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Bugaboo Fox 5 review: a dad's honest verdict
We've used ours every day since our daughter was a newborn. Here's what's brilliant, what annoyed us and what I'd tell any dad about to spend this much on a pram.
"Expensive but well worth the money. It makes life so easy."
- What we paid
- £1,179.90 bundle (ex-display)
- Bought from
- Mamas & Papas
- Using since
- Newborn, still going
- Buy again?
- Yes
What we bought
We got the Bugaboo Fox 5 as a bundle with the Cybex Cloud T car seat and Cybex Base T. It was an ex-display bundle, which saved us £365 off the full price. We paid £1,179.90 for the lot.
Heads up: Bugaboo has now replaced the Fox 5 with the Fox 5 Renew. Same frame, wheels, suspension and one-handed fold. The main changes are a more breathable mattress, new colours and more eco-friendly materials. Everything below about how it drives and folds still applies.
What's brilliant
- One-handed everything. It goes up and down with one hand and so does every adjustment. When you've got a baby in the other arm this matters more than anything else on this list.
- It fits in our boot. It folds down and goes into our Mazda 3 hatchback comfortably.
- It handles rough ground. We live near the beach and not all the paths are smooth or flat. It copes with all of it. It won't go on proper sand, obviously, but it's fine being dragged across the sandy bits.
- Big basket underneath. There's a big gap under the seat for bags.
- Dependable and sturdy. It feels solid and it looks good. It's the Range Rover of buggies.
- Loads of accessories. Because it's such a well-known brand you can get Bugaboo and third-party add-ons for almost anything: umbrella, drinks holder, hand muffs.
What annoyed us
- The price. There's no getting away from it. It's expensive. Then again, as a first-time dad I was shocked by how much all buggies cost.
- No accessories in the box. Having spent that much, I was surprised there was no drinks holder, no hand muff for us and no footmuff for the baby. £110 just for the Bugaboo footmuff felt outrageous.
- Cheap accessories can be rubbish. We bought a third-party drinks holder and it was useless. We used it a few times.
The one accessory I'd happily recommend is the official Bugaboo umbrella. 10/10 and worth the money.
Why we chose it over the Mamas & Papas Ocarro
We almost went for the Ocarro and I'm so pleased we didn't. It came down to small bits of everyday use:
- The hood. On the Ocarro you press a button to put the hood down. On the Fox 5 you just pull and push. The Fox 5 hood also extends much further.
- The colour. The grey we nearly picked would have marked much worse.
- The weight. Other dads told me the Ocarro is pretty heavy. On paper the current Ocarro 2 is 13.9kg against 12.3kg for the Fox 5 Renew.
What surprised me
I didn't expect how many accessories there are. My advice: try a cheap third-party version first to check you'll actually use it. If you do, buy the official Bugaboo one second-hand or new.
Two tips before you buy any pram
- Make sure it fits in your boot. Mamas & Papas let you try it, so take your car.
- Ask about ex-display bundles. We saved £365 buying the pram, car seat and base together as ex-display.
The verdict
Expensive, but well worth the money. As a first-time dad you're learning a hundred new things, and working out how to use a buggy is a stress you don't need. This one is zero stress. It's reliable and it looks good. It's also a nice brand, so your other half is going to feel good using it too.
Verdict: Essential. We'd buy it again.
Our car seat clicked straight onto it. Read our Cybex Cloud T verdict.
Prices change often. Check the retailer for today's price.