It has taken me over three years to write this review, but I am finally sitting down to tell other parents what I wish I had known before we spent so much money on this stroller.
When our son was tiny we bought the Peg Perego carseat adapters and they worked beautifully with the Frog. It was so handy being able to plug his carseat right into this sturdy frog frame. We used the bassinet from time to time (not nearly as often as the carseat/adapter set-up) and that was nice, too. I appreciated my baby having so much space to stretch out (he was very tall), and to see him snuggled in blankets with his lovies around him. The rain shield that comes with it fits securely and keeps baby/child dry even in heavy rain.
When our son got a bit bigger (6 months old), we stopped using the bassinet and instead used the seat stroller. That was confortable for our son, and has continued to be for the last three years. The stroller is durable and the wheels are great for the hilly area that we live in So, why only two stars? My low marks are based on the day to day impracticality of this stroller system.
1. The basket underneath is nearly worthless. It is hard to get at and far too small to carry anything really useful in (small amounts of groceries, changes of clothes, etc). A good under-stroller basket is critical when you are out and about, and the Bugaboo's was clearly designed soley for looks rather than actual use. The basket is also nearly impossible to remove sand or dirt from.
2. The Bugaboo diaper bag that you can buy to go separately (which we were silly enough to buy) is terrible in that it does not fit comfortably on the stroller when you are pushing the stroller and gets in the way. Again, it looks great, but is not functional for a mother on the go.
3. This stroller is unwieldy! It's big and heavy and is not what you want when you are a mother on the go. If you plan to use this contraption on buses or other public transportation, forget it. It's far to cumbersome for anything like that.
4. You need a large car trunk if you are going to drive with it. Even when folded down it is just unwieldy and cumbersome to deal with.
5. Even the cup-holder (which of course you buy separately and pay extra for, too) is not designed well. It sticks far off the side of the stroller and makes it even harder to get in and out of narrow doors with.
6. Unless you have a very large living and storage space in your home, this stroller is a major pain to store because of its size (even when folded down).
If you plan to use this stroller only for leisurely strolles close to home (no stairs, elevators, public transport, shopping, changes of clothes or lots of diapers needed) then this is a very nice option. It is built well and will last. However, if you (like me) need to do many of the things described in parenthesis above, then save your money and give this one a miss.
Our second stroller was/is a Peg Perego folding stroller with large basket underneath, two reclining positions, and is very easy to hop on and off of buses with and to pop in and out of the trunk of our car, It folds down very easily and fits in car trunks well, too. We have flown with it over a dozen times, and find that we use the Peg Perego 10 times more than the Bugaboo. It cost well under half what the Bugaboo did and yet continues to be (after 3 1/2 years) our hands-down favorite of the two. We would have been just fine with the Peg Perego alone, but I felt I "just had" to get this awesome looking stroller because I was seduced by its looks and all the hype about it. If I had it to do over again, I would give this pretty stroller a pass and go with a far more practical, user friendly stroller like the Peg Pergeo or MacLaren.