ello...
Just to add to this tome of info, we've been at John Lewis at Brent Cross trying a couple of prams in my Abarth 500. Gawd bless 'em for letting us try out stuff in our own car with not even a guilt trip.
A bit of context first. We're due a little one in June (baby, not another 500). Changing car is a last resort we'd rather put off. We wanted a pram with a flat bottom cot that then turned into a stroller later. We live in London, so using the busses and around busy streets is pretty important, daily car travel less so. M (my partner) doesn't drive, so when we need to bundle it into a car, there'll normally be two of us, and we don't intend to have to carry it in the car that much, maybe once a week, if that. But we've a small flat, so the thought of having one big pram for walking and one small one for the car doesn't sound fantastic. It needed to connect to a maxi-cosi car seat (freebie from friend).
God knows after all the research I feel I know more about baby travel system specifications than any mere mortal should, but finding out definitive answers about what fits in a Fiat 500 is flippin hard to come across.
The PLI Seed (Danish design, Fiat sanctioned, expensive new but cheaper on eBay) definitely fits 'cos Fiat and PLI say so, but as they're rarer than rocking horse poo, we weren't able to see one in person so it was off the list. iCandy Peach was in the running for a bit, until we saw it, because although it folded miraculously small (can't prove it, but pretty sure it would fit a 500), it looked a bit too much "bling hummer" for M's taste. Babystyle Oyster seemed pretty nifty, and some forum members say they fit their 500s, but again we couldn't really find one to test. Quinnys seem popular amongst 500 owners, but don't have a flat cot and three wheelers weren't to M's taste. We live in Bugaboo Bee country (swarms of 'em), but the same "flat cot bottom" problem comes up.
Get the idea? Yep, it's a minefield depending on your "requirements".
Anyway. Got it narrowed down to the iCandy Cherry, and the Bugaboo Cameleon. Huge difference in price, but between eBay and parents helping out we'll ignore that elephant in the room for the moment.
The Cherry doesn't have adjustable handle height - we're both pretty average height so it's not awful, but it seems a daft omission as when you jump on a bus, or in a lift, getting it as compact as it can be is a must. When folded it stands vertical on it's own (nice).
The Cameleon has a push bar that can flip over so you can push both ways, bigger tyres and suspension for the occasional muddy road (or snow - worth thinking about after the last few years), and does feel a little better put together (disclaimer - never lived with one). Plus the cot seems bigger so could last the whole first 6-7 months.
The good news? Miraculously they both fitted in the Abarth. That's only the chassis', not with the cot/chair attached, but I never expected that (hardly the pram choice at fault, more the choice of car!). Oh, I had the parcel shelf off as well. Less a shelf than a sliver anyway.
The Cherry didn't seem to want to allow the hatch to close, and other forum posts suggests it doesn't. But if you pop both wheels off (easy centre button), and "lean" the chassis so it's with the slope of the boot - it fits!
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The Cameleon looks like it folds smaller, but of course the weird shape of the 500 boot makes looks deceiving, so I still didn't assume it would fit. The truth is it fits in with one back wheel off (popping it off is not at all hard, but a little more fiddly than the Cherry), and little bit of fine adjustment. With both back wheels off it fitted pretty easily.
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Both prams span the whole with of the boot, and don't give you much extra room, but there's sure to be squashy room around them. Both fitted (eventually) without having to slam the boot - that never seemed wise. The Cherry cot is rigid, so that would have to be on the backseat next to the car seat. The Cameleon cot actually folds flatish with a couple of struts taken out, so "might" go in the boot with the chassis (cool). Full disclosure - if I had to throw either of these in the Abarth every day, I might consider either other prams or other cars, but for the scenario we have, a little faff is fine.
There you go - our pain reproduced here so that some other might ignore this battle to fight other ones.
Which one will we go for? Who knows. I think the Cameleon wins on all the features and the boot fit, but I suspect I also like it because it looks a little techie, while I think M prefers the look of the Cherry. M's decision in the end, I'll just help if I can.