The first thing you notice about this tandem is how surprisingly luxurious it feels. Both seats are nicely padded and comfy, and the frame is mostly metal, rather than cheap-looking plastic. Each seat has its own hood, and the rear one is huge, so that you probably won’t need a sunshade on hot days. You also get two lovely, cosy footmuffs, there’s a cup and snack tray for the rear seat, a cupholder for the parent, and even a handy storage bag that attaches to the handlebars. You really are getting a lot for your money.
The rear seat lies flat, so it’s suitable for a newborn, and the front seat is nice and high, giving a toddler a really good view. The downside is that once your younger child is at the curious age, he’ll get a bit of a limited view from the back seat, and there could be squabbles over who lives where. The travel system facility is useful: you can put two car seats on it, or choose to put the car seat on the front or the back if you have one baby and one toddler. So you could use this for newborn twins if you’re prepared to have them in the car seats all the time, until they’re old enough to go in the seat units (the front seat is only suitable for use from 6 months). The car seats aren’t included, but adapters are, which is handy if you’ve already got a Graco infant carrier.
The wheels are fairly chunky, so it handles quite well on roughish terrain. The shopping basket is massive, and drops down so that it’s easy to access. There are also lots of little extras that make this incredible value: it comes with two cosytoes, a child’s snack and drink tray in the back seat, a parent’s cupholder and storage bag, and a huge raincover. It might not fit in the smallest boot, but when you consider how many bits and pieces it comes with it actually folds down quite amazingly small.
To me, it felt pretty huge and cumbersome to steer, and the front wheels did seem a long way from the handles, but this is going to be the case with any tandem. Graco has done its best to make it steerable, with decent wheels and a two-position handlebar that is one single bar, but with curved bits at the sides, so that you get more leverage for getting up and down kerbs and steps.
What we love
It has loads of added extras, and it’s far, far cheaper than many single pushchairs, and incredibly good value. It doesn’t feel cheap, and you get a good feeling of sturdiness and comfort from it.
What to watch out for
It’s huge. Seriously massive. If you’re small, it feels a little bit like pushing a bus, and going uphill is a major workout. It’s also complicated to assemble: I was in tears trying to fit the wheels, and the instructions are in diagram form which I found very hard to decipher. It’s also heavy to lift in and out of a car, but what double buggy isn’t? It could do with a snack tray for the front as well as the back seat as this caused squabbles, and my toddler’s legs were a bit dangly in the front – there’s a footrest but it’s quite low down.
Who’s the Quattro Tour Duo best for?
Parents on a budget with a baby and toddler.
Anyone who buys this will probably be delighted with it – you imagine you’re getting something quite basic for this price, so when it turns up with the lovely cosytoes, cupholders and all the other bits and pieces, it’s hard not to be impressed.
This tandem may not be perfect, but there isn’t really anything really bad to say about it, and there’s a lot of good for a very low price.
