However, as we mentioned earlier, you can still get your hands on some Petite Star products and buggies and even spares that are floating around on the internet.
With all secondhand products there's guidelines you should check before buying.
For the price of some basic buggies, the Petite Star Kurvi Match+ Travel System offers a carrycot, forward and rear facing pushchair, car seat and whole host of accessories thrown in. It does a great job, though one or two aspects – such as removing the car seat adaptors – aren’t as easy as they could be.
The latest model in Petite Star’s Kurvi range, the Match+ has a new lightweight matt aluminium chassis, which sits on four quick-release moulded plastic wheels. Its stellar feature, however, is the ability to convert from a pram-style set up with the carrycot, to travel system mode with the car seat, to a forward or rear facing pushchair. Changing between options is quick and very easy – just buckle/unbuckle a couple of straps, press a button, and voila!
The car seat is the Petite Star 0+ car seat, a Group 0+ offering as the name hints. It’s suitable from birth to 13kg, weighs 3.6kg and has a handle. It’s installed in your car with the car’s own seatbelt and you use car seat adaptors to attach it to the Kurvi. The car seat has a head hugger and chest pads, and the removable cover can be sponged clean.
The inclusion of a myriad of accessories is an added bonus – footmuff, raincover, apron for the carrycot, cosy padded liner, head hugger, and a change bag for good measure.
As a buggy, the Kurvi Match+ weighs 12.5kg.
What we love
I love the handle! I don’t mean the soft foam that wraps around the aluminium frame, although this does create a good grip. I’m talking about the four height positions that can be achieved at the push of a button. This means my almost 6-year-old son Fynn can ‘have a go’ at pushing the pram in the safe environment of the park. The handle is then extended from the lowest to the highest level and my husband can take over steering.
My daughter Gracy, 5 months, is very comfortable in the padded carrycot, shielded by the hood and snug under the fitted apron. The carrycot mode can be used from birth, and the lie-flat pushchair seat is also advertised as being suitable from birth, too.
My son Harry, nearly 3, tested out the Kurvi Match+ as a buggy.
Harry loves the huge hood, which I pull forward to protect him from the wind. It can also be zipped back to make it smaller. The hood’s viewing window also allows me to keep an eye on him with the buggy in forward facing mode. The footmuff is another hit. The front zips off, leaving the fleecy back section attached to the seat for added warmth.
The swing hinge on the bumper bar is very handy as Harry’s able to climb into the buggy rather than having to be lifted in. I can then quickly fasten the free end of the bar to keep him in his seat before securing the 5-point harness. The reflective edges on the bumper bar and hood are a clever safety device too.
What to watch out for
While the three-in-one model is a great money-saver and space-saving concept, both the car seat and the carrycot rock slightly on the frame. Unlike most standard carrycots, the sides aren’t rigid or reinforced either, offering what I feel is limited protection for the baby.
A red plastic latch can be used to lock the pushchair when folded. I find that this latch sometimes re-engages while I’m trying to open out the pushchair. The Kurvi Match+ requires both hands to fold it and can only be folded when the buggy seat is in the forward facing position.
The car seat adaptors are fiddly to remove, as the buttons are hard to press – the manual even suggests using a flat implement, such as a spoon handle, to assist you. I don’t often drive around with a spoon in the car!
Although the recommended upper age limit is 3 for the buggy, I think that Harry is already too tall it, two months before his third birthday. The skimpy fabric footrest is also too narrow for his feet. When in carrycot mode, this footrest becomes one end of the bed. Harry’s dirty footprints have to be sponged off before I can put Gracy back into the carrycot.
The storage basket is far too small for the size of pushchair, although the colour co-ordinated change bag does provide extra space. One minor gripe is the white changing mat inside. It looks cheap – and why is it white? It looks odd inside a black and purple (or black/red, black/green) bag.
Who is the Petite Star Kurvi Match+ Travel System best for?
Parents after an affordable travel system with all those little extras already included in the price.
Smart on style, price and design, the Petite Star Kurvi Match+ gives more expensive models a run for their money. Lightweight and versatile, it is easy to transform into any of its guises, except perhaps from car seat to pushchair/carrycot due to tricky car seat adaptors. Packed with accessories, the Kurvi Match+ is a rising star.
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