Great stroller for a toddler’s mama

Author's Rating:

Pros: Folds small; comfortable upholstery; elegant design; large seat; accommodates large children

Cons: Storage basket access difficult; quirky cupholders; have to lock front wheels by hand; not cheap

The Bottom Line: 
I would recommend this stroller to anyone who uses a stroller frequently. It is sturdy and beautiful, and a pleasure to use. Remember, you get what you pay for!

Author's Review
I bought this stroller, after considerable research, when I realized that I was going to have to pay for a good stroller. My previous stroller, a very ill-advised purchase, was cheap and shoddily made, and fell apart after about a year of use. Some people get by without a stroller during the toddler years, but I walk a lot, so it seemed impractical to me. I read every consumer Web site I could, and talked to parents I know, and came to the conclusion that Peg-Perego strollers are generally worth their considerable cost. In examining their line of products, I decided that the Pliko P3 Classico best suited my needs, since it folds like an umbrella stroller, accommodates up to 45 pounds, has a removable front bar, and accepts an infant car seat (which is mainly important because I plan to get pregnant again later this year). I ordered a 2003 model in the Eleganza pattern, and got it for $100 off the retail price of $269.

Easy assembly
I ordered the Pliko online, and it arrived 10 days later. I discovered upon opening it that it required very little assembly; I only had to attach the basket, the canopy, the child tray and the adult cup-holder. The directions were easy to follow, and included clear illustrations of each step of the process. I barely got through the process of attaching the pieces to the stroller frame before my little boy ran up and started trying to climb into it. (He never got so excited about his previous stroller!) I buckled him in and pushed him around the house several times, to his complete delight. He loves the P3, although he was only tolerant of his first stroller.

Capacity for larger children
The P3 has a much taller frame than most American-made strollers. This is a useful feature if you have a preschooler or a very tall toddler who’s going to be riding in the stroller. I’ve seen a mama before who was pushing a 4-year-old in a Graco DuoGlider, and his feet were actually dragging on the ground! It looked unsafe to me.

The P3 supports a child up to 45 pounds. This is a boon for parents who walk long distances, or every day; even a 4-year-old might not be able (or willing) to walk as far as I like to.

It also has a standing board on the back for a second, older child to ride on. It looks kind of small for a standing board, and I doubt it would be comfortable for long. It is, however, handy for helping me get over curbs and bumps in the road.

Wheels
The front wheels can either swivel, for use on pavement, or lock, for use on rougher terrain, such as grass or gravel, where the swivel action would slow you down. I will note that I have to bend down to lock the wheels by hand; the locking lever is too short for my shoe to catch when it’s sitting between the two front wheels. It’s a pretty minor inconvenience, though.

The rear wheels have brakes that work more or less like the locking mechanisms on the front wheels, but they are much easier to operate with one’s foot. They’re very secure; I don’t worry at all that my son is going to roll downhill with the wheels locked.

Folding and unfolding
The P3 has a two-step folding mechanism: you unlock the chassis, and then pull on a handle on the back of the stroller to draw it into an umbrella fold. It fits easily in the small trunk of my Saturn SL when folded. You can fold it with the seat in any recline position. At first, I found the two-step fold a little tricky, but after a little practice it became easy.
When folded, the stroller stands on one end, making it easy to fit on the bus or subway, or in a closet. I find it stands more easily if I lock the front wheels first. There’s a carrying handle on the side of the chassis, but you can also buy separately a carrying bag for the P3.
The stroller unfolds in one step: you just pull on two little handles on the handlebars, and it unfolds itself.

Seat back and footrest
The seat back reclines in four positions. You pull up on the handle behind the seat, and then recline the seat as you hold the handle. I’ve found that occasionally the reclining mechanism will stick on one side, but when it does I just pull the lowered side back up to the upright position and try again. In general, the seat reclines smoothly, and doesn’t wake up the sleeping child. Returning the seat to upright is very simple: you just pull the seat back up into position.

The lowest seat back position is almost flat. You could put a newborn in the stroller with the seat folded out flat, but the seat is so large and roomy that the baby would probably be uncomfortable. (Most newborns like the feeling of being enclosed.) If I were to put a newborn in the P3 it would probably be in a car seat or the Navetta bassinette.

The footrest folds up or down into one of three positions. To change the footrest position, you pull it up or hold down a little button on the side and pull the footrest down. Not too tricky.

Five-point harness
The harness is one of my favorite design features of the P3. The ends of the harness are attached to the bottom of the seat, but the top attaches to a clip that can be attached to the back of the seat or not. In either case the child is securely strapped in, but with the clip detached from the upholstery, a toddler can have a little more freedom of movement and seems less likely to fight against being strapped into a harness.

A downside to the harness, though, is that it is really large. In fact, my 19-month-old has it on the smallest possible setting! He still has quite a bit of wiggle room.

Canopy, storage basket, and upholstery
The canopy can be pulled all the way over the seat in case your baby is asleep and you want to shield him from the sun. It also has a zipper that allows you to attach the (sold separately) rain shield or mosquito netting. There is a dark sort of window in the back of the canopy that sort of lets the parent see what the baby is doing, but not really. On the other hand, the window doesn’t let the sun through onto the baby, either.

The storage basket is quite roomy, but a little tricky to access. Only small stuff will fit through the back, and it’s easiest to access the basket from the side. I’ve seen people using the Peg-Perego diaper bag with the P3; it has clips that attach it to the stroller’s handlebars, so that you don’t have to stuff it into the basket.

The seat is cushy and looks really comfortable. My son loves to ride in this stroller. I’m guessing it’s because the seat is so comfortable to sit in. I love the look of the upholstery; it’s very elegant. I feel that my stroller is an accessory for me, almost like a handbag, not a baby toy, so it should reflect my sense of style. Peg-Perego has done that for me.

All the upholstery is machine-washable and easily removed.

Handlebars, cupholder, and child tray
The handlebars can be adjusted to one of two lengths. My husband likes the longer length; I like the shorter. It’s easy to adjust; you just push down a button on the handlebar and pull or push as appropriate.

The parent’s cupholder is attached to the left handlebar. It is really small for Americans; we like huge drinks! But remember that this stroller is made in Italy. Unfortunately, though, even a small latte from Starbucks doesn’t fit all the way down into my cupholder. Too bad for me!

The child’s tray folds with the stroller using a really cool folding mechanism. There’s a button on each side allowing you to release one or both sides to let the child out or to change his diaper. There’s a cupholder on the child tray, and it has little arms to hold the cup in place. Unfortunately, the arms are so stiff that my little boy (19 months old) sometimes has a little trouble getting his cup back into the cupholder correctly. Also, if you use an Avent Magic sippy with the handles on it, you have to turn the handles sideways to get the cup into the cupholder. On the whole, though, it’s a pretty minor problem.

Ganciomatic system
The “ganciomatic” system allows you to attach a Peg-Perego Primo Viaggio car seat or Navetta bassinette securely to the chassis of the stroller. Although my son is much too big for his infant seat, for the sake of this review I checked out the system. There are two hooks under the stroller seat that can be folded out when you want to attach a car seat or bassinette. Apparently they just click into place when you put an accessory over them. My infant car seat is a Graco, and doesn’t fit onto the hooks, but it could be placed loose in the seat of the stroller. It actually seemed pretty secure even without the ganciomatic hooks. Mind you, I wouldn’t go rollerblading with it unsecured like that, but for a stroll around the neighborhood it seemed perfectly safe.