Peg Perego Pliko Mini Twin Review

When Lucio Perego was born in 1949, his father Giuseppe created a rubberized baby carriage that converted to a stroller. In the 1960s, Peg Perego continued to grow with a variety of carriages and strollers with a folding chassis to transport in cars. The 1970s brought the introduction of the Go-Go stroller with umbrella-style folding for easy car transport, and ride-on vehicles with the first 6-volt battery. The 1980s ushered in the 12-volt, 2-speed riding toys and the rise of the Pliko stroller with dual handles. Peg Perego continues to design baby products for every lifestyle with on-the-go features for families.

Performance Comparison

Weight and Folded Size

The Mini Twin scored closer to the bottom of the group in the weight and folded size metric. It weighs in at 24.3 lbs and has a folded size of 10,532 cubic inches, making it one of the heavier options. It does offer a carry handle, but given the weight, a shoulder strap might be more useful.

Ease of Use

The Mini Twin earned a below-average score for ease of use. With a strange folding experience and small hard to access storage, the Mini Twin had difficulty in tests for ease of use.

Fold and Unfold

The Mini Twin has a two-handed fold and unfold, with a convoluted process that includes release levers on all three handles (above left). The process is physical, and while advertised as self-standing (above right), it requires the front wheels to be in just the right place, which is frustrating. We list it as not self-standing because it can take extra time and frustration to achieve. Unfolding requires pressing on both seats to lock the frame even though you will think the unfold is complete before doing this. It does have an auto-lock and carry handle.

Brakes

This Peg has an easy to use and large center pedal that engages the brakes with one step. The pedal is easy to set, release, and is sandal foot-friendly.

Storage

The strange collection of bars and crossbars that extend across the back of this stroller make the storage bin difficult to use and impossible to access with the seats reclined. While the bin is large and holds up to 11 lbs, we were unable to fit any bag inside.

Sunshade

The Mini Twin has average size canopies that don't cover to the leg rest and cover less if the seatback is reclined. They offer vinyl peek-a-boo windows that are hard to see through thanks to a pattern we assume is designed to keep out the sun as there is no window cover, this strange design choice allows the sun to shine right on baby. The back of the canopy can be unsnapped for additional airflow.

Harness

The Mini Twin has 5-point harnesses for both seats. Shoulder height adjustment is a standard rethread through the back fabric with a plastic end piece to secure the strap. To adjust the strap length, it is easier to make them bigger than smaller, but the waist and side straps are simpler with an easy up/downslide.

Seat

The Pliko seats are cozy for napping with adjustable leg rests (above left) and reclining seatbacks that lay nearly flat. The set back has an adjustment lever that is easy to use (above right), even if the exposed moving parts are ridiculously convoluted. The seat can be lifted up without the lever, though you'll need to ensure the fabric doesn't get caught.

Ease of Setup

Maneuverability

The Pliko earned one of the lowest scores for maneuverability. None of the double umbrella strollers really impressed, but the dual wheel design that puts six wheels up front all spinning in various directions depending on the terrain makes this one difficult to push and turn. This stroller takes more effort to turn than push, the wheels caught on our test door, and the three handle design and flexing frame mean you will never be pushing it one-handed. It manages okay on flat surfaces with some lead time for turning, but things get tricky on carpet, grass, and gravel, where you'll need some brute force to push this stroller where you want it to go.

This stroller has hard plastic handles with no foam covering, which makes them hard on hands. The Pliko has small foam-filled plastic wheels, which translates to more vibration felt in the handles. So while the sling-style seat and all-wheel suspension make this stroller comfier for passengers, the handles and wheels will cause pushers discomfort.

Quality

The Pliko earned an average score for quality. The only metric where it shows some strength. The Twin Mini is a nice looking stroller with durable fabric. The stroller has a lot going on, with lots of joints for folding and a recline that adds to overall flexing. The wheels are better than some, and we liked the solid look, but the configuration and poor functionality created an overall disappointing feeling. This stroller could have scored higher with a simpler design and fewer visual connectors and flex points.

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