Baby Jogger City Select 2 pushchair review

What were your first impressions of the pushchair?

Taking the City Select 2 out of the box, I was impressed by its sleek and simple black design. Baby Jogger wasn’t a company I was previously familiar with, but on first impressions, its looks matched up to my other prams from well-known brands – the UPPAbaby Vista and Silver Cross Wayfarer.

How easy is it to build the Baby Jogger City Select 2 pushchair?

Very. It was straightforward to build, with simple and intuitive picture-based instructions that were clear to follow. Once I pulled it all out of the boxes, I set up the pram on my own in less than 10 minutes during naptime.

How does the City Select 2 compare to the Baby Jogger City Select?

The City Select 2 is pretty similar to Baby Jogger’s original City Select in design and appearance, with a few minor alterations made to improvement its usability. One was to make it easier to fold with the pushchair seat attached, and the other was to change the handbrake to a footbrake as is more commonly found on prams.

What do you think of the carrycot on the Baby Jogger City Select 2?

It felt sturdy and of good quality, although at 5kg it's fairly heavy to lift away from the chassis. I did feel the Velcro which attached the foot cover to the carrycot was a little flimsy and easy to knock off – I would have preferred a zip. I found the carrycot to be a little narrower than usual, although this did have its advantages when navigating skinny pavements and public transport.

Due to the City Select’s multi-configuration design, the Deluxe Carrycot 2 sits high up on the chassis. This was perfect for my height (5ft 7in) and my 6ft 2in husband found the pram very comfortable to use with the handlebar extended. The height made the carrycot feel very close, and it was easy to check on my baby with minimal leaning or bending forward – something which would have been a godsend for the first few weeks post-c-section.

However, I felt the height of the bassinet was a potential design flaw for shorter people. While you can attach the carrycot to the second lower attachment point on the chassis, where you would put a second seat, the handlebar then gets in the way of being able to easily lean down to baby.

It was also a bit of a pain that when sat down next to the pram in cafes and pubs, it was impossible to see into the carrycot without standing up. I think anyone under my height might struggle to use the pram to its full capacity.

Is the Baby Jogger City Select 2 carrycot comfortable for a baby?

My little boy loved sleeping in the Deluxe Carrycot 2 and had some of his best naps in recent months in there while out and about (up to 3 hours, the actual dream) so it seems he found it very comfortable! The mattress was firm, supportive, breathable and waterproof, in keeping with UK safe sleeping guidance.

The carrycot had deep sides which made for a cosy space inside and Baby Jogger say the bassinet is safe for overnight sleep if not attached to the pram chassis.

My little one is a fairly low centile baby and already didn't have loads more room left to grow due to the length, but particularly the narrowness, of the bassinet. While the instructions suggest the carrycot is suitable for babies up to 6 months of age, larger centile youngsters may grow out of this sooner.

One issue I did have is that the fabric lining of the carrycot wasn’t flush with the outer plastic layer and puffed out. While this created a cosy nest for baby, it made the available sleep space even narrower. A few times I found my son had ended up with his nose and face pressed against the side of the carrycot, which I wasn’t happy about from a safe sleep perspective, and so moved him away from the edge.

How easy is the carrycot to add on/take off the Baby Jogger City Select 2 pushchair?

Lifting the carrycot off the pram’s frame requires pressing a button on either side of the bottom of the carrycot at once. They’re not memory buttons, so you do have to press with both hands at the same time to lift the bassinet away.

It’s not a particularly fiddly process, but I do prefer to see baby items made with one-handed use in mind, for obvious reasons. This does make it safer to remove with baby inside, however, as you always have both hands on the frame. I didn’t find this very easy, just due to the depth of the bassinet, but my husband found it more straightforward with his longer arms.

How easy is it to fold the Baby Jogger City Select 2 pushchair?

I found the City Select 2 easy to fold, with a simple safety guard you pull to separate the frame before deploying the finger triggers on the handlebar. As my baby is only 4 months old, we tested the pram with the carrycot, which had to be removed prior to folding. However, when the pushchair seat is used the chassis will fold down with the seat attached (and facing either direction, although world-facing is easier), which is really useful.

How compact is the City Select 2 when folded?

When folded the Baby Jogger City Select 2 measures L103cm x W65cm x H31cm – a little bigger than other single to double pushchairs like the iCandy Peach 7 (L70cm x W61cm x H29cm) and the Cybex Gazelle S (L74.5cm x W56cm x H32cm).

The frame when folded was comparable to my UPPAbaby Vista pram, which has similarly large wheels. I found it fairly bulky but could be stored without too much issue in a car boot or cupboard at home, although it won’t stand up on its own so needs to be laid flat or propped up. At 12.5kg, it certainly isn’t light, but I could lift it up and put it in the car without too much difficulty.

The bassinet obviously takes up a lot of space due to its length and depth, but handily for storage will compress down concertina-style by folding the bars inside which give it its structure. Together, the frame and bassinet took up the majority of the floor space of my fairly roomy boot, but piled on top of each other there was space for a few bags of shopping too.

How easy is the Baby Jogger City Select 2 to push and steer?

The lightweight but sturdy frame meant the pram could be pushed one-handed without too much difficulty, which I appreciated when trying to walk baby and dog on my own. I also found its extra height made for a smoother ride when mounting high kerbs and going up and down steps, although this was much more of a wrist workout when the basket underneath contained a full load.

I particularly liked how smooth I found cornering and steering. The wheels had a tight turning circle which was especially appreciated when manoeuvring the pram around my narrow hallway, on trains and buses and in city centre shops.

One area I felt the City Select 2 could be improved was the front-wheel suspension, which despite being billed as offering a ‘more comfortable ride’ felt a little rigid – going over cobbles and icy grass (yes, in the interests of intrepid journalism, I took the pram out in the snow) the pushchair felt noticeably bumpier, and my little one got quite the bounce around.

How well does the Baby Jogger City Select 2 work on public transport?

Living in a city, using public transport with baby is par for the course, and the City Select 2 didn’t let me down. The narrow carrycot and tight turning circle meant I felt confident taking it on trains and buses. The large wheels also made it easy to navigate getting the pram on and off the train on my own – although this being Liverpool and Scousers being the friendliest people in the world, I received many offers of help.

What’s the chassis like?

The all-black design was sleek and stylish but didn't have any of the metallic accents I've come to associate with more premium brands. This did make the frame more scratch-friendly however, and it still looks as good as new.

How do you rate the buggy handle on the Baby Jogger City Select 2 pushchair?

The adjustable handle was smooth and straightforward; one of the best I've come across. It had a decent range of height options – at 5ft 7in, I used the handlebar without extending it, while my 6ft 2in husband found having it extended was more comfortable.

The handlebar was comfortable to hold, with a textured faux leather finish. However, as mentioned earlier I feel people shorter than me might find the handlebar and positioning of the carrycot too high to use comfortably.

What do you think of the City Select 2 seat unit?

As my baby is only just 4 months old, we weren't able to test the seat unit with him – Baby Jogger recommend the upright seat is not used for infants under 6 months and should not be used until babies can sit and hold their head up without assistance.

The seat unit looked roomy and spacious though, with comfortable padding and a secure 5-point harness. I particularly appreciated how the pram folds with the seat unit attached. It can be installed world-facing or parent-facing and has multiple recline options.

What’s the hood like?

Baby Jogger claims to provide rigorous and intensive pram testing and their marketing says each pram canopy gets opened up to 10,000 times. Maybe I was unlucky, but that unfortunately didn’t seem the case with mine.

I found the pram hood buttons stuck when trying to raise it – you needed to push them both in together with both hands at the same time as lifting it up, which was a tricky knack to master. I also found it difficult to fully raise the pram hood until the mechanism clicked into place, meaning a couple of times the hood popped back down when I was out and about. However, I did love the fact the canopy, when fully up, gave really good coverage and provided UV 50+ protection, with a peephole window for keeping an eye on baby.

What are the wheels like on the Baby Jogger City Select 2 pushchair?

I loved the City Select 2's large foam-filled, all-terrain tyres, which made city centre outings and off-road park trips alike a doddle – smoothly handling muddy park paths and bumpy pavements with ease. The ‘never-flat’ wheels meant I felt comfortable pushing it over uneven and potentially sharp surfaces, such as gravel.

As mentioned above, it was the suspension which let the pram down and caused bumpiness on very rough ground, rather than the tyres. They clicked into place on the axis and into the frame very quickly when setting up the pram.

How good are the City Select 2's brakes?

The City Select 2 uses a footbrake pedal in place of the handbrake featured in the older design. The pedal was right in the middle of the pram base and very easy to put on and off, but without there being any risk of knocking or kicking it accidentally while walking.

The brake felt secure and held well but had a little bit of give, which I liked as it meant you could rock the pram slightly indoors when you needed to (chasing that elusive long lunchtime nap usually) while being confident it wasn't going anywhere.

What's the basket like on the Baby Jogger City Select 2 pushchair?

Accessing the basket on the City Select 2 was a piece of cake thanks to the higher height of the carrycot leaving a bigger gap underneath. I found this a godsend for trips into the city or nipping to the supermarket and could fit pretty much my whole weekly shop in its 7kg capacity.

Day to day, I used it to stash my son’s nappy bag and found everything was very secure in the basket. The zip at the back also made it easy to throw things in and grab them quickly when needed. I can imagine the basket being a little less accessible, and capacity reduced when using the pushchair in double mode.

What’s in the box?

• City Select 2 pram chassis
• 4 x wheels
• City Select 2 stroller seat including canopy and belly bar
• Deluxe Carrycot 2
• Deluxe Carrycot 2 footguard
• Weather shield
• Adaptors to attach Deluxe Carrycot 2 to older style Baby Jogger pram chassis (if required)

What are the additional accessories that you can buy?

The idea is that this is an all-in-one pram that grows with your family, but you do have to fork out more for all these extra conversions. Separately, you can buy:

• Second seat kit, £239
• Glider board, £86
• Second seat adaptors, £27
• Car seat adaptors, £54 (for Maxi-Cosi, Cybex and BeSafe infant carrier car seats)
• Parent console, £40

What did you think of the packaging of the Baby Jogger City Select 2?

As someone who tries to make eco-friendly choices, I was disappointed to see a lot of bulky polystyrene packaging – something which isn’t recyclable in Liverpool. Seeing as Baby Jogger promote their sustainability credentials, I would’ve liked to have seen a recyclable alternative.

The packaging was secure though, and the stroller and all compartments felt well-packaged. Other than the polystyrene, the packaging was mainly cardboard with a few pieces of plastic wrapping and didn’t feel excessive.

How sustainable is the City Select 2?

The canopy, padded seat and carrycot are all made with TENCEL fabric, which is made from wood fibres and is compostable and biodegradable.

What are the repair options if the Baby Jogger City Select 2 pushchair breaks?

Baby Jogger provides a lifetime warranty on pushchair frames which have any manufacturer defects. All other components are covered by a 2-year warranty in case of any issues. Baby Jogger works with approved repair centres and dealers such as Buggy Pitstop, which also sells spare and replacement parts. Their website also suggests replacement parts can be bought from them directly by contacting customer care.

Can the City Select 2 pushchair be used with a car seat to create a travel system?

Yes, the pushchair can be used with selected Maxi-Cosi, Cybex and BeSafe car seats to create a travel system, but you must buy £54 car seat adaptors separately.

Now you’ve tested it, what would you have wanted to know before purchasing the Baby Jogger City Select 2 pushchair?

It would have been really helpful to know it existed before purchasing our UPPAbaby Vista, as the higher-up carrycot being easier to access without bending forward would have made a massive difference in the early days post-c-section for me.

Who would the City Select 2 pushchair be most useful for?

People who want a pushchair that can handle all but the bumpiest terrain, but don’t want to commit to a full 3-wheeler jogging pram.

Is the Baby Jogger City Select 2 pushchair worth the money?

With an RRP of £899, the Baby Jogger City Select 2 is similarly priced to other pushchair and carrycot pram bundles on the market, and a little cheaper than popular premium choices such as the iCandy Peach 7 (£1,149) and UPPAbaby Vista V2 (£1,099).

One of the City Select 2's main USPs is that it can grow not just with your baby but with your family, seating up to 3 kids – and potentially making it a sounder investment. However, all these add-ons come at an extra cost of hundreds of pounds.

Compared to the other prams I’ve used (UPPAbaby Vista and Silver Cross Wayfarer) I did find some of the City Select 2's fittings and details felt a little cheap – the pram hood buttons stuck, the hood was difficult to fully raise, the Velcro on the foot cover felt flimsy and the carrycot smelled strongly of plastic when I first unboxed it.

Where can I buy the Baby Jogger City Select 2 pushchair?

It's available at Natural Baby Shower and Amazon.

MadeForMums verdict

Overall, I found the City Select 2 handled busy city life and train journeys just as easily as it did countryside walks, and I would continue using it. If you’re looking for an all-rounder carrycot and pram bundle that comes in at slightly cheaper than some of the other best-known brands, this is well worth your consideration.