What we love
The seatback zips are easy to use, and have the effect of making the seat look very sleek. In fact, everything about the Nuna is sleek – the handles for the folding mechanism are tucked away at the sides, as are the buttons for adjusting the handle, and the shopping tray slots underneath so that you can hardly see it. Nothing disturbs the smooth lines, so it looks very modern and minimalist.
The handle is easy to push. It slides so smoothly up and down to adjust the height, and although it’s not padded, it’s really comfy. Because the Nuna is so manoeuvrable, I kept finding myself pushing it with one hand even when I didn’t need to. This makes it great if you have a toddler with you, and it also has a sturdy footrest for your older child to hitch a ride on (although I’m sure this isn’t something that Mamas & Papas recommend!)
One of the things that make the Nuna so easy to manoeuvre is the fact that the wheels are set really low to the ground. You could turn it on a penny.
The folding mechanism is very clever. The whole pushchair is basically hinged in the middle, so that you just flip the buttons and it folds in half. Because the whole wheel section is almost flat, when it’s folded it’s really compact and narrow, and the handle slides right down to make it even smaller, great for fitting in the car (I just pop it in front of the passenger seat). It’s also easy to pick up and carry with the handle, and has a Velcro strap to hold it all together, which is a great idea. You can’t fold it with one hand, but to unfold it you just unstrap it and flip it open.
This pushchair looks fantastic with its bright colour, and it looks very different to anything else on the market – great if you want to stand out in the crowd! You get the feeling that a lot of thought has gone into making the Nuna look great, and also into making it compact and neat to use and store.
What to watch out for
That shopping tray – it’s pretty useless! It’s so narrow you can’t get an A4-sized magazine (or child’s school book bag, more to the point) into it, and it’s angled so that it’s pretty much impossible even to fit in a small bag of groceries. You can’t hang shopping on the handle, so all in all the Nuna isn’t a good choice if you’re after a bit of retail therapy, or even a loaf of bread and some bananas. I wish they’d given a bit more thought to making it practical to use: it needs some other kind of pocket on the hood or seat back, or a bag to hang from the handle, as there’s just no way of transporting all the kit required for family life.
There’s one downside of its incredibly tiny turning circle: it’s tricky to get up and down steps, and in and out of doorways. The brake makes this a problem, too. I do love it, as it’s easy to use and really secure, but it does tend to knock on steps as you go down, so that you get stuck when the wheels won’t move!
It’s just outrageous to sell a buggy at this price that doesn’t come with a raincover! It’s not suitable from birth, and barely reclines at all.
Who is the Nuna best for?
Minimalist mums with plenty of cash.
This is a pushchair that has a lot to love about it, and its problems would be quite easy to fix. More room for stuff, a raincover, a seat that reclines lower and a slightly lower price bracket could make it pretty near perfect!
