Bugaboo Bee5 review

The Bee5 from Bugaboo is the best pushchair designed specifically for parents who live life on the go. This compact, light Bugaboo Bee5 is a smart choice for urban adventurers with a newborn or toddler. All about keeping the parent in mind, this pushchair offers full customisation, allowing you to interchange a new fabric seat, base and handlebar.

There’s no doubt about it, the Bee5 looks beautiful. Our panel of Mother & Baby testers loved how easy this was to move around shops and pavements, with one hand. That said, this isn’t as easy to fold as others on the city pushchairs market and the shopping basket can be a little difficult to reach. Here's our full review of the Bugaboo Bee 5 pushchair.

Bugaboo Bee5 Overview

Pros

• Stylish design: With different colour canopies to choose from as well as a sleek chassis, the Bugaboo Bee5 is a stylish pushchair for transporting your little ones around.

• Adjustable handle height: Testers loved the fact that the handlebar was extendable and adjustable. This was one of the features that rivalled other products on the market.

• Great manoeuvrability: Testers commented on how easy the pushchair was to manoeuvre, especially in tight spaces due to the narrow chassis.

• Extending hood: Testers liked the fact that the hood was extendable so it was easily able to shield their little one's eyes from the sun.

• Large shopping basket: The shopping basket is of a decent size and a great addition for small shopping trips.

• Lightweight: Easy to push around, this pushchair didn't cause any strain due to its lightweight frame.

• Comfortable: For parents, this pushchair offered comfortable handling, and for children, it offered a place for them to drift off.

• Convenient: Great for running errands, the Bugaboo Bee5 reportedly made shopping trips so much easier. Some found the fold-down feature really useful.

Cons

• Discontinued: With the newer model, Bugaboo Bee6 available to buy, this product has been discontinued and is unavailable to buy across multiple websites. You can only buy the individual parts of the Bugaboo Bee5 on the website, or buy it in its entirety on sites like U-buy.

• Access to shopping basket restricted: Testers reported that the shopping basket was difficult to access when the child was in the pushchair, having to ask the child to move their legs in order to grab something.

• Difficult to fold: Some testers reported that the folding mechanism was complicated and the pushchair couldn't be folded down with one hand.

Ratings

The Bugaboo Bee5 made the Shortlist for Best Pushchair in the M&B Awards 2018. But, how has this pushchair been rated across various different websites? Unfortunately, this is hard to tell due to the product being discontinued. However, there's still the odd review across the Bugaboo website.

Bugaboo: 5 out of 5 stars. One reviewer said, "Love this stroller. I bought the bugaboo bee when my son was born 9 years ago, and loved it then. Bought the bee 5 for my grandson and my daughter absolutely adores it. It’s smooth to push and the suspension is great. Navigating the city and London transport is no fuss as it is small and versatile.
Superb buy."

Price

The original price of the Bugaboo Bee5 on Bugaboo retailed from £649. With the product being discontinued, it's listed across sites like U-buy at differing prices. The price range seems to sit at £656 to £816 - so, a little more than Bugaboo's price.

In comparison to rival products like it, the Bugaboo Bee5 is at the high end of the price point - unlike other lightweight pushchairs with a travel system available, like the Ickle Bubba Stomp V3 Travel System which has a price range of £499.99 to £649.99.

Key Features and Specifications of the Bugaboo Bee5

Weight? 9.5kg

Folded dimensions? 80 cm x 46.5 cm x 32 cm (one piece fold)

Age suitability? Suitable from birth to 17kg

• Pushchair width: 53cm

• Pushchair weight with seat: 8.9kg

• Front wheel dimensions: 6 inches

• Rear wheel dimensions: 6 inches

• Under seat basket capacity: 22L

• Holds up to 22kg

• Available in carrycot and seat options

• Front or rear facing reversible seat

• Reclinable seat with three different reclining positions

• Adjustable backrest for every stage of growth

Testing the Bugaboo Bee5

At Mother & Baby, we were assisted with help from our Mother & Baby Testers to review the Bugaboo Bee5. During the testing process, we were testing for its overall performance, usability and build. Here's what our testers had to say about the Bugaboo Bee5.

Mother & Baby's Online Editor, Maria Martin, said: "The four-wheel suspension makes this a pleasant ride for my 1-year-old son, who even takes naps in the Bee5 with ease. He also falls asleep during the ride across road and country lanes, meaning the Bee5 can also withstand multiple terrain, even as a dedicated city-proof pushchair. I love how I can manoeuvre the pushchair with one hand and the handlebar is height adjustable. And as well as my son fitting snug in the Bee5, he has become one super stylish tot, thanks to the ever-so trendy, sleek looking pushchair."

Mother & Baby Tester, Danielle, said: "I would recommend this product to a fellow mum because it is so lightweight and compact, meaning that it can fit into even the smallest of cars and spaces in the house for storage. It is also very stylish, with a design that is eye catching without looking garish which is the case with some other similar products on the market. The Bee5 certainly does look like a product at the top end of the market."

Mother & Baby Tester, Amy, said: "The compactness of this pram is fantastic – I had no problem switching it in between cars and the fact it fits in the smaller car’s boot was extremely handy. I also like the quick pull set up method, as this makes it easy to set up. The Bugaboo Bee5 definitely makes a quick dash to the shops, or going on holiday easier."

How does the Bugaboo Bee5 compare to previous versions?

As well as testing the Bugaboo Bee5, we at Mother & Baby have taken a look at other existing models from Bugaboo to see how they compare to this model of pushchair.

Mother & Baby's Online Editor, Maria Martin, said: "The under seat basket is not easy to access and the hood at times can feel quite flimsy when extending and retracting. It would also be better if the sun canopy extended out further like, the one found on Bugaboo’s Donkey3, over the seat to cover my tot when napping and away from the sun’s glare."

Mother & Baby Tester, Naomi, said: "I love this pushchair! My daughter is comfortable and safe. On the Chameleon, you can switch the handle between front and back, which I did miss for its space-saving qualities on the train, but that is probably a compromise to make it smaller. My only issue is that I think there are smaller and more compact options out there, but I do not know whether they have the excellent comfort and durability of a Bugaboo."

How does the Bugaboo Bee5 compare to rival products?

Finally, our testers helped us to weigh up the comparisons between the Bugaboo Bee5 and other competitors on the market. Here's what our testers had to say about whether the Bugaboo Bee5 stood up to rival products.

Mother & Baby Tester, Ashley, said: "I think this product would have made my life as a mummy easier when my little one was about one or two years old, as it very lightweight and has a compact fold which allows it to fit into my small boot. It is extremely easy to use and narrow enough to fit through small spaces. That said, at the moment, it does not meet our needs or make our lives easier, as we use our current pram off-road a lot and on uneven surfaces."

Mother & Baby Tester, Nicole, said: "As previously mentioned, the manoeuvrability is a strong selling point, along with the appearance and how compact the Bee5 is. However, compared to my own pram, I feel this product has a few disadvantages one being the foldability. My own pram was half the price as a travel system, and seems far simpler to collapse and open when trying to hold a baby and a changing bag. The shopping basket is also extremely difficult to access."

Mother & Baby Tester, Danielle, said: "I wouldn't choose this product over others available on the market as being at the top end of the pricing scale, I would expect the Bee5 to excel other brands in all areas and this is not the case. Although, there are some really useful features such as the extendable handlebar (this really does have a huge range of height positions that I have never seen before in another product). The chassis is not as easy to collapse as it is on other products and I wasn't able to do this one-handed which I think is important when you have an unhappy baby and need to multitask! The carrycot also isn't as sturdy as others I have tried and it is also much smaller – my son was almost too big for this at three months old."

Final thoughts

Having been Shortlisted in the M&B Awards 2018 in the Best Pushchair category, it didn't quite perform well enough to be awarded a top spot. Given the price point, some of our Mother & Baby testers expected a lot more from the Bugaboo Bee5 compared to rival pushchairs.

The Bugaboo Bee5 impressed with its lightweight frame, manoeuvrability and quality. However, most would recommend this pushchair as a city stroller for running errands around the shops as opposed to an all round pushchair that works in every situation.

Despite the fact the Bugaboo Bee5 is described as an easy-fold pushchair, the majority of our Mother & Baby testers found the process of folding the pushchair down complicated and fiddly. Therefore, while there were some that enjoyed the Bugaboo Bee5 overall, others stuck with prams they already had from rival competitors.

FAQs

How many Bugaboo Bee models are there?

Currently, there are five models of the Bugaboo Bee in total, including the Bugaboo Bee, Bugaboo Bee Plus, Bugaboo Bee3, Bugaboo Bee5 and the latest model from Bugaboo, the Bugaboo Bee6.

How to fold the Bugaboo Bee 5?

Folding the Bugaboo Bee5 comes with a few steps. When front facing, you will need to: step on the mechanism on the kick bar, push the seat as far forward as it will go, fold the canopy inward, flick both of the mechanisms on the handles and compress the pram down to the floor.

When parent facing, the steps are similar. However, you will need to: fold the canopy back and push the seat as far toward the handle as it will go, flick both of the mechanisms on the handles and compress the pram down to the floor.

To open up again, simply step on the kick bar at the bottom of the pushchair. Here's a handy video tutorial from Bugaboo to demonstrate how to fold and unfold the Bugaboo Bee5.

Glossary

Travel system A type of pushchair with a detachable car seat or carryseat

One piece fold A pushchair or stroller that folds down into one piece