iCandy Lime Lifestyle pushchair review

The iCandy Lime Lifestyle pushchair is a stylish travel system that's available to buy as a complete lifestyle bundle.

This gets our vote as one of the best pushchairs money can buy.  Our tester Emily-Ann Elliott and her children Betty, two, and Ted, two months, tried and tested it for this in-depth review, and named it the best premium pushchair.

It's easy to spot an iCandy pushchair from several paces. The sleek, stylish design is pretty iconic and in certain trendy quarters, it's common to see lots of iCandy pushchairs lined up at the park or at kid-friendly coffee shops. The iCandy Lime Lifestyle is a favourite with style-conscious parents the world over, and it's available in a range of premium fabrics – charcoal, black, navy and taupe. Mixing luxurious style with practical design, the iCandy Lime folds compactly and offers everything you need in a travel system suitable from birth up to 25kg.

If you're a driver and tend to hop in the car every time you leave the house, a travel system is the obvious pushchair choice. They're designed so that you can remove the pushchair seat from the frame and attach a car seat or a carrycot. This makes getting out and about with your baby easy as you don't have to unstrap your little one from the car seat to move them to the pushchair or vice versa – you simply lift the car seat out of your car and pop it on the pushchair frame. Then, when you're getting back in the car, you lift the car seat off the pushchair frame and click it back into place in your vehicle. Attaching the carrycot effectively turns your pushchair into a pram so your baby can lie completely flat in the pram – which is important for babies under six months – instead of sitting upright.

This is where the iCandy Lime Lifestyle pushchair comes into its own – you can buy the whole thing as a complete package including a carrycot and seat unit, which can be positioned parent-facing or front-facing. Everything you need is included in the lifestyle bundle, as well as a matching changing bag and foot muff, plus the rain cover and the adaptors you'll need to affix the carrycot or a compatible car seat. All that's left to buy is the car seat, and the iCandy website lists the compatible options.

Design

Weighs: 7.5kg |Suitable for: birth - 3 years/25kg

The iCandy Lime Lifestyle pushchair is perfect for parents who want a pram to see them from the birth of their baby through to toddlerhood. It's super stylish, well crafted, and easy to use. It feels very robust but it's not heavy to push, as some travel systems are, and the suspension makes it easy to manoeuvre, even on bumpy ground and uneven surfaces.

"As a mum with two young children, the standout features for me are the integrated ride-on board, which is great for when my toddler gets tired, and the fact that the carrycot can be used for overnight sleeping, which meant we didn't have to take an extra cot with us when we travelled," says Emily-Ann Elliott, mum to Betty, two, and Ted, two months, who tried out the iCandy Lime Lifestyle pushchair for our review. This is a fairly unusual feature in a carrycot, so it adds real value if you're likely to use the carrycot for daytime naps at home or hope to be visiting friends or relatives overnight soon.

"The iCandy Lime pushchair is surprisingly compact once you've folded it, which makes it a great choice if you're limited for space to store it when it's not in use."

Comfort and features

The seat unit is really comfy, especially when used with the cosy duo pod footmuff, which is included in the price. Emily felt that her newborn seemed too small for the carrycot as it doesn't have a safety harness to keep him in place, but little ones will soon grow into it.

We like the reversible seat unit, which lets you choose which way your baby faces. For younger babies, it's lovely to have them face you so you can enjoy face-to-face interaction and keep a close eye on them. Older toddlers will likely prefer to see where they're going and what's in front of them.

Emily loves the spacious basket on the iCandy Lime Lifestyle pushchair. You might not think it's important to have lots of room below your baby's seat but when you're out for the day and decide to stock up on bread and milk or spare nappies, plenty of storage space is a life-saver. We also love the matching changing bag, and Emily loves that you can wear it as a backpack if you need your hands free.

Value for money

"The iCandy Lime Lifestyle pushchair is an expensive pushchair, but you get what you pay for," says Emily. "The price point reflects the premium quality of this pram and its design features. If you don't mind spending a bit more money, this has everything you could need from a travel system."

If you want to spend a little less money, you might also be interested in our Nuna Triv pushchair review. We named it the best pushchair overall. And if you're shopping for other essential bits of baby gear, don't miss our other baby product reviews.