Jane Carrera Matrix travel system (Jané Matrix Car Seat)

Member Name: smurphy2002

Product:	Jané Matrix Car Seat
Date:	12/09/03 (10509 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pushchair is lightweight

Disadvantages: Matrix is big and bulky, brakes are rubbish

I bought the Jane Carrera Matrix system because I liked the lie flat car seat option and the pushchair was lighter than most other travel systems. The only other contender was the Mamas and Papas Pliko with the Navetta carrycot, which seemed to have the same features for a similar price. I think I picked Jane because it was a bit different. However, I wish I'd been aware of some things before buying.
Size. The Matrix is huge and this can be embarrassing when trying to squeeze into a room full of Mums and babies for postnatal classes or taking the baby to a restaurant.
When used as a rear facing upright car seat, I have to put the front passenger seat of my VW Golf really far forwards to make room for it in the back. And as a lie flat car seat it takes up virtually the whole of the back seat.
And I wish I had thought through the supermarket scenario. If I had I would have realised that I still needed to buy a standard car seat anyway, as the Matrix is way too big to fit into a trolley.
Brakes. I am not at all impressed with these. They are flimsy and the brake lever flips up as soon as you try to move the pushchair. I can only get them to really lock by holding the lever down with my foot and sort of grinding the wheels backwards and forwards. And going downhill there is no hand control for the brake so you have little control over the speed you are going! The 3 wheeler version has a far superior brake system, I imagine because of the terrain it is expected to cover.
Really stupid design feature - velcro strap that holds baby in makes such an unbelievably loud noise when you undo it that your baby is guaranteed to be startled awake when taking him out of it.
We slept our son in the matrix for the first few weeks, which was useful when travelling.
Although I am mostly pleased with my choice, on balance I wish I had bought the Mamas and Papas Pliko system with the Navetta carrycot and the prima vaggio car seat. With almost identical feat
ures, at least both carrycot and car seat would fit on the pushchair chassis.
By the way, as it is Spanish, do you know it's pronounced "Hannay", not Jannay, or Jane??? Most retailers have not worked this out yet though.

Update January 2004:
I got fed up with the brakes not working properly and contacted Jane who put me through to the technical department. After lengthy discussions about the design of the brakes, they suggested I lift the back wheels off the ground when pressing down the brake lever. I have found this to be a satisfactory solution, as the brakes mostly lock without fail when I do this. I was very impressed with their customer service, and felt they genuinely tried to help me out, without fobbing me off with excuses.
By the way, my baby is now 6 months old and we are now buying a Maclaren Volo, which I think is the lightest stroller you can get. We are fed up with going to visit Grandparents,etc. and using up valuable boot space with the Carrera, although I will still use it for trips to the shops, etc. as it has proper suspension and lots more padding. I wish I had the Jane three-wheeler now, as we have a dog and our baby is too big for a sling, so I am confined to walks where there are clear paths. However, visits to local shops would be a nightmare with 3 wheeler, so in an ideal world you need both!
Update October 2005
Got the pushchair out of the loft to use for our second baby. I decided to send it to Jane for a service, as the brakes still worried me. They charged me £65, said they replaced a snapped brake cable, but it is now even worse than before, with the brakes not really locking at all. I now only use it if I have to, preferring to use my double buggy - an Instep Nipper, which is fantastic, really well made, unbelievably light, lovely suspension, fits through all shop doors, and the newborn lie flat option is great, very supportive and padded. They do a single version, which I expect is just as good. Highly recommended. Practical Pushchairs.co.uk did the best deal when I bought it, currenty £249 (£165 for single).

Summary: Good features and design, but build quality should be better.