British baby brand Red Kite produces a range of parenting products designed for those on a budget. Following the success of the company’s first travel system, the Push Me Fusion (£299 on Amazon), it now offers the Push Me Savanna at an even more affordable £199.
This price tag puts the pushchair firmly at the value end of the travel system market, but it delivers a lot for that money. The Savanna travel system includes chassis and toddler seat, carrycot and carseat. In addition, buyers get accessories such as raincover, bumper bar and seat covers, and it also promises a lot on functionality, such as an extendable handle bar, swivel wheels and reversible seat.
Joint Bronze winner at our MFM Awards 2020, the Push Me Savanna convinced our judges with its ease of use and incredible value.
Annabelle is a writer from Gloucestershire and tested the travel system with her 7-month-old son Tadhg when out and about, using her car and public transport.
I must admit, my first impressions weren’t great. While the zebra print is fun, it’s not to my taste and the fabric felt synthetic and looks cheap. However, I was impressed with the chassis, it seemed strong and sturdy. I also liked the fact that the package included the carseat, as with some travel systems you pay extra for it.
I have the Silver Cross Wayfarer (£675.51 on Amazon) which feels superior in terms of quality and style, as does the UPPAbaby Vista which I’ve also tried. I bought my Wayfarer second hand and it still feels as good as new, despite taking the battering of day-to-day use.
However, both the Wayfarer and the Vista are much more expensive (both are around £800), so you it's hard to compare them as like for like with the Savanna.
Similar products in the same price bracket of the Savanna include the Joie Versatrax (£300), the Billie Faiers MB400 Bronze and Sage Melange Pushchair (£299.99) or the Baby Elegance Venti 2-in-1 Pushchair by Rosie C in Grey (£319.99)
The pram is suitable from newborn as the seat converts into a lie-flat carrycot, which is really practical. It can be used for children up to 15kg, so approximately 3 years old, although one of the judges for our MFM Awards 2020 found the seat a bit too snug for a large toddler.
To convert the Push Me Savanna’s carrycot, you press the buttons on the side of the middle of the seat to swivel the unit. That part is really simple. But putting the seat into an upright position involves tightening a fastening. This is a bit fiddly, but not difficult. It would be easier if it was a simple button though.
It looks fairly comfortable, but I don’t think the fabric is soft or breathable enough. It does lie completely flat though which is ideal for newborns. While some pram carrycots are suitable for overnight sleeping for newborns, I don’t think the Push Me Savanna would be comfortable enough.
Yes, the Push Me Savanna’s seat is definitely spacious enough, and there is plenty of growing room for my son. He seemed comfortable and fell asleep in the seat unit, a rarity for him. I would prefer a softer fabric – this one feels a bit cheap and ‘slippery’.
The position of the seat is adjusted by a strap behind the seat which is a bit fiddly and might not be too smooth if you’re trying not to wake a sleeping baby. The good thing is that this enables a gradual recline, so you can choose the angle you want.
You can have your child rear or forward-facing which was great for me as my son still likes to face me in the pram. When the child is forward facing there’s a large window for checking on them which is also helps with interacting.
The hood is impressive and provides plenty of cover. My son slept in the pram and I found the hood when pulled completely forward blocked out a lot of sunlight. It’s virtually silent to pull back or extend and there is a large peekaboo window so you can check up on your child.
To fold the Push Me Savanna, you need to remove the seat or carseat first.
I was really impressed with the folding mechanism - it was just as easy as folding the frame of my Silver Cross, I was very impressed.
The Red Kite Savanna’s unfolded dimensions are 90cm x 64cm x 103cm. As a comparison, the Wayfarer is 100cm–107cm x 53.5cm x 94cm, and the Joie Versatrax is 92cm x 65.5cm x 12cm, so quite similar.
The Red Kite Savanna’s folded dimensions are 39cm x 66cm x 91cm. This means it folds quite flat, but is still wide, so tricky to fit in a small boot. The Joie Versatrax measures 86cm x 65.5cm x 36cm folded, as a comparison.
Having said that, the fold is very handy for storing upright in your home, and I like the fact that the carrycot and seat unit are the same. It’s great that there are fewer elements of the travel system to store at home.
Unfortunately, I can’t fit the frame in the boot of my VW Polo. It does, however, fit into the very large boot of my Hyundai Tucson, with the seat unit too. The Savanna’s folded size was definitely a drawback to me.
The Savanna weighs 13.5kg which is certainly not lightweight, but I did find it manageable. I didn’t find it too difficult to carry the folded chassis in and out of my car boot.
I really liked the Savanna to push and steer. It handled as well as my much more expensive Silver Cross pram.
It feels strong and smooth to push. I am not sure how durable the chassis and wheels will be long term, but I had no problems on different surfaces. The Push Me Savanna even handled nicely on my gravel drive which was a nice surprise.
We took the pram on the bus with the seat unit and it did take up a lot of space. We used the wheelchair/pram area which was luckily empty, but had another buggy or wheelchair come on, I would have been concerned about space.
I liked the wheels, they felt strong and smooth and went up and down pavements easily. I didn’t have any issues changing direction or going around corners.
The frame definitely doesn’t feel as durable as more expensive models but it didn’t seem really cheap either. It’s nice to push and doesn’t feel too flimsy when folding and unfolding it. It remains to be seen how it will stand the test of time though.
The Push Me Savanna’s handlebar is adjustable and felt comfortable to hold. I used it in the highest position which felt comfortable, but the pram does look a bit odd when the handlebar is at its highest position.
Also, it’s not as nice to hold as other prams and does feel a bit cheap, but it’s still comfortable. I’m not sure it would wear particularly well though.
I absolutely loved the brake on the Push Me Savanna, it was so simple and easy to use. It’s definitely flip flop-friendly and easy to access.
The basket is easily accessible, whether using the car seat or seat unit. It is large and easily fits my change bag or a couple of bags of shopping. I was impressed.
I liked the pram with the car seat attached and my son was comfortable in it. However my Silver Cross car seat seems a lot studier than the Red Kite’s infant carrier. Also, the included carseat doesn’t attach with Isofix connectors. Having to use the car’s seat belt to strap the carseat into the car is a big drawback for me.
The judges at our MFM Awards this year agreed that the carseat lets down the travel system, and some customers online have reported that bits of the carseat tend to fray. I would prefer a better quality carseat.
Unfortunately the Push Me Savanna can not be used with any other carseat brands, just the supplied carseat.
The Push Me Savanna comes in a black and zebra print, which isn’t to my personal taste, but might appeal to others.
Quite a few online shoppers love the look of this pram, and it certainly is different and stands out from the crowd.
I didn’t like the quality of the material, however - it felt cheap and synthetic.
There are a lot of useful accessories included with the Push Me Savanna, but you can choose to get a few extra, all reasonably priced:
The Push Me Savanna requires no assembly, and it is really easy to put it together with both the carseat and the seat unit. I didn’t realise at first that the carseat keeps the adaptors attached permanently, but once I’d figured that out it was easy to use. I found the instructions not particularly useful and a bit confusing, but nothing was difficult to work out on my own.
You really need to check the Savannah, its look and feel, out in person, because I would have been disappointed with the quality of the material.
I really liked how easy the folding mechanism is - it folded down just as nicely as a more premium product.
You can’t argue with the Push Me Savanna’s price tag. The pushchair is definitely worth it, as it the cost is so low and includes everything you need. I don’t think I could recommend it to a friend though, unless they were on a really tight budget, as I’m just not sure the buggy would pass the test of time.
The Savanna is available directly from Red Kite, as well as retailers such as Amazon, Precious Little One, Argos
For the price, the Push Me Savanna performs well and is good value. It is a no-frills travel system and there’s no need to buy pricey add-ons as it’s all included. It would be great as a second travel system for a grandparent’s house, say, and it is a fantastic option for those on a strict budget.
MFM judges were impressed by the travel system’s functionality and all agreed “you can’t fault the price”. Unfortunately, the carseat is disappointing in quality, which is the its drawback.
