I had two testers for this travel system - a friend’s newborn and my own toddler - so I could really put the Mutsy Transporter through all its paces. However the first bit was up to me – assembly. The pushchair, £389 of the total price and weighing 7.7kg, was easy to put together straight out the box. The large wheels just click into place and the buggy unfolds in seconds. The hood and bumper bar took some getting into place - they slide into notches on the frame and I was afraid to push as hard as it seemed to need to click into place for fear of breaking something.
As a buggy, the Transporter has everything you’d expect, including a 5-point harness, foam handle bar, multi-recline padded seat and roomy shopping basket. The large rear wheels at the back and the two smaller ones at the front are puncture-resistant (ie not air-filled tyres) and the brake is a large and solid central lever that holds the buggy securely. The Mutsy Transporter is easy to steer due to lockable swivel wheels at the front. The sturdy but light chassis is quite wide but has great suspension and, according to my toddler Freya, provides a really smooth ride (not quite her words). Weight-wise, as a buggy, the Transporter is 7.7kg.
What we love
The fold on the Musty Transporter is great, reducing it to a compact box shape that I feel sure will fit in even the smallest of car boots. There’s a fold lock to hold the chassis in this position, and this meant it was very easy to lift the Transporter in and out of my high car boot. You can also take off the wheels to get a more compact folded size too (from 74cm x 64cm x 34cm down to 67cm x 52cm x 31cm).
Added to the Mutsy Transporter buggy to create the travel system was the Mutsy Safe2go car seat, which happily for baby Iris could even recline whilst on the buggy, giving her an even comfier ride. The car seat, while not the best in its class, is well padded and solid looking. It has the added advantage of a swivelling carry handle to make transporting it about easier on the legs - these Group 0+ car seats are all meant to be carried around but most of them bang on your legs too much to make it possible to carry them far!
To cocoon newborn tester Iris was a very sturdy carrycot. When added to the chassis (with different adaptors to those needed for attaching the car seat) the carrycot looked lovely, super stylish and very well insulated against the elements due to it well fitting cover and hood. This set-up was massively practical as it left us with a huge space to put shopping.
The shopping basket (an optional add-on!) on the Musty Transporter is like many at the moment - very low at the back. Musty has got around this by angling the back inwards, making it feel like things were less likely to fall out.
The Transporter, as a pushchair, also has a pillow that toddler Freya found very comfortable when out for a long time and feeling tired.
What to watch out for
When adding a Mutsy car seat or the carrycot you need adaptors – not the same ones either. Basically, the car seat and carrycot both attach in the same way but with different bits. I fear this may become confusing in the weeks to come as the labels are on the bags they came in, not the adaptors themselves.
The Musty Transporter is a forward-facing only buggy and the recline is a two handed job, a sort of squeeze and pull motion. You need to bend down and get close to make it work sometimes. With so many single operation reclines out there and travel systems that require no adaptors, I can’t help feeling the Mutsy is lagging behind its peers.
Who is the Mutsy Transporter travel system best for?
Organised mums after a sturdy system with a smooth ride.
The Musty Transporter is a good value, sturdy and stylish travel system with great component parts. However you will need to be an organised mum so as not to leave home with the wrong adaptors!
