Graco Metro review

Their mission is simple: to create innovative, safe, good value products with parents and babies lifestyles, surroundings and budgets in mind.

The new Graco Metro is testament to this with its lightweight agile frame and stylish looks - it’s tailor-made for today’s busy parents who need performance as well as practicality for city living.

Designed to be convenient, lightweight and compact with the added benefit of being suitable to use from birth, the stroller comes in a funky white and black frame and jazzy hood.

And when paired with the Graco Snugfix 0+ car seat it turns into a nifty travel system.

Is it as lightweight as promised?

Yep, it really is! At 7.5kg the Graco Metro is very light, especially compared to a similar sized pushchair, such as the Bugaboo Bee’s heftier at 9.2kg.

So is the frame strong?

Yes, the buggy is made from a lightweight but robust aluminium material that feels really solid, thanks to its nice chunky handle.

I was worried that a lightweight pushchair would feel flimsy, not substantial enough for a newborn, but was pleasantly surprised by the feel and handle of the Metro.

Would you recommend it for use from birth?

Now here’s the thing - while I have enjoyed the nimbleness of the Metro and its sleek appearance, and not having to worry if I will fit on the bus with the other buggies etc., I don’t think I would recommend this from birth, especially if you would be using it everyday or using it for long spells at a time.

The problem is it’s only forward-facing, so you can’t see your little one when out and about and there’s no window on the hood.

With such precious cargo and being a worried first-time mum, I couldn’t relax on our excursions having to keep stopping the pushchair so I could peer around the front to check on her.

And although the Metro does have an element of suspension on the wheels, I did find that my baby’s head rattled around a lot, especially over uneven pavements and surfaces.

This is why I have ‘no headhugger’ as one of my negatives. However, she did nearly always sleep, so this might be my own hang-up rather than an actual issue.

I felt that she was vulnerable facing away from me with her head unsupported and that she was a bit exposed to the elements. I found I used the rain cover most of the time to stop the wind whistling in and to give me a sense of reassurance.

Is it comfortable for your baby?

Yes, but for an older baby. The seat liner is nicely padded and my baby didn’t have any trouble sleeping in there. It would have been nice to have a head hugger included as, although there is some suspension, her head wobbled around quite a bit on the less even pavements. The harness was easily adjustable and fitted well.

The multi-position recline seat does not totally lay flat - there is a small incline to the seat back. This suited my baby as she prefers it but if you are looking for a completely flat recline the Metro can’t offer this.

How is interacting with your little one when in the buggy?

This is a major downside for the Metro. The seat is only front-facing, but for a newborn you really need to be able to see them. Ideally there would be a window in the hood so you can check on them without stopping and going to the front of the pushchair. I found I did this constantly.

Tell us more about the seat unit

Considering my baby is only weeks old I feel like the seat might be a bit narrow for a toddler. Unfortunately, I don’t know any toddlers that could test this theory. When laid in the seat with her arms up she is almost touching the sides. For a newborn baby it was nice that she fitted snuggly but I can imagine it might be a bit tight for a bigger child.

The button to release the harness required a nice firm push, so when she’s older I don’t have to worry about inquisitive fingers - especially when I can’t see them!

How does it ride on different surfaces?

We took the Metro out on a variety of trips, from central London to the local park, tiny cafe to the supermarket, by varied means including bus, train, car and on foot.

In general the Metro copes with everyday city life really well. Pavements, even relatively uneven ones, are still pleasant to push on thanks to the chunky foam handle and suspension. I was able to push it with one hand most of the time when we were out.

Going up and down curbs was fine, although I did prefer the front wheels locked when getting on and off the bus or train - going swivel wheels first meant the pushchair was harder to steer and keep steady on these occasions.

Because of its compactness, hopping on the bus was easy. It fitted down the aisle no problem and we even managed to share the pushchair area with two other buggies!

On the softer uneven surfaces, like grass in the park, it coped quite well when the front swivel wheels were locked.

Over harder uneven surfaces, like cobbles or particularly poor pavements, it was a nightmare - I really felt every bump, as did my baby. We would have to make our way across the surface really slowly until I found a smoother bit. You would also hear a bit of a rattle from the wheels.

The breaks are not too bad. The one thing I did find was that I could flick the brake pedal down but it wouldn’t be clicked in all the way, so not effective. Once I noticed this I was careful to make sure the brake pedal was all the way down and clicked in place.

When it was windy I felt she was quite exposed as the hood is quite tall, which is why we kept the raincover on to keep it nice and snug.

As I kept the raincover on the whole time we were always prepared. When the raincover is down there is quite a lot of wind resistance and it’s notably harder to push.

If I had been testing the Graco Metro in the winter months with a newborn, I would have been worried how I was going to keep her warm enough without a footmuff. This will have to be an additional purchase for anyone wanting to use this pushchair in the winter. We went out with a cellular blanket on most days and I was constantly adjusting it, stopping it falling on the floor when she had a little kick about.

What do you think of the handle?

I really liked the solidness of the handle and the pushchair felt quite responsive to manoeuvre around. I felt I had good control when pushing with 2 hands.

However, after pushing it for a while (about 30 mins), I started to realise that my arms were aching a bit. The issue is, being so compact, the Metro is quite narrow and so is the handle bar. I felt my hands, even when on the corners of the bar, were slightly too close together and I was walking slightly unnaturally to compensate. My partner definitely noticed this and had to push it with his hands to the side of the handle bar.

Saying that, the height of the handle is fixed, I found this perfect height for me at 5ft 6", but my partner felt it was slightly too low for him at 5ft 10". He also found he kicked the back axle a lot due to the handle being too short.

How does it fold?

The Metro is easy to fold and can be done using just one hand on the handle bar. When it folds the footrest scrapes the floor and will start to get scratched after only a couple of times. Even with the rain cover on - which I kept on constantly - it folded without a problem.

Unfolding it, in my opinion, requires two hands. Once the clip holding it folded is released, it’s best to push the armbar with one hand and pull the handle bar up with the other. It would have been handy if the clip had been in a contrasting colour to the frame, as I always had to hunt for it before I could unclip it.

The fold button is located in the middle of the handle and it’s quite big and chunky, and takes up valuable hand space. Ideally when pushing it one handed, I wanted to put my hand in the middle but it was awkward holding the smooth plastic.

Is it compact when folded?

Yes, while it doesn’t have an umbrella fold, the Metro is reasonably compact when folded (H33xW61xD104cm.)

It fitted in our awkward VW Beetle’s boot with a bit of jostling, once in we still had room for some shopping.

And as it’s quite shallow, I found I could slot it in quite a few places around the house. We kept it folded at home in our narrow hallway, or when it needed to be completely out the way it, tucked in nicely behind the living room door! It’s a shame it doesn’t stand up by itself as this would have been a real plus, although it was easy enough to prop it up on it’s end. Make sure the brake is on before you fold so that it will prop up and not roll and fall over.

What are the basket and storage pockets like?

For a compact pushchair the basket on the Metro is good size, quite deep and easily accessible even when chair is fully reclined.

I have quite a big changing bag and, admittedly, it did take up most the room, but on quick excursions when I took the bare minimum, I could get a good sized bag of shopping in there plus my jacket. As I left the raincover on all the time this didn’t take up valuable space.

What I found was real big tick for the Metro basket is that it has a ridged edge/opening so it hopefully won’t sag with use/overloading. My other pram has a soft basket, and I find that I can’t actually fill it as the contents bulges over the edge and has a tendency to fall out.

Is the Graco Metro value for money?

Yes and no! At £229.99 it’s not expensive but as mentioned previously, you don’t get any extras with the Metro (apart from the rain cover), so perhaps it’s a little on the pricey side.

Other similarly placed pushchairs like the Cosatto Supa, come with a wealth of extras at the lower price of £200.

Saying that, it can be used with the Graco Snugfix 0+ car seat (£129.99) to make it into a travel system.

Will it be the only buggy you’ll need?

Hmm, maybe. I would suggest for newborns, the Metro is a great additional buggy to have when a bulkier pram/travel system isn’t suitable, for instance when using public transport - albeit quite an expensive addition to have!

If, however you are buying this for an older baby, from about 6 months, this pushchair is all you would need.

What’s in the box?

• Chassis and seat
• Hood
• Raincover
• Armbar
• Instruction booklet
• Wheels
• Seatliner

MadeforMums Verdict?

The Graco Metro is a good looking pushchair that has many plus points, most notably its lightness and petite dimensions. The pushchair would also be well-suited to parents with limited storage, or small car boot, as the Metro is a compact fold - even fitting in our awkward shape boot

I really enjoyed taking it out and being able to hop on buses and fit down narrow shopping aisles, however I wouldn’t recommend it for use from birth.

Not being able to see my baby whilst pushing and the lack of accessories to keep her comfy are, I’m afraid, deal breakers for me. For those with babies that are slightly older, I think you can get more for your money elsewhere.

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