If you have the money, the uppababy system was great for us. We got the Cruz stroller, the Aria car seat, two car seat bases (one for each car), and the bassinet attachment. The car seat and the bassinet attachment clicked directly into the stroller, and the car seat clicked directly into the bases in each car. Honestly the best investment for our family.
UppaBaby Cruz + Aria system was best investment for family. All components click together seamlessly. Perfect for apartment living.
Love our Uppababy Cruz, which we opted for because it's smaller, lighter, and slightly more compact than Vista. We knew we weren't going to have more than one child in our stroller at a time so it made more sense for us than the Vista. We got the Mesa car seat rather than Aria but I think that's just the bundle Uppababy had for our market in 2021, with our first child.
Love Cruz for being smaller and lighter than Vista. Right-sized for single child use. Good match with Mesa car seat.
I highly recommend looking for second hand options. We got an UppaBaby Cruz V1 in 2022 for $200 on Facebook marketplace. Tag says it was made in 2018 and the thing is a tank. It came with the bassinet and I bought a new UppaBaby car seat to go with it. We are expecting baby 2 now and will have a 27-month age gap.
Cruz V1 from 2018 still 'a tank' in 2022. Excellent used value at $200. Durable enough for second child. Strong endorsement of quality.
FTM due in July. We looked at so many. Similar situation to you but also trail walks. We didn't like the mockingbird as much and it felt flimsier than others. We looked at a graco, a chicco system, mockingbird, nuna, and Joie. We settled on a chicco keyfit 35 and an uppababy vista v3. We almost got the v2 bc the color we wanted was on sale for 799 w the bassinet.
After comparing 5+ brands chose UppaBaby (Vista but relevant to Cruz comparison). Felt sturdier than alternatives like Mockingbird.
I bought a Chicco keyfit car seat and an Uppababy Cruz (an open box one from Rebel Stork). I figured we'd invest more in a stroller bc it will be used long term and the infant seat will only be used for a year or less. The Uppababy Cruz and Vista have an adapter for Chicco car seats for $50- but I bought the infant snug seat insert instead (also $50).
Chose Cruz as long-term stroller investment. Compatible with Chicco KeyFit via adapter or infant insert. Smart value decision.
We got uppababy cruz + chicco keyfit 35 (and its adapter) UB's car seat was too expensive, and we don't own a car in the city so don't plan to use it much. Chicco keyfit seemed like a great option from what we researched. We chose UB cruz because we liked how sturdy it felt compared to more compact models like Yoyo, Joolz etc. It's not small or light, but we preferred something susbtantial if we'll use for 3+years. We'll see if we hate it or not (baby's due in May)
Balanced or neutral feedback about UppaBaby Cruz. User provides factual information without strong sentiment.