The Jeep Rio Plus Stroller is marketed as a lightweight pushchair and at 7.5kg, it certainly qualifies. If you add the Hauck Zero Plus Comfort car seat, it can even become a travel system.
My first impression of the Jeep Rio Plus Stroller was rather bizarre; I thought it looked like a child’s wheelchair! The seat portion of the Jeep Rio Plus Stroller is quite narrow yet very straight-backed as well which is reminiscent of a wheelchair.
The Jeep Rio Plus Stroller assembles easily, opens quickly and is very manoeuvrable. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get comfortable with pushing the Jeep Rio Plus Stroller and have realised why I don’t have an “umbrella stroller”.
What we love
I did appreciate the way that my daughter Ella sat up nice and straight in the Jeep Rio Plus Stroller and she was quite entertained by the bumper bar, which is included with the stroller. We haven’t had a bumper bar on any of our pushchairs so this was a novelty to Ella.
The Jeep Rio Plus stroller is very lightweight and takes up relatively little space in the boot of the car as it folds up to quite a narrow package.
The Jeep Rio Plus has a 4-position backrest and an adjustable extendable leg rest, which are two very welcome features. It’s nice looking and with it’s striking with its red, white and black colouring it stands out from the crowd of black pushchairs out there.
What to watch out for
For me personally the most outstanding negative aspect of the Hauck Jeep Rio Plus Stroller was the fact that the entire time that I was pushing Ella, I was continually kicking the back of the stroller or wheels. Perhaps this is common with this style of pushchair, but not having had an “upright” pushchair until this point but I found it very annoying.
The Jeep Rio Plus seemed to rattle quite a bit and just felt flimsy. The bumper bar, which was a novelty to Ella, served as a place for Ella to put her feet! She tucked her legs up, put her feet on the bar and kicked and pushed away at it to the point that I feared it might break. When my husband was pushing the Jeep Rio Plus Stroller, he felt that it was rather unbalanced and unstable when going up and down kerbs.
There’s a shopping basket and ‘saddle bag’ included but both are quite small - although they’ll be sufficient for small shopping trips.
The folding and unfolding of the Jeep Rio Plus stroller was a bit awkward initially, although with time, I’m sure will become easier. In order to fold the Jeep Rio Plus stroller you have to release a second safety catch, which is hard to remember when you’re rushing to get the pushchair in the boot in a busy car park.
The RRP of the Jeep Rio Plus stroller is £159.99 (you can find lower prices online), which is a bit pricey for what you’re getting. I think there are better strollers out there for less that will tick the same boxes as the Jeep Rio Plus stroller.
Who is the Hauck Jeep Rio Plus Stroller for?
Urban families with a small boot or limited storage space.
The Hauck Jeep Rio Plus stroller is a lightweight, comfortable stroller that allows you to easily do a bit of shopping in town. However, the price and the flimsy feel of the stroller may not make it seem such a promising choice.
