Baby Jogger City Tour 2 pushchair review

Awarded Silver in the Best Lightweight Stroller category of the MadeForMums Awards 2022, it packs a lot of great features into its small package.

Tested by

Helen is mum to 2 boys aged 7 months and 3-and-a-half years. She tested the Baby Jogger City Tour 2 mainly with the baby in her hometown in Surrey, including on public transport.

What are your first impressions of the Baby Jogger City Tour 2?

The pushchair came in one pleasingly small box, neatly folded with just the wheels to add before use. Instructions are provided in picture form, to help you work out all the different positions as well as how to open and close it. They weren’t the simplest to follow, but there are plenty of online guides available if you’re struggling.

How easy is it to build?

Very. The wheels come separately but they just need to be clicked in to place.

How does the City Tour 2 compare to the City Tour?

The big change with this model, compared to the previous Baby Jogger City Tour, is that this time you can attach a carrycot, (sold separately, £120) to make it suitable from birth. The other change is that the carry bag provided is not a backpack this time, but a light bag that you would carry over your shoulder or in your hand.

How easy is the City Tour 2 to push and steer?

Very – it’s an absolute dream to push! The 2 front wheels swivel, making it incredibly easy to steer and my 3-and-a-half-year-old also enjoyed pushing his brother around in the park.

One of the real benefits for me, was being able to push the baby in the pushchair with one hand while holding his big brother’s hand, which was particularly useful in busy streets and the shopping centre. The joy of the one hand push was also praised by many parent reviews on the Baby Jogger website, too.

With the baby, going up and down kerbs, even the larger kind, was no problem because the pushchair is so light, and you don’t need to push down very hard at the back to make the wheels lift.

Even with my older son in the pushchair, it felt light to push – although naturally the extra weight meant a bit more of a workout for me when it came to larger kerbs.

The wheels are not made for rough terrain and, while small areas and grass weren’t a problem for us, due to the lightness of the buggy, I’m not sure they would last too long if you tried to do many trips off the beaten track.

How lightweight is it to carry around?

I tended to use it going out from home or the car, so I didn’t need to carry it far. However, it is easy to transport as it has a handle, or you can put it in the carry bag provided for longer journeys. At just 6.5kg – similar to the LeClerc Magic Fold Plus Stroller, £359, at 6.6kg, or the Didofy Aster, £275, at 6.2kg – it’s light to pick up and simple to lift inside the boot.

Does the Baby Jogger City Tour 2’s seat lie-flat?

Like most pushchairs in this category, it doesn’t lie completely flat, so isn’t suitable for babies under 6 months (unless used with the carrycot), but I was pleasantly surprised at how close to flat it got. My baby son certainly liked it, and we both enjoyed one of his best naps, with him falling asleep almost instantly after I lowered it and not waking for nearly 2 hours! The large hood also helped to keep him in cosy darkness.

How easy is the Baby Jogger City Tour 2 to fold?

The one-handed folding mechanism is one of the main selling-points of this pushchair – in fact, it’s what the majority of the parent reviews online cite as the main reason they opt for the Baby Jogger City Tour 2.

The first part is easy and has a simple to use lever in the push bar, which you can move with your thumb while pushing forward to make the pushchair fold.

You then grab the carry handle to pull the whole thing together and then attach the clasp to keep it shut. It took me some practice to do this and, while I managed to fold it down using one hand, despite several attempts, I found it impossible to attach the final clasp single handed.

I found unfolding it even trickier, as you have to remember to open up the front wheels before you start pulling it into place. Several times I tried to use my leg to nudge it open instead, which just meant bruising my shin. However, once I got the hang of it, I found it a quick and painless process.

How compact is the Baby Jogger City Tour 2 when folded?

This was one of the highlights of the product for me. It folds very small (L:25xW:49.5xH:59cm) which means it fits easily inside even small car boots, with room to spare. This truly is a compact fold, similar to the Micralite ProFold Graphite at L:24xW:44xH:51.5cm, and the Joolz Aer at L:21.5xW:45xH:53.5cm.

I was even able to store the pushchair in the front seat of my car (a Seat Leon) which was brilliant when I went away for a few days with both boys, as it freed up the boot space for our luggage and their many bags of toys!

Storing it flat is great, but I would have liked to be able to stand it upright at home, especially as that is how it is shown in some of the marketing photos. I found if I didn’t prop it up at a certain angle next to a wall, it would simply slide down and clatter to the floor, so I ended up storing it flat, which took up more space.

How well does it work on public transport?

I used the pushchair on the bus with the baby inside with no problems. Even when the driver didn’t park very close to the kerb, getting it on and off was a breeze compared with the larger travel system I am used to, because it is so easy to lift up onto the step.

Its size and ease of movement meant I was also able to manoeuvre it down the aisle and back into position to ensure there was space for a wheelchair user on one of our journeys. My baby son slept through both journeys in the lie-flat position too, so clearly found it very comfortable.

What’s the chassis like on the Baby Jogger City Tour 2?

The chassis is black matt with shiny circles on areas that fold, with the brand name printed on them adding extra design and interest.

It felt very sturdy despite being lightweight. I did find the material had a few scratches after just a few days of use, but these were relatively minor and didn’t spoil the look of the pushchair too severely.

How do you rate the buggy handle?

The main thing to note is that you cannot adjust the height, which may be a deal-breaker for some potential buyers.

I found it very comfortable, but at 5ft 4ins I’m at the lower end of average height so those with longer legs may not be so impressed. My husband, at 5ft 8ins, said it was a little low for his liking.

However, it is padded and comfortable to hold and push and only needs the lightest touch to move.

What do you think of the seat unit on the Baby Jogger City Tour 2?

The City Tour 2 is front-facing only, so my 7-month-old had the chance to look out on the world earlier than my older son did with our travel system. He really seemed to enjoy it, looking around with interest at everything around him.

The seat itself was great for a 7-month-old, but an older child may prefer it to sit a bit more upright than it was possible to do with this seat. My 3-and-a-half-year-old doesn’t particularly enjoy sitting in pushchairs anymore but did try it out and liked the novelty of being pushed, particularly over bumpy pavements.

I found the 5-point harness simple to use it, although I imagine it could be a bit fiddly to connect with a wrigglier passenger or in a rush.

I appreciated the adjustable calf support, not always a feature of lightweight pushchairs, which really helped make both children look and feel more comfortable. My older son, who is above average height, liked the support, although his legs did still dangle over the edge. It is very easy to adjust with a simple lever underneath to push the seat up or down.

Is it easy to adjust the seat on the buggy?

I didn’t particularly like the mechanism for lowering and raising the Baby Jogger City Tour 2’s seat to and from the lie-flat position, as I found the toggle system stiff to move and difficult to operate without looking at it, which meant kneeling behind the pushchair to see it properly.

While I was able to lower it with my baby sitting inside, it was far more difficult to raise it again once he’d woken up and was keen to see the world again.

Is the Baby Jogger City Tour 2 easy to clean?

My baby is fully embracing finger foods at the moment, and sticky fingers left a bit of a mess on a couple of occasions, but the smooth material was easy to clean with a damp cloth. You can also remove the seat cover to machine wash on cold or on a delicate cycle, and the wheels and plastic or metal parts are easy enough to wash with warm water and mild soap if you need to.

What’s the hood like?

The hood is a decent size and comes down fairly far over the seat. We were lucky to enjoy a few sunny days when I was testing the pushchair, but it didn’t quite shield my younger son from the glare of the sun as he sat quite low in the chair, being just a young baby. My older boy was more covered by the hood, which provides UV50+ coverage on hot days.

I particularly loved the mesh peephole at the top, which meant I could see my baby’s little head moving around, taking in his surroundings. Crucially, it also meant I could see when he started to loll forward to go to sleep, avoiding having to keep walking round to check. This was a real selling point of the pushchair for me and sped up our journeys.

What are the wheels like on the Baby Jogger City Tour 2?

The wheels are small and made of rubber composite, with suspension only in the front two, which makes them unsuitable for really rough terrain but brilliant for going about town and trips to the shops.

There are quite a lot of uneven pavements near me, but the City Tour 2 handled them beautifully and neither my baby nor my older son seemed to mind a slightly bumpy ride.

You can set the front wheels to straight if required, but I found the swivel feature so convenient for manoeuvring round obstacles and narrow pavements I kept it on this setting for each journey.

How good are the brakes?

The brake is positioned on the back-right wheel and operated with your foot. I found it worked excellently, holding the pushchair firmly in place. Even on the bus I didn’t need to worry about it sliding about when the driver braked firmly or turned a sharp corner.

My only gripe is that you have to release it using the upper side of your shoe to push the brake upwards, rather than pushing it down at the back with the sole, as on other models, which I don’t think will do my suede boots much good in the long term!

How do you rate the basket on the Baby Jogger City Tour 2?

The basket isn’t massive, but it makes good use of the space available, making up for its lack of height with its length. I was able to store useful items like my phone, purse, water bottles and snacks, as well as fit in a few bits of non-bulky shopping. It has a weight allowance of 6.8kg, which is pretty decent.

I do have a tendency to overfill, so I did find that a couple of things spilled out, but if you’re sensible, you should be able to store what you need with no issues. The big win is that you can access the basket from the back, front and side of the pushchair, making it easy to see what you need without having to root around.

What’s in the box?

• Pushchair
• Wheels
• Carry bag

Additional accessories

• Raincover
• Carrycot and attachments
• Parent console
• Glider Board
• Child Tray

What would you have liked to have known about the Baby Jogger City Tour 2 before purchasing?

I would definitely have liked to know that the pushchair is front-facing only and there is no raincover provided, as well as the fact the handle is not height-adjustable.

Who would the Baby Jogger City Tour 2 be most useful for?

I think this would work best as a second pushchair for trips away, especially to towns and cities, and for local journeys, including on public transport.

Is the Baby Jogger City Tour 2 worth the money?

Although at the expensive end of the lightweight buggy price range, I’d say yes; the convenience of the compact size and the sheer joy of its manoeuvrability make it worth the spend.

How does it compare to similar pushchairs?

Where can I buy the Baby Jogger City Tour 2?

Available at Kiddies Kingdom and Pramworld.

MadeForMums verdict:

A fabulous pushchair, perfect for trips into town and short trips away. It really fulfils its brief of being lightweight, compact, nippy and simple to use, and it’s probably the most manoeuvrable pushchair I’ve ever used. I would recommend it to parents looking for a second buggy, especially for packing in the car for holidays when space is at a premium.