It also boasts a T-shaped bumper bar, a 3-position reclining seat, an adjustable booster cushion to adapt to your baby’s growth, lockable swivel wheels and a handlebar-operated brake, so you won’t scuff your shoes or chip your nail varnish using a footbrake.
Available in black or brown, the I-Move has a large sun canopy with viewing window and pockets in the back, a 5-point safety harness, adjustable handlebar and leg rest, and a small storage basket. It’s intended to be driven with the smaller wheels at the front, but you can also use it with the larger wheels foremost, which is useful on rough ground. The package includes a raincover, footmuff and changing bag with mat.
The I-Move stroller (£499.99) is compatible with the I-Move carrycot (£199.99). It can also be teamed with the I-Move Autofix Fast car seat (£169.99) to form a travel system. My daughter Katie and I tried out the entire travel system.
What we love
When I first read up about the I-Move, the feature that excited me most was the 360-degree swivel seat. It didn’t disappoint. Whereas most pushchairs require you to remove the entire seat unit to convert from forward- to parent-facing (not easy if your little one is already in situ), switching the I-Move is as simple as pressing a foot lever, swivelling the seat round, and then moving the handlebar up and over. It couldn’t be easier. I absolutely love the fact that I can spin Katie round within seconds if the sun is in her eyes or she fancies a change of scene.
The I-Move, car seat and carrycot have clearly been designed with comfort in mind. Both car seat and buggy are deeply, luxuriously padded, and Katie is completely content in them. The carrycot is plenty long enough for a baby up to about 6 months, and I really like the way you can incline the mattress upwards simply by turning a wheel underneath the cot - a great feature if your baby likes a view or suffers from reflux and doesn’t like lying flat.
It’s extremely easy to attach and detach the car seat, carrycot and stroller seat from the I-Move chassis. The car seat comes with an in-car ISOFIX base, which makes getting it in and out of the car a breeze once you’ve installed the base. If your car doesn’t have ISOFIX, it can be fitted using the seatbelt. This is handy if, like us, you’re a two-car family where one has ISOFIX and the other doesn’t. The carrycot can also be used in the car (when used with the Car Kit), which is brilliant if you make lots of long journeys with your baby.
The I-Move has a nice high seating position. Katie is delighted to have such a good view of the world, and sits perfectly upright, unlike in our usual pushchair where she always ends up slouched and grumpy. The T-shaped bumper bar is a nice touch, too. Katie hangs onto it as if driving a motorbike! From my point of view, it’s easy to push and highly manoeuvrable, and I like having the brake on the handlebar.
I also like the styling of the I-Move. In the chocolate brown colourway I tested it has a bit of a retro vibe to it, although it also comes in black if you’d prefer something more conventional and modern.
What to watch out for
The I-Move is let down by a couple of issues – notably the way it folds. There are several problems here. Firstly, although it can fold with the seat unit attached, it’s more compact if you remove it – and as it flings itself off with a heck of a thump when you depress the relevant button, so best to make sure your little one is well out of the way.
The folding process itself involves pressing and sliding a lever underneath the frame, which is rather fiddly. But the biggest hitch is that when folded, the I-Move doesn’t lock shut at its most compact point. My husband and I battled collectively with it for a good half-hour, feeling sure that it should be possible, before eventually concluding that it wasn’t – and reading other online reviews confirmed our suspicions. It does lie flat once folded, but the fact that it partially unfolds as soon as you pick it up is a big drawback, especially if you’d like to be able to carry a baby in one arm and a pushchair in the other.
The I-Move is 13.7kg as a buggy (the car seat is 5kg and carrycot is 6.1kg), so probably isn’t for you if you’re looking for a light buggy for a toddler. And while it’s easy to manoeuvre on the flat, I felt it struggled with bumps and kerbs. Given its size, it might benefit from pneumatic tyres (air-filled tyres) rather than solid wheels.
I have concerns about the durability of the I-Move, having noticed a snag in the fabric after the very first use, and also think the storage basket is small. I can just about cram the raincover into it, but there isn’t a hope of fitting a shopping bag in.
Who is the Chicco I-Move travel system best for?
Parents who don’t often fold away the buggy, after an extremely comfy ride that can switch direction at the press of a button.
There’s a lot to love about the I-Move. The way the seat swivels from forward- to parent-facing so easily is a brilliant feature, and it’s hard to beat for style, comfort and versatility, with both carrycot and car seat options fitting easily onto the chassis. However, the awkward folding mechanism is a disadvantage.
