The Mura is an eye catching sturdy pram with a different seat design.
From its Maxi Cosi car seat roots, the seat on the Mura looks more like a car seat, the T Bar as a bumper is another design innovation and with four air filled wheels, the Mura attacks all terrain with ease, it is more like a Luxury 4WD of prams.
The Mura has a reversible seat (reclines to 3 positions each way), adjustable handle, swivel front wheels and impressive suspension.
It is in the details that the Mura excels, with press studs to keep the shoulder pads on the harness in place, ability to attach the foot-muff (accessory) to the harness via press studs and a sun canopy which is independent of the seat so it can be moved around to ensure the sun is not in your child's eyes.
Model Reviewed:
Overall Rating:
Mura 4 2008
Seat Design and Function
The seat on the Mura looks like a car seat, it has a shaped bottom and the top of the seat curves around at the head.
Unfortunately although wide and spacious at the bottom and across the shoulders, the seat is not tall.
Seat dimensions:
45 cm or 17.7 in high.
22 cm or 8.7 in wide (at shoulders)
30 cm or 11.8 in wide (at base)
29.5 cm or 11.6 in deep
Shoulder harness positions at 30 cm(11.8 in) and 35 cm(13.8 in).
The side wings are 15 cm(5.9 in) deep either side and the base of the seat curves up to 10 cm(3.9 in).
The seat is reversible and has 3 positions in both forward and rearward modes.
There is an upright, middle and flat lay back position.
The layback position on the Mura can be used for a newborn, but the Mura has two types of pram bodies which are sold as accessories.
The Soft Prambody is designed to be placed on top of the reclined seat and the Prambody is attached using adaptors (which are provided with the Mura).
These adaptors also take the Maxi Cosi Cabrio to complete the Travel System.
The seat itself is a combination of the standard Quinny Fabric (found on the Zapp, Speedi and pre 2007 Buzz) on the back and the soft spongy fabric of the 2007 Buzz seats. This makes for a very comfortable, soft seat for both newborns and older children.
Instead of a normal bumper for the child to hang onto, the Mura has a T Bar. The Mura can be used with or without the T Bar.
The T Bar is easy to release for putting the child in/out of the pram. There is a button at the bottom of the T Bar at the front base which you press and lift up the T bar.
The T Bar then lays down towards the footrest (as it is still attached via elastic).
The footrest is short and adjusts to three positions' straight out, halfway down and fully down. For a larger child there is a footplate where they can rest their feet on the front of the Mura frame.
To recline the seat there is a wire bar at the back. This is lifted up to easily recline/incline the seat, even with the child in the seat.
To remove the seat unit, there is another rectangular wire bar at the base of the seat. You pull this bar towards you and lift out. This is a very easy process.
The seat can then be turned around and easily placed back within the frame. This is a very easy process, but cannot be done with a child in the seat.
The author has found the easiest position for this to be done is when the seat is in the upright position (as it gives easier access to the wire bar).
Chile Safety Harness
This is where the Mura is the same as the Quinny Zapp, Speedi and Buzz. The fabric of the harness is the same and the mechanism to secure is the same.
The Mura harness is done up in two steps.
Firstly two clips from the shoulder straps need to be slotted together to form one unit, then this is fed into the latch from the crotch strap.
This is not hard at all to do, however a struggling child could make the extra fiddle very frustrating.
There are two sets of slots for the shoulder harness to come through in order to adjust to the size of the child.
Hood or Canopy
On first view the hood of the Mura looks small, it is only with use that you appreciate the genius design of the hood.
The hood is independent to the seat, so it is a bit of a pain having to remove and re-attach the hood when turning the seat around, but the range of movement of the hood makes up for this.
You can have the hood moved to the position where it is required to enable you to block the sun from your child's eyes.
Like the Quinny Buzz (2007/08 model) the hood has a small extra bit of fabric (10 cm or 3.9 in) attached to the underside of the hood which can be brought down to help shield your child's eyes from the sun.
The Hood has side panels a child can see through as well as a viewing window at the back.
Unfortunately the viewing window does not have a cover, so when walking towards the sun, the child can get the sun on their head as the sun shines through the viewing window.
The upper part of the hood is 23 cm or 9.1 in wide (between the two frame pieces) and the lower part of the hood (where the viewing window is) is also 23 cm (not including the extra fabric).
The genius of the Hood is in the extra fabric which tucks into the back of the hood.
The extra fabric can be brought out so a full canopy is provided for the seat when it is in full recline position (and can be used as a hood for the soft prambody which does not come with its own hood).
The extra fabric is attached to the normal hood for 10 cm, the rest is attached via zips and secured to the base of the seat with press studs.
With the seat in the half recline position the hood can then be extended around to cover out the late afternoon sun while walking away from the sun (ie. As the sun is low in the sky, the hood can be adjusted to keep the sun out of the child's eyes in this position).
The hood as it clips onto the pram frame, rather than the seat, can also be moved up to a higher position to accommodate a taller child.
Handle Design and Function
The handle on the Mura is very similar to the handle on the Buzz. It extends easily by pushing the large button in the middle of the handle and pulling up.
There are four different positions and as the handle extends away as well as up, a good distance is created away from the pram for those with a longer stride.
The Mura handle differs from the Buzz handle in that the top section of the handle is rounded rather than flat oval.
This makes for a comfortable rounded grip and also saves the Mura from the problem associated with the Buzz, with the extension handle being in the middle, when attempting to steer one handed. The Mura is fine to steer one handed.
The handle extends from 100.5 cm (39.6 in) to 106.5 cm (41.9 in).
Storage
Basket Access - seat Forward And Upright.
The basket on the Mura is of reasonable size.
The issue can be accessing the basket depending upon the position of the seat (upright, middle or layback) and the position of the footrest.
Wheels
The Mura has four air filled tyres. The rear tyres are 32 cm in diameter. They have great suspension (the suspension is enhanced by large springs in the Mura frame) and handle uneven terrain with ease.
The Mura 4 has two front wheels located on either side of the front of the frame (the Mura 3 has a double front wheel in the middle).
On the Mura 4, the front air filled tyres are 25 cm (9.8 in) in diameter.
These also handle uneven terrain with ease. The front wheels are independent swivel wheels, but can be fixed into a locked position if preferred by pushing the button on the front of the wheels up.
Both front and rear wheels are easy to remove. The rear wheels are removed by depressing the centre button on the wheels.
The front wheels on the Mura 4 are released by pressing the small button on the back of the wheel.
Brakes
The Wheel Breaks of the Mura are easy to apply.
The rear axle of the Mura has a large red lever on the right side, which is easily flipped down with your foot.
This engages the break, which puts a rod from the axel into circular depressions on the inside of the wheel.
This makes the break secure.To disengage the brake you flip the lever back up.
Fold Mechanism
To fold the Mura you lift up the buttons on either side of the handlebar frame (note one of these has a securing block which has to be slided to the side) and push forward on the handle bar.
The handle bar will move forward and straight down so it comes down in between the rear tyres.
In the middle of the frame (where the seat goes) is a grey button which you then press and pull towards you (if you are at the rear of the frame) which will further compress the frame with the front wheels moving to rest in between the rear wheels.
The area of the folded frame is similar to that of the Buzz (see comparison shots).
To unfold lift handle so the Mura is standing on all four wheels (ie. First fold position), then lift the red catch (on right hand side of the frame) to enable you to lift the handle fully up. The frame clicks into place.
The instructions for the Mura show it as able to fold (First fold position) with the seat in a forward upright position. The Author attempted this, but was unable to do so.
The Author folds the Mura to a fully folded position without seat. Maxi Cosi recommends this in their instructions.
Manoeuvrability
The Mura is a great pram to manoeuvre. It steers easily with one hand with both a small or larger child.
The wider wheelbase does make it a bit cumbersome at the shops, but the smooth ride makes up for this.
The Mura could be considered the 4WD of prams. It is a dream on uneven terrain.
The front wheels as well as the rear are able to tackle uneven terrain without effort. The ride is extra smooth thanks to the large suspension springs in the rear of the chassis.
Size
The Mura weighs a heavy 17kg or 37.4lbs. The air-filled tyres mean that you don't notice the weight when pushing. When folded, the compact fold does, however, help compensate by making it easy to lift.
Unfolded dimensions
Width - rear axle including wheels: 66 cm or 26 in
Length Front Wheels to Back Wheels: 80 cm or 31.5 in
Length - Front Wheels to Handlebar at lowest setting: 97 cm or 38.2 in
Folded Dimensions (without seat)
Width: 66 cm or 26 in.
Length - between Rear Wheels and Handlebar: 76 cm or 29.9 in
Height - height of Rear Wheels: 32 cm or 12.6 in
Folded Dimensions (with seat placed face down on top of frame):
Width: 66 cm or 26 in
Length - between Rear Wheels and Handlebar: 76 cm or 29.9 in
Height: 46 cm or 18.1 in
Weight:
Total weight approx 17 kg or 37.4 lbs.
Frame approx 12 kg or 26.4 lbs.
Seat approx 5 kg or 11 lbs.
Accessories
The Mura comes with a basket, hood, wheel pump and adapters for Maxi Cosi Cabrio/Prambody.
Additional accessories available separately include: Soft Prambody, Prambody, Footmuff, Multipurpose/Diaper Bag, Rain Cover and Sun Umbrella.
The author has the Footmuff, Raincover, Multipurpose/Diaper Bag and Sun Umbrella.
Although the Author does not have the Soft Prambody or Prambody, as the Maxi Cosi adaptors are the same for the Quinny Dreami, the Quinny Dreami does fit on the Mura (this is not manufacturer specified).
Footmuff
The Footmuff for the Mura is very inventive. As the footmuff must be able to go either side of the T Bar, the footmuff has legs which can be left separate or has press studs to attach them together.
There are zips at the bottom of the legs which allow a taller child to still use the footmuff and have their shoes outside the muff.
The footmuff attaches to the stroller directly using press-studs (ie. where the harness is), so this helps to stop the annoying trait of footmuffs slipping down in the seat.
The upper body to the footmuff wraps around the child. If you would like your child to have their arms out, you can either undo the upper wrap part or, there are zippers on the side of the muff to allow you to let your child's arms out.
The fabric of the footmuff is the same as the extension part of the hood and the interior of the footmuff is polar fleece.
Multipurpose/Diaper Bag
This bag is reasonably large. It is designed to fit in/fill up the shopping basket. As the author is a small person, the bag was too unwieldy to wear comfortably.
The bag is good though for leaving in the basket. The bag includes a padded change mat and various pockets and compartments to keep everything organised.
Sun Umbrella
The Sun Umbrella for the Mura is the same as the Sun Umbrella for the Buzz. The umbrella is easy to attach/unattach and is great for adjusting to keep the sun off your child.
Raincover
The raincover is large and covers both front and back of the Mura.
Conclusion
The Mura is an eye-catching pram which is designed to tackle all terrain. The seat is very comfortable with padding and side wings.
The functionality is great - rearward or forward facing with all three recline positions, but unfortunately the seat is rather small in height and would not suit an older/taller child.
The manoeuvrability of the Mura is great with parent comfort high with the rounded handlebar and easy pushing with one hand.
The Mura is also a heavy pram.
To fold fully the seat has to be taken off which means that the weight is broken down into smaller parts for putting in the car.
This makes handling a bit easier, but it is still heavy. The frame when folded is reasonably compact (similar area to a Quinny Buzz frame folded) which also adds to an easier lift.
The Mura is not a pram you would be wanting to take with you to fold up for use on public transport (although it does travel well on trains).
The Pros
- Comfortable Seat
- Great steering and maneuverability
- Excellent suspension
- All tyres air filled
- Nice compact fold
The Cons
- Small Seat
- Heavy to lift
- Handlebar could pull out further
- Storage basket sometimes harder to access
Leave a Reply