Britax Vigour 3 Pushchair

Bought the pushchair in mid Feb, but by mid March the breakes were getting stuck on and off. In April the breakes went completely. Can't return as the shop where bought the item went bust. Now use the pushchair but don't put the breakes on. Started looking at other pushchairs and will definitely not spare money on the next pushchair...

Fantastic whilst it was usable! Build quality, ease of use and functionality are very good, hence the 4 star rating. I have only rated the Britax B-Smart 3 one star for value, as you cannot use it as a pushchair after 9-10 months, as the straps are too short and there is no more adjustment! The B-Smart is meant to be designed to cope with kids up to 15kg, but my son is 10kg and 10 months old. Britax offer an adjustable clip on harness as a 'workaround' and are working on a more permanent solution. This for us was not acceptable for the money we paid and have since had a full refund. BE AWARE!

We bought the B-Smart 3 wheeler back in April and have had non stop problems. The steering is awful and the whole chassis is flimsy. You can not steer it one handed and the brake sticks. It is a very inferior version to their previous pushchair the Vigour 3+. More recently we have found that the straps do not adjust and my 7 month old son can barely fit in it. Britax have given us a harness which is a less than ideal solution. They say it is suitable for up to the age of 4. More like 7 months and that's at a push!

I bought the B Smart 3 from Toys R Us in October 2010 for £150 when it was a special offer. I quite like the pushchair but I am very pleased that I did not pay any more for it. It is my 6th pushchair so I know about them! I bought it because my son is just 3 months, but too old for his pram (M&P Pliko P3, excellent all rounder) but too young to be in a normal pushchair facing away from the parent.

I bought it after much research because it was the cheapest reasonable quality pushchair that enabled me to have my baby facing me and lying flat, and have a buggyboard for my toddler.

Pros - at the time of purchase it was the cheapest pushchair that enabled you to have the baby facing the parent. The hood is great, very generous. It folds and unfolds very easily. The car seat and carrycot fit and switch very easily.

Cons - it feels very flimsy and I am not sure that it will stand the test of time. I would not get the 3 wheeler but would go for the 4 wheels as it will tip over very easily. It is a nightmare on buses, but as I rarely take them (walk everywhere) it is not too much of an issue with me. It is also very awkward to store and handle once folded. The frame broke within a day of having bought it and Toys R Us replaced it. Now it has a bit of a squeak and veers a bit to the right. The straps are absolute rubbish and very small.

I have an excellent Concord Fusion that we still use for my daughter who is just 3. I expect I will use the Britax for a year, then switch to the Concord. So I think it will be an in-between pushchair.

If you want more use out of it, definitely buy something better like the Oyster. For £150 it is acceptable.

A major warning against Britax Vigour 3+ I did extensive research into prams and it sounded perfect because it was a three wheeler which faced forwards and backwards and has the moveable handle great if you or your partner are tall. It assembles easily and seemed great until I started using it. When the front wheel is unlocked it is dangerous because it tips as you are trying to go up and down kerbs and even if there are dips in the pavement. My 10 month old was in the pram yesterday and I pushed the pram over a dip in the pavement, the wheel went into the dip and the pram tipped forwards completely and fell on its side, thank goodness my baby was OK because the hood protected his head but he got a horrible fright and it could have been really nasty. I caught the weight of the pram on my shin as it fell and have a huge bruise. I have seen other reviews where people say tipping is a problem, so be warned! The problem is that when the front wheel is locked it is difficult to steer because it only wants to go in one direction and it is heavy and awkward to keep shifting the back wheels to alter the direction. I don't ever want to use this pram again, I don't want to sell it on to anyone and Britax are not being particularly helpful so I have potentially lost out financially too.

Do not buy the Britax B smart, it has been designed differently to the vigour which is great.

We have just bought this and used it for 1 day, we realised that they have changed the design of the straps that hold the child in the seat, instead of a 5 point fully adjustable harness, it now has a harness that barely adjusts, this will not strap in a 3 year old comfortable, and to top it off the straps are fixed, so you can not unclip the shoulder bits to just use the 3 point waist section with the bumper bar with a growing child.

My child is 18 months, and a small 18 months, we put her winter coat on today and the buggy snuggle we have, buggy snuggles are thin so not your average thick winter cosy toes, well the straps only just did up, and that was with my squeezing a crying child into them, I have contacted britax as i live 5 mins from the factory, I intend on taking it in tomorrow morning to prove to them how bad it is !!!!!

doea anyone know how to attach the carseat to tne vigour 3 pushchair as we dont have a clue! we bought it secondhand.

Good points - light, easy to push, easy to fold, robust on rough terrain when front wheel locked. Easy to remove seat clicks in and out. very good reclining adjustment - easy to do and can recline to whatever position you want. Easily adjusted to suit height of pusher.

Bad points - when wheel not locked often trips on paving stones. I have almost turned pushchair over on a couple of occassions. Need to remove everything from basket in order to fold. Rain cover is terrible - difficult to put on and very bulky.

The Britax Vigour 3 looks to be a great price but, having had one for a year now, I can't say that the quality is brilliant. Within 6 months the opening and closing mechanism had seazed up and now the foot rest has broken. It looks like it's made of plyboard which has now begun to rot away from the frame. Also, the safety bar doesn't stop my little boy from hooking his legs over the top, which doesn't seem very safe to me! Looking back, I wish I'd paid a bit more for something that would last longer, especially as I wanted to use if for my second child. If you want a cheap pushchair for a relatively short amount of time, this looks good and is a good price. But, in my experience, you can't expect anything more from it.

This pushchair is really easy to use, lightweight and looks good. I loved that you can have it forward facing or facing the parent, now my son is older I have him forward facing and he loves it. I also have the carrycot which I used for the first 4 months and the baby safe babyseat which he has recently outgrown. I Have now bought the next stage Britax carseat and the Nexus pushchair to keep in the boot of the car for trips out.