. This means we will have to use an umbrella, which I've never really liked, as wind is frequently an issue.

Conclusion: We will probably use this push chair for the next two years, where our son will eventually reach the ripe age of three years. In the next two years I feel that this chair will pass the test of time. we may need to buy anouther for our second child, which I would probably consider as this push chair really does come into its own when used.... How a three wheeled push chair with a 360º rotational front wheel would ever be prone to directional pulling really beats me, you must have one leg shorter than the other???

Please cosider this push chair if you like walking along narrow costal paths to access fantastic beaches like we do, the strength over weight, agillity and stability really does make this push chair a real winner.

please also see my reviews for the foot muff and carry bag...

....Two years later and still going strong.

I bought this buggy because we needed a buggy to take on holiday and our Bugaboo Bee wouldn't compact enough.

I wish I had bought this pushchair first, because it is much much better than the Bugaboo, and that cost over £400.

The positive's are:
- it can be used from birth (like a Bugaboo), which means you don't need to buy a new buggy after 9-12 months
- it is easy to fold and collapses in seconds (the Bugaboo is a real hassle to collapse)
- once collapsed it is extremely compact and small; great for keeping in the boot of your car (I bought the Bugaboo because it was very small when collapsed, but this is much smaller)
- it is very light and easy to carry
- you can steer this with one hand, and it is very manoverable

On some of the points raised by others:
- I can see the point that for a tall person (well over 6') would cause a problem - I am 6' and it just works for me, but if I were more than 2" taller it wouldn't
- also, the basket is small, pointless and impossible to access when the seat is slightly reclined
- the build quality isn't as sturdy as a £400 buggy (but then, if it falls apart, you can buy 3 or 4 for the same price)

So, most people would consider the Bugaboo Bee the best compact buggy (in terms of size, weight, manouverability), and this beats it hand's down - and for less than 1/3 of the cost.

It has a few minor issues, but for the cost it's brilliant.