The seat reclines to four positions including lie-flat, enabling you to use the soft carrycot. This carrycot is ideal for transporting a young baby until they’re old enough to sit upright in the buggy. There are three sheets of stiff plastic to line the carrycot, which you have to insert prior to use to make it safer, and the carrycot allows your baby to travel in a parent-facing direction.
Mothercare tell me that the car seat is suitable from birth up to 13kg (12-15 months), and the buggy is for use up to 15kg (roughly 3 years of age).
The car seat is a basic model that clicks into place with ease on top of the buggy and then secures with two straps either side. It fits in your car with a three-point seatbelt or the Graco Auto Baby Infant Car Seat Base, which costs £34.99. It’s an alternative to ISOFIX, and it remains sat in your car, saving you a lot of bother with seatbelts.
To give the Trenton Deluxe travel system a fair trial, as well as my toddler Esme trying the buggy, my friend’s 6-month-old son Jonathan helped test the car seat and carrycot.
What we love
At £280.00 the Trenton Deluxe is good value for money. It comes with rather a lot of frills though and that won’t be to everyone’s taste. I was surprised how helpful I found the clock and how many times I checked to see what the temperature was (though, we have had sub-zero temperatures lately and it remained sat on ‘0’, so it wasn’t always accurate).
The Trenton Deluxe buggy has large lockable, swivel wheels and good suspension, which is why at times I found it so easy to push – even over snow. And as long as I was pushing on the straight and narrow I could get up a good pace, even with my daughter plus a full load of shopping onboard. That hopping basket is the business.
The buggy reclines well and is soft and padded making it a comfortable ride. There’s a newborn baby liner that fits in both the carrycot and buggy. The carrycot sits well in the pushchair and worked really well, except it was too small for 6-month-old Jonathan.
All covers and seating (including the carrycot) are washable, making this a practical buy.
The car seat is easy to install and it is worth remembering that at 3.7kg, it is one of the lighter models on the market.
What to watch out for
Parents of taller toddlers may well find their child grows out of the buggy much sooner than expected. Esme, just over 2, is quite tall for her age but only weighs 14kg and was still sat with her knees up under the bumper bar/play tray.
Disappointingly, the cosytoes offered no growing room whatsoever.
The carrycot is supposedly suitable for babies up to 6 months, and Jonathan, just 6 months, was very snug indeed.
The Trenton Deluxe is heavy and I would not advise travelling on public transport with it, so it’s definitely best for those with a large car boot to transport it in.
Although I whizzed along on the flat, I found inclines hard going and stairs even more so. Also, the one handlebar is not height adjustable and sits very tall, which won’t work for everyone.
While the Trenton Deluxe folds down easily and one-handed as its claims, I can’t begin that folding process with one hand. (You have to twist a bar on the handle). Also, once folded there’s no clasp to hold it all together. That seems a little odd, considering when you pick it up by the carry strap, it all begins to unfold if you’re not careful.
Putting the buggy together was fine but do be warned you may need help attaching the rear wheels like I did. After installing the axel, there are two really fiddly clips to insert that hold the wheels in place.
I also found many of the actions on the Trenton difficult to operate, such as adjusting the seat, lowering the shopping basket and opening the plastic box to put my purse in. Perhaps over time these would ease?
The car seat sits down rather low in the car and I found there was not much legroom for 6-month-old Jonathan at all. His mum was a big fan of the cover that Velcroed on top keeping him snug, but due to being restrained, Jonathan wasn’t! For a newborn or much smaller infant of course, this would all work extremely well.
Who is the Mothercare Trenton Deluxe travel system best for?
Car–driving parents with smaller babies and a large boot.
The Mothercare Trenton Deluxe travel system is big and at times heavy, but it moves well and is a pleasure to push on the flat. With its more unusual features - such as its basket and temperature gauge - it offers far more than your average buggy. However, just be aware that your child may grow out of it sooner than you imagine.
