The best prams for a small car boot

We checked 20 prams against 7 small-car boots, then read what testers and parents say about living with the ones that fit.

By the BabyCarFit TeamUpdated November 20268 min read

A small car is usually where the pram plan comes unstuck. The shop floor makes every fold look neat, then on the drive home you find the boot is shallower than the pram is long. In the smallest car we checked, the MINI Cooper 3-door, there's just 45 cm from the back seat to the tailgate.

So we took the folded size of 20 popular prams and checked each one against 7 small-car boots: Fiat 500, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Inster, MINI Cooper 3-door, Toyota Aygo X, Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Polo. A pram "fits" when it clears every side with at least 3 cm to spare. Then we read what testers at MadeForMums, Mumsnet and Mother&Baby found living with each one, because a pram that fits the boot still has to be one you want to push.

The short answer: the Silver Cross Jet 5 is the only pram we checked that fits all 7 boots. Four more compact strollers fit 5 of them and squeeze into the last two. Full-size travel systems are a different story: apart from the Polo with its parcel shelf out, none of these boots will take one with the seats up.

For the Corsa, Fiesta and Polo we only have the height to the top of the tailgate opening, so their verdicts assume the parcel shelf is out. Low folds like the five below are the least likely to be affected.

Our picks

Best overall for a small boot

Silver Cross Jet 5

  • 25 × 37 × 60 cm (9.8 × 14.6 × 23.6 in)
  • 7.5 kg (16.5 lb)
  • Fits 7 of 7 small cars

The Jet 5 is the only pram on our list with room to spare in every small boot we checked, the MINI included. It folds into a compact block about the size of a cabin bag.

Reviewers agree on the fold. MadeForMums gave it 4.5 out of 5, and the Mumsnet tester found it fitted a VW Polo with space left for other bags. The catch is the other direction: unfolding needs two hands, according to MadeForMums, and Mumsnet found it tricky to open one-handed, and its small wheels struggle on cobbles and rough ground. Mumsnet's tester also found kerbs tricky. Several testers also mention the bar across the basket, which makes a changing bag awkward to fit.

the stroller pretty much folds itself together
Tester, MadeForMums

Get it if: you want one buggy that goes in any small car, and you mostly walk on pavements.

Smallest fold

Stokke YOYO³

  • 18 × 44 × 52 cm (7.1 × 17.3 × 20.5 in)
  • 6.2 kg (13.7 lb)
  • Fits 5 of 7 small cars, tight in 2

The YOYO³ has the smallest folded volume we've measured. It fits 5 of the 7 boots easily and is a tight fit in the MINI and the Inster. See it worked out against the Fiat 500.

Where it surprises reviewers is the ride. MadeForMums found it smooth over cobbles, grass and uneven pavements. The fold is the weak spot: it takes two buttons pressed together, and Mother&Baby says it takes more than one simple step. It's also only from birth with the newborn pack, sold separately at £195. On Mumsnet Talk, one parent says they keep theirs for car shopping trips because it's smaller.

I wouldn't be confident I could manage it
Tester, on the fold, MadeForMums

Get it if: boot space is the priority and you don't mind two hands for the fold.

Quickest fold

Joolz Aer²

  • 23.5 × 44 × 53 cm (9.3 × 17.3 × 20.9 in)
  • 6.5 kg (14.3 lb)
  • Fits 5 of 7 small cars, tight in 2

The Aer² folds very flat, which makes it easy to slide under a parcel shelf. Like the YOYO³, it fits 5 of the 7 boots with room to spare and is tight in the MINI and Inster.

MadeForMums rated it 4.7 out of 5 and fitted it in a Honda Jazz boot alongside a suitcase and a weekend bag. The Mumsnet tester found the fold genuinely one-handed. It's not cheap: MadeForMums calls it a hefty investment at £439, and you need the £229 carrycot to use it from birth.

It folds in seconds with one swift movement.
Tester, Mumsnet

Get it if: you'll be folding it in car parks several times a day.

Best push of the compacts

Bugaboo Butterfly 2

  • 24.5 × 44.8 × 55.5 cm (9.6 × 17.6 × 21.9 in)
  • 7.3 kg (16.1 lb)
  • Fits 5 of 7 small cars, tight in 2

The Butterfly 2 matches the YOYO³ and Aer² on our numbers: an easy fit in 5 boots, tight in the last two. We've worked it out in detail for the MINI Cooper 3-door.

It's the one testers seem happiest to push all day. MadeForMums scored it 4.7, and the Mumsnet tester fitted it beside two cabin cases in a Volvo V40 boot. Reviewers don't agree on rough ground: Mother&Baby found the bigger wheels smoother than the original Butterfly over cobbles, while Mumsnet's tester says it struggled on cobbles and gravel. Expect around £430.

one of the easiest folds I have ever experienced with a pushchair
Tester, MadeForMums

Get it if: you want a compact that still feels like a proper pushchair.

Biggest basket

UPPAbaby Minu V3

  • 25.4 × 45 × 54.6 cm (10.0 × 17.7 × 21.5 in)
  • 7.6 kg (16.8 lb)
  • Fits 5 of 7 small cars, tight in 2

The Minu V3 is a touch longer than the others in this group but fits the same 5 boots, tight in the MINI and Inster.

The Mumsnet tester, a VW Golf driver, found it fits easily in the boot and even the front passenger footwell, and puts its basket at up to 11.3 kg, among the roomiest on a lightweight. MadeForMums found the suspension didn't soak up cobbles or gravel, and Mumsnet says it isn't for lots of cobbles or very rough ground.

it's definitely designed for pavements
Tester, Mumsnet

Get it if: the buggy doubles as your shopping trolley.

Need a full-size pram?

If you want a carrycot and a bigger frame, the Bugaboo Dragonfly and the Cybex Priam are the only ones we checked that fit any of these boots beyond the Polo: both fit 3 small cars and squeeze into the Fiat 500. They fold long rather than tall, so they lie across the boot between the wheel arches.

Testers say the same. The MadeForMums reviewer found the Dragonfly, with carrycot attached, took up most of a Peugeot 308 boot, and Mumsnet notes it won't lie flat in small boots. It did win joint gold for lightweight strollers over £200 at the MadeForMums Awards 2024. For the Priam, most UK reviews cover older versions, so treat them as a guide to its character: Expert Reviews called it the easiest-pushing pram it had tested, but not particularly compact folded, lying flat only in larger boots.

Bigger travel systems such as the Bugaboo Fox 5, iCandy Peach 7, Silver Cross Reef 2 fit the Polo, with its shelf out, and none of the other small cars. Mother&Baby warns the Reef 2 could take most of a smaller car's boot. The Polo's tall opening is the exception, which is why it ranks so well on our best cars for prams list.

Every pram we checked

Ranked by how many of the 7 small-car boots each pram fits with 3 cm to spare, then by tight fits.

PramFolded sizeSmall cars it fitsTight fits
Silver Cross Jet 525 × 37 × 60 cm7 of 70
Stokke YOYO³18 × 44 × 52 cm5 of 72
Joolz Aer²53 × 44 × 23.5 cm5 of 72
Bugaboo Butterfly 224.5 × 44.8 × 55.5 cm5 of 72
UPPAbaby Minu V325.4 × 45 × 54.6 cm5 of 72
Cybex Priam31.5 × 51.5 × 85 cm3 of 71
Bugaboo Dragonfly36 × 52 × 90 cm3 of 71
iCandy Peach 770 × 61 × 29 cm1 of 70
Silver Cross Reef 271 × 61 × 30.5 cm1 of 70
egg332 × 59 × 71 cm1 of 70
Joie Litetrax58 × 27.6 × 84 cm1 of 70
Silver Cross Dune 268.5 × 58.5 × 37 cm1 of 70
iCandy Core75.5 × 61.5 × 39 cm1 of 70
Mamas & Papas Ocarro 278 × 59 × 40 cm1 of 70
Nuna MIXX next76 × 60 × 42 cm1 of 70
Cybex Balios S Lux45 × 60 × 77.5 cm1 of 70
Joolz Day⁵83 × 60 × 46 cm1 of 70
Bugaboo Fox 545 × 60 × 90 cm1 of 70
Joie Finiti86 × 65.5 × 36 cm0 of 71
UPPAbaby Vista V341.4 × 65.3 × 85.9 cm0 of 71

How we checked

We used each brand's published folded size, as you'd fold it every day, and each car's floor length, width between the wheel arches and height, with the rear seats up. Brands measure in slightly different ways and boots have curves a tape measure misses, so treat a tight fit as a reason to try it in person. More on how we work it out.

Reviews we drew on

Fit verdicts are ours, calculated from published measurements. Review findings are the testers' own, paraphrased, with links so you can read them in full.