The NuNu comes with the Auto-Fix Fast car seat (£139.99 of the total price) to make it into a travel system. This Group 0+ car seat (suitable birth to 13kg) comes with an in-car base that you can fit into the car. With an in-car base, you can click the car seat in and out easily rather than have to install the car seat each time, making the whole process quicker and more straightforward. You can use the car seat without the base or buy an ISOFIX version of the base, too.
The car seat has a special newborn insert, with a headrest that looks like a doughnut. This is specially designed to cradle your baby’s head correctly and help reduce the risk of ‘flat head syndrome’.
As a buggy, the NuNu weighs 8.9kg. The car seat is 4.3kg by itself, or 6.5kg with the in-car base.
What we love
I really love the look of the NuNu. It’s quite classic, with no trendy gimmicks, but the two colour schemes are both very chic and the removable rosette on the hood is a really nice touch. The car seat comes in matching fabric, too, so it looks good even when you’re using it as a travel system.
I’ve used a few travel systems in my time, and quite a few of them have had fiddly adaptors that you have to remember to take with you, then fit onto the buggy’s chassis before you can click on the car seat. The NuNu does away with all that nonsense, and instead has a system called Clik Clak. This lets you slot the car seat straight onto the chassis. You really can do it with one hand, and this makes the NuNu one of the easiest-to-use travel systems I’ve come across.
There are quite a few accessories included in the price - a raincover, cosy footmuff and even a matching changing bag – and they all add up to make the NuNu a good-value purchase. It’s not the cheapest on the market but it represents value for money when you consider you can use it as a pram, buggy or travel system.
What to watch out for
When you first open the box, the number of different components in there seems pretty daunting. I assume that they wanted to be able to fit the whole stroller, with the pram body, all into one box, and that’s why it doesn’t come pre-assembled. It took me a while to assemble, and the instructions weren’t hugely detailed, so it was a bit frustrating.
Also, converting the pushchair into a pram isn’t very speedy either. I don’t think that switching between stroller and pram is something you’d want to do often. If the idea is that you use the pram insert when your baby is little, and use it all the time, then switch permanently to the normal buggy seat, then that’s great, but it’s definitely too fiddly to be doing on a regular basis.
Once final downside of the NuNu is that the pram body can’t be used on its own, when it’s not attached to the chassis. A lot of mums choose to buy a pram that includes a carrycot partly so that they can use the carrycot for their baby to sleep in at other times (some options are approved for overnight sleeping with the correct mattress). That said, the upside of the soft carrycot insert is that when you’re not using it, it can be folded away - appealing if you don’t have a lot of storage space and don’t want a cumbersome carrycot to stash.
Who is the Chicco NuNu travel system best for?
New mums after a pram-style pushchair without the high price tag or bulky carrycot to store when they don’t need it any more.
The NuNu is a really chic-looking pramette and car seat combo at a value-for-money price. The versatility of being a comfy buggy, a cosy pram or a practical car seat for families who are always on the move is great, especially as no adaptors are needed to get the car seat onto the buggy chassis each time and there's an in-car base.
