The Maxi-Cosi Loola Up travel system consists of the Loola Up stroller, Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix car seat with the option to have a base (either the EasyFix or EasyBase), or if you don’t want the Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix car seat, you can opt for the Bebe Confort Creatis.Fix car seat with its Creatis.Base. I trialled the Loola Up, which is about £270 of the total travel system price, with the Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix car seat, £115, and EasyBase, about £70.
As soon as I unpacked the Maxi-Cosi Loola Up I could tell it had all the features of my faithful Loola, the same clean simple lines that give it a stylish look (in subtle black and silver). It’s incredibly compact, easily fitting into the boot of a small car – and even leaving room for your shopping.
But what really impressed me are some of the improvements that have been made. The Maxi-Cosi Loola Up now has an accessible and very useable shopping basket, plus handy hooks on the insides of the adjustable height handle. They’ve also added suspension to give your baby a smoother ride. I tried this out on both Mia and a baby (kindly borrowed from a friend) and we both liked the reversible seat, so you can have your baby facing you or facing forward as they get older. It’s great for tiny ones as it reclines to flat, and the seat is easy to adjust with one hand, by just flicking the handle at the back.
The matching Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix car seat is just as good looking and easy to use as the Loola Up, with high sides to protect your little one, and is suitable until 13kg. You can fit it either with seat belt or with the Maxi-Cosi EasyFix and the Maxi-Cosi EasyBase. I had the EasyFix, which meant getting the seat in and out of the car (even with the weight of a baby) was a dream, no fiddly straps.
What we love
I was a convert as soon as I bought my first Loola and I haven’t been let down by this Loola Up travel system. It’s a travel system that delivers everything it promises including durability and style and it’s easy to drive, whether you’re transporting a toddler or baby. The adjustable height handle is brilliant when one of you is 5ft 3 and the other is 6ft 4!
Granted it’s not the cheapest option on the market but the Maxi-Cosi Loola Up travel system comes in at less than some other trendy travel systems. It’ll also work well when you have a baby and an older one as it’ll withstand the clambering of a toddler trying to look at the baby (amply tested by Mia).
I was thrilled to see a manufacturer had actually thought to build a raincover into the buggy (it just zips on and off the hood) because it’s such a necessity in England. And now I’m a complete convert to the Maxi-Cosi EasyFix system, with its clever light system that shows you have the CabrioFix car seat in the right position.
I loved the egg shape of the Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix car seat and found it light enough to transport with my friend’s baby inside and the integrated sun canopy is a bit of a bonus.
What to watch out for
There’s no getting away from the fact that the sturdy Maxi-Cosi Loola Up travel system is a little on the heavy side so you’ll find as your little one gets older you’ll probably switch to a lightweight stroller.
We also found the Loola Up won’t accommodate taller toddlers - at nearly 3 Mia is tall for her age but we probably couldn’t have squeezed her in past about 2½ .
It’s quite obvious I’m in love with the ease of using the Maxi-Cosi EasyFix base but it’s worth bearing in mind that you might soon need a bigger car seat (we had to move Mia up around 8 months) so it only has a limited life. And watch out when you unpack it and install it, it weighs nearly 10kg and probably isn’t a job a heavily pregnant reviewer should be doing!
The Maxi-Cosi Loola Up is designed to work with two different car seats as a travel system, the Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix and the Bebe Confort Creatis.Fix. With the CabrioFix you need adaptors to fit it into the frame, which are super easy to install (just a quick click) but slightly irritating that you need an ‘extra’ part.
Who is the Maxi-Cosi Loola Up travel system best for?
Parents after a safe and sturdy yet stylish travel system.
A stylish travel system made by a well-known manufacturer that delivers on what it promises, the Maxi-Cosi Loola Up travel system is very useable but does give the old biceps a work out! If you opt for the Maxi-Cosi CabrioFix car seat and EasyFix base, the clever light system that shows when the seat’s in the right position is reassuring and a good safety feature.
