Ever since seeing a Macalren XLR while out shopping I vowed to research the pram even though I wasnt pregant at the time! (I'm a self confessed pram-a-holic!) I thought that if I ever had another baby then this would be the pram to get and it doesnt hurt to do a little research.

When I eventually got pregnant I looked at every picture and colour you could get of this pram and read all the reviews (which were 90% positive) and kept coming back to the conclusion that this was the pram we would be getting. I ordered from boots in the sale and we got the purple and grey one (majesty) as it was the cheapest (£210 as opposed to £250). When it arrived I was sooooo excited and couldnt wait to get it out the box to look at and play with!

If I remember rightly there was no parts that needed to be put together like some other prams, it was literally unfold and go. The only thing you needed to put on was the headhugger and chest pads and adjust the straps accordingly. The liner is reversable but I did think the purple side was going to be a lot softer than it really was. That liner was part of the reason why I chose it! The straps are a bit fiddly to poke through the holes in the liner and a lot more difficult to get the straps that go down over the shoulders to attatch to the clip bit on the straps that go round the waist. Apart from that it was palin sailing. It unfolds/folds just like any other macalren umbrella pram too.

The hood was another deal sealer with me and it didnt disappoint. The whole pram is bigger and wider than the other maclaren strollers so it goes without saything that the hood will be bigger too. Its is also square shaped rather than rounded. There is a viewing window on the top so parents can see the child but its not that easy to see through the material. I never use the windows on prams anyway as its just as easy to stick your head round the side to check on them. The window is made of a UV repellant material so while it seems a stupid idea to have a window on the top of the hood to let the sun come streaming onto the childs head it does stop a lot of UV light penetrating. On the front of the hood there is another little part which kind of flips down. Its a sun visor which can be flipped up inside the hood when not in use or flipped down to help with the glare. Its made of the same material as the viewing window.
The hood has yet another bonus which is a zip that runs round the top edge and when undone it allows the hood to extend down another 4-5 inches, thus shielding the child from the elements more. There is a pocket in the back of the hood but when the hood is fully extended and you put something in the pocket it seems to hang on the childs head inside.

The wheels are my biggest gripe. They seem so wobbly and flimsy. I deliberately go slower when the terrain is anything but pavement as I feel it might damage the wheels in some way or they might fall off!! Maybe its just my pram that has a fault with it but they genuinely wobble about like nobody's business. Perfect for pavements but rubbish for anything else. They are lockable or swivel on the front but even on swivel it sometimes feels like they are locked as the steering is so hard.

The handles are adjustable but even at their shortest height I find its a tad too high and gets a little uncomfotable on long trips. (im 5'5) so this pram would be great for taller people in the city. The basket is basically unaccessable while the pram is laying flat but when its upright you can get a few odds and ends in it but its nothing to write home about. You can get adaptors to go with this pram which allow you to use it as a travel system with a recaro young sport car seat. I never bothered with this as the pram basically lies completely flat on its lowest setting and I didnt use an infant car seat either as he went straight into a combination seat.

Another point worth mentioning is that it is big! it does no fit into a lot of boots. It only just fits lying sideways in my renault megane scenic. I tend to lay it diagonally in my boot as it fits much better. Its not incredibly lightweight either but hell of a lot lighter than the big travel systems out there

Would I buy this pram again? Possibly but I think there are strong contenders out there now which may sway my opinion.