Tested by:
Mum-of-3 Claire tested the iCandy Peach Designer Collection Cerium with her 4-year-old son Teddy and newborn daughter Lottie. They tried it in single mode with both the seat unit and the carrycot, and then as a double buggy with the carrycot and the seat unit together.
First impressions of the iCandy Peach Designer Collection Cerium?
It’s absolutely stunning. The colour of the Cerium’s chassis is truly striking and gives the buggy a sleek and stylish finish. The embossed fabric feels luxurious and soft, and the backpack – which is made from the same fabric – is ideal for stashing nappies, wipes, bottles and all your baby’s essentials. The matching pods are lined with soft black faux fur and look really gorgeous, too.
What age is the iCandy Peach Designer Collection Cerium suitable for?
With the carrycot, the Peach Designer Collection Cerium is suitable from birth. The seat units are suitable for babies from 6 months, up until the child hits 25kg (impressive, compared to the 15kg limit of many pushchairs).
Is the Cerium carrycot comfortable for a newborn?
Once assembled, the carrycot is lovely. Soft, cosy and ideal for transporting newborn babies around. It comes with a firm yet soft mattress and a luxurious white fleece lining. This looks super striking against the black of the chassis and the buggy fabric.
Lottie has had a good few sleeps in the Cerium and I took this as a good sign. The carrycot clicks onto the frame easily and I have been able to transfer it from the chassis into the house without her waking.
What’s the seat unit like for a child?
We tested the seat out with Teddy, our 4 year old. Although he doesn’t use a stroller too often, he is quite small for his age, and if we head out as a whole family of 5, then it can be quite useful to have him in a buggy.
Teddy weighs around 13kg, and the seat unit - as stated by iCandy - can take up to 25kg, which is almost double that. It is extremely sturdy and strong, and I see no reason to believe that it wouldn’t hold that much weight. However, if you have a taller child then they might struggle to get comfy in the seat, as there isn’t a huge amount of leg room, even with the adjustable leg rest.
Can the seat switch between forward and rear-facing?
The Cerium’s seats are both forward and parent-facing and I absolutely love this feature. It’s very easy to switch the position - simply click the seat release and flip the seat whichever way you want.
The seat also reclines smoothly and easily. There is a lever at the top of the seat that allows you to lower and raise the seat unit to three different positions – and you can do it with one hand.
Are there any hidden details?
On the back of the Cerium’s seat units are 2 hidden extras; a ventilation flap and a zip pocket. This pocket is ideal for stashing away keys or a slim wallet and phone if you are just nipping out.
Does the Cerium’s harness feel secure?
The 5-point harness is safe and secure and is padded with the Cerium’s beautiful black, embossed fabric to make sure your toddler is comfortable. It has a great, chunky button that can be unlocked with just one hand, too.
Is the Cerium’s hood useful?
Yes. The canopy is the same for the carrycot and the seat unit. It seems good and solid and comes down really low to create essential shade for young babies. It is SPF50 rated, which is great for the summer.
The hood is covered in the same chic, embossed fabric and is silent when lowering and raising. It also has a little mesh panel for ventilation at the back, which can be used as a viewing window to check your baby when they’re snoozing.
What do you like about the iCandy Peach Designer Collection Cerium’s design?
I often rate a buggy by the quality of its handlebar - I like them chunky, comfy, slightly squishy and height adjustable. The Cerium really delivered here! The beautifully padded bar feels like a high-quality car steering wheel.
It is embossed and looks and feels extremely high-end. It adjusts to 4 different heights – from 95cm to 105cm – and, as I’m tall, this really helps with manoeuvrability.
Can you turn the iCandy Peach Designer Collection Cerium into a double buggy?
Yes, the Cerium comes with adaptors and elevators that allow you to turn it from a single to a double, with the seats staggered one on top of the other. You can place the carrycot at the bottom and the seat unit on top, so you can transport your newborn baby and your older child.
There are also options to use two carrycots or two seat units. We tried the single mode with both the seat unit and the carrycot and then the double with the carrycot and the seat unit together.
Is it easy to switch between single and double mode?
No, the Cerium’s adaptors aren’t the easiest thing to figure out. The images in the manual take a bit of decoding and it took us a few hours to get everything right. Once it was all in place, both Teddy and Lottie seemed very comfy and Teddy loved being able to ride along with his baby sister in tow, even if it was just for short distances before he insisted on getting out again.
It’s huge! It’s easily accessible and can hold up to 10kg in weight - that’s a lot of shopping. It has been designed to perfectly fit the Cerium’s matching backpack changing bag, or you could wear the backpack and use the basket for stashing away other bits. I tested it with the bag, and I was also able to get my water bottle plus the boy’s bottles and snacks, a couple of small bags of shopping and a rogue pack of wet wipes.
How do you fold the iCandy Peach Designer Collection Cerium?
I have always loved how easy iCandy pushchairs are to fold and the Cerium is no exception. To collapse the buggy, you firstly remove the seat unit – this is easily done by pressing in the side clasps – and then you push the handle down to the lowest height using the button on the handlebar. Keeping the button pressed, you simply push the bar and lower it down in one smooth motion. The buggy then collapses down, and you fold it by pulling the strap in the basket.
It auto-locks into place and is free-standing when folded, which makes it brilliant for loading into your car or stashing in a cupboard. It is lightweight enough to lift without struggling, too.
How does the iCandy Peach Designer Collection Cerium compare to other buggies you’ve tried?
The Cerium’s not as easy to fold as some buggies which collapse with the seat unit in place, but this is so simple to take apart and put back together that it really doesn’t matter. We tried loading it onto a bus and didn’t encounter any issues, although it might be a different story if you are doing it solo and must juggle folding the buggy, holding the seat and your baby.
Is the iCandy Peach Designer Collection Cerium easy to steer?
The Cerium moves like a dream and the all-round suspension and smooth-rolling, puncture-proof PU tyres help it glide easily over all surfaces in both single and double mode.
It felt sturdy over both the smooth finish of my parents’ porcelain tiles, as well as the pavement and the slightly bumpy walk to Elijah’s school. I went through some muddy puddles and was able to remove the rear wheels easily to clean them, as there is a central button that allows the wheels to pop out with no effort.
Do you need to buy any iCandy extras?
There are additional extras you can purchase to go alongside your fancy new Cerium. These include a parasol/cupholder clamp, a cupholder, a screen (very similar to the popular Snooze Shade), and two different styles of changing bags. However, none of these are essential.
Who should buy the iCandy Peach Designer Collection Cerium?
If you can afford the steep price tag, this is a buggy that not only delivers on function, but on fashion too. It is chic, sleek and available as a single, double or twin – making it perfect for all kinds of families.
How easy is it to assemble the iCandy Peach Designer Collection Cerium?
The carrycot that comes with the iCandy Cerium was a struggle to put together. The buggy comes with an instruction manual but it only has images, so is only helpful to an extent.
We have 3 kids and have been through a lot of buggies but this carrycot was the hardest to construct – even with my husband’s help. I contacted iCandy to ask if there was a demonstration video available, but was told they’re in the process of updating them.
How do you assemble the Cerium’s carrycot?
It’s not easy! The assembly is difficult because the fabric is very taut, making it hard to connect the zips without a huge amount of brute strength. Also, the zips are all black so – although it looks great – it’s very tricky to pair them up. Finally, the main bracket that connects the carrycot to the chassis starts off at a strange angle, meaning the bassinet looks weird when you first slot it in.
We struggled to understand where we’d gone wrong and only a call to the company resolved it. Essentially, there’s a lever on the external head of the carrycot that needs to be pulled to flip the bracket into the correct position and level it out. However, this lever isn’t shown in the Cerium’s instructions and we would never have figured it out by ourselves.
What’s in the box?
The Cerium bundle comes with a seat unit, carrycot, car seat adaptors (compatible with the Maxi-Cosi Pebble), rain cover, backpack, elevators and fleece-lined duo pod. Only available in black, the ‘dark phantom’ frame, faux leather accents and embossed fabric combine to make a strong style statement. Prices start at £1,300 for the Peach Designer Collection Cerium, rising to £1,535 for the Cerium Double and £1,745.00 for the Cerium Twin.
Where can I buy the iCandy Peach Designer Collection Cerium?
It’s available from iCandy.
The Peach Designer Collection Cerium’s softly embellished fabric is gorgeous and the black metal chassis is head-turning. The strong and sturdy pushchair is perfect for all kinds of terrains, moves like a dream, is easy to collapse and open – even one-handed – and my children seem to love it.
As a previous iCandy user, I know that these buggies are brilliantly made and truly last. We did have some teething problems with the assembly, and with such a steep price tag I do think there should be more assistance for assembly. Overall, it is ideal for those parents looking for something a bit special and who want to make a statement.
Read More...
