Baby Jogger City Sights: “The best of both worlds, a brand rooted in the outdoor and active lifestyle, plus stylish design”

For parents that want a stroller to keep up with busy lifestyles and growing families, the Baby Jogger City Sights stroller combines a slick finish and adventure-ready attitude**.** This surprisingly compact, all-terrain stroller makes it easy for you and your baby to set your sights on adventure.

With multiple ways to ride, the city sights™ can be used from birth with the carry cot through to when baby upgrades to the stroller’s seat which has both forward and rear facing options.

This nimble four-wheeled design has 8 different modes of use, is always ready to roam and has earned a prestigious reddot award. Premium fabrics with vegan leather trims offer a luxe feel, plus it's now available in AW24’s hottest shades.

Testing the Baby Jogger City Sights

Mother&Baby Hub Editor Stephanie Spencer put the Baby Jogger City Sights through its paces, here’s how she got on…

I’m a first time mum-to-be but having spent four years in the world of Mother&Baby, have tested my fair share of pushchairs with my nieces and nephews, so I knew a few must-haves that I would want from my pushchair. Most importantly for us was how it would cope on different terrains as we live in the countryside and have two dogs, so I’m out walking every day and that wouldn’t change with bump’s arrival! So, when offered the opportunity to give the Baby Jogger City Sights a go I thought it fit the bill very well, coming from a brand rooted in the outdoor and active lifestyle, but with a stylish design that won’t look out of place about town – the Baby Jogger City Sights offers the best of both worlds, it’s essentially the crossover of the pushchair world, particularly with the new colourway and fabric options.

I opted for the Deep Teal colourway, and the minute I unboxed it fell in love with the colour even more. We’re keeping baby’s gender a surprise until they arrive but the stylish blue adds a bit of fun over all black, and teal is one of my favourite colours. The other new colourway is called Commuter, which also features upgraded fabrics, there's also a Rich Black option if you'd like to keep it classic. I thought the fabric of the Deep Teal colourway could perhaps feel a bit more deluxe, on the other hand it wipes down well and offers a bit of water repellence as well, so it errs on the side of practicality. The interior of the carrycot feels softer, it’s lightly quilted around the outside and you can zip off the cover to wash it which is a good feature.

I like that the bassinet is collapsible, and it wasn’t a feature I was expecting so it was a pleasant surprise and will help when trying to load up the car. I will say there was no easy press option to open and close this which I have seen in other pushchairs, so although the carrycot is collapsible you have to take out the mattress completely to be able to get to the mechanism, and it was quite stiff to operate although I expect it would become easier in with use, and not something you would do on a daily basis.

When unboxing everything myself and my husband were impressed by how well everything was packaged, there was little to no unnecessary packaging - you just had to pop the wheels on and it was ready, so very little assembly required. The instructions for setup were in the seat, which was folded and was typically the last place I looked, so we were working a little blind at first figuring out the fold/unfold and how to attach the carrycot, but once we found those it made it a lot clearer, and to be honest we’d pretty much figured it out just from having a go – it’s an intuitive design and where you expect buttons to be, there are.

Putting the carrycot and seat on and off does require two hands as there’s a button on each side, and on the carrycot a clip at the front but you also need to hold the handle at the top to keep it steady, but the fold is possible with one hand once you’ve got the hang of it. There’s a clip on the side that holds the frame together when folded, and you just have to unclip this to unfold. You can’t fold with the bassinet in place (obviously!) but you can fold with the seat, and the release to fold the seat down on itself is also doable with one hand.

Size wise, the city sights describes itself as compact but it’s still pretty chunky once folded, although I think the pros of this design outweigh this, if you were looking for a lightweight compact stroller you’d get something else and know you weren’t going to get something as suited for your day-to-day lifestyle. The weight and fold size could put some off, yes it is a bit heavier than some options but you’re getting the more off-road friendly wheels and frame in the deal, something which for us living in the countryside, was a must.

For what it is, the size it folds down to is pretty manageable, it fits well in my boot and is relatively portable although like I said this isn’t the main feature of this design so don’t expect it to fold up as tiny as your travel stroller. I’m almost 6 months pregnant and have carried it up and down the stairs and popped it in and out of the car with no problems. Storage-wise, it doesn’t have a standing fold, which would be a nice feature and make it a bit easier to store, it would be good if it could support itself rather than needing to be leant against something or lying it down.

To cope with unpredictable weather, there is a waterproof weathershield cover included, which I think is a nice feature – it’s something some brands would have as an additional accessory to purchase. The waterproof cover is easy to put on, has Velcro straps to secure it in place and fits snugly over the seat and canopy, covering the whole back of the seat as well so no risk of leaks! I also found it easy to pack away again into a neat bundle (which I was very pleased at as normally once opened these covers can be pretty unruly!)

The canopy of the seat and carrycot are both UV50+ and the material stands pretty well against showers. I will say on both of the canopies, it would be good if they came down a little lower, while there is an additional panel on the seat canopy it has mesh sides, so maybe if these could have the option to be covered in some way that would be a nice addition. There is also no zip or Velcro attachment for the carrycot cover, it just pops into place, which is ok but you do worry sometimes if it’s windy that it could blow off, so a fastening for this would be good. I’d also appreciate a pocket of some kind in the carrycot, I’ve seen some other brands with this feature and think it’s great for popping in a few little bits you want close to hand, such as their dummy.

When out and about the pushchair is easy to manoeuvre both with the carrycot and seat attachments, it fits through doorways, hops up and down curbs easily and glides along on a range of terrains – I’ve tried on cobbles, tarmac, grass, dirt tracks and our driveway is also gravel which is an immediate obstacle, but the City Sights seems to take everything in it’s stride. I did see some reviews that mention the suspension wasn’t great but it’s not something we’ve particularly noticed. The wheels are brilliant, their larger size means they don’t get stuck in the mud and grip well on wet surfaces.

There’s a good range of adjustment on the handle, something my husband in particular appreciated as he’s over 6ft, and the vegan leather feels lovely to hold and gives a good grip. The basket underneath the seat is large and easy to access with both the carrycot or seat attached – it would perhaps be good if there was a cover for it so it’s not always open.

On the seat the buckles are easy to clip on and off, and to size up and down when needed. I like that it has a range of reclines, which are adjusted via a sturdy clip on the back, rather than a strap with a pulley as I find these a bit flimsy. The bellybar is included and can be clipped off on one side and let swivel on the other when getting your child in and out, then clips back on again very easily. You can use the seat either parent facing or world facing, which I love.

The seat is not suitable for under 6 months, however considering you get the carrycot, seat, frame and weathershield all in one bundle this isn’t really an issue. It all feels very secure, the frame is great quality and all the attachments fit seamlessly in place and clip in reassuringly smoothly.

Final thoughts

While I have suggested a few potential improvements above, none of these were particularly must-have, simply things that popped into my mind and that I’ve seen on other pushchairs I’ve used. Overall I think the Baby Jogger City Sights is a great all-rounder for those who want a pushchair that can do it all, be it dog walks and visits to the park, or strolling around town and getting a coffee. The smart design teamed with the all-terrain capabilities make this a fantastic option for a whole range of parents and families, and I wouldn’t hesitate at recommending it.

Stephanie Spencer is the Hub Editor at Mother&Baby and currently pregnant with her first baby. She is also a proud auntie to four nieces and nephews. With a particular interest in health, she loves discovering products that make parent’s lives easier.