Not at the same level as the Primo Viaggio SIP car seat

Introduction
When we were close to the delivery of our son we decided to get not only the best possible car seat (the Primo Viaggio SIP which I also review elsewhere) but also a matching stroller. The Aria completed a travel system.

First Issues
So this was my first experience with a travel system, a car seat, a stroller and a baby, so I put extra effort in reading the manuals to make sure I was not making mistakes putting together the stroller.

My first mishap was the coffee cup holder, after just a few days it broke and it became impossible to fix. First it kept falling off and then the plastic actually broke. Too bad, I was drinking a lot of coffee when I started strolling our baby right after he was born for obvious sleep depravation issues, but I moved on from this issue, I was hoping that the rest of the stroller would hold up.

Not long after I noticed a rip in the bag/basket made of cloth and what appears to be cardboard at the bottom of the stroller. After a few trips to a grocery store putting things there (not trips to Home Depot picking up heavy metal items) the bottom basket was "leaking", toys, shoes, socks, etc. So we learned to put a blanket first over it to try to prevent the "leak". Eventually I sewed it when we needed to travel and did not want to lose baby items in a foreign land.

Ergonomics
OK, so it is definitely not a one-handed opening or closing as it requires simultaneous action on two levers/actuators close to the upper handle to open or close. So first make sure that the stroller is open before putting the baby in it or keep the baby in the car seat until the stroller is open.

Initially we used the stroller with the Primo Viaggio SIP in the "cradle" mode where we just drop the car seat (minus the car base of course) into the stroller with the back fully reclined. To do this, you need to release two clamps that are in the same area as the grown baby's buttocks and then you need to put those clamps away when the baby sits in the stroller by himself.

The five point strap is not easy to adjust and for the longest time we did not know that it is possible to keep it threaded with a plastic part to the top of the seat to allow for easy closing of all the parts needed to secure the baby.

The sun shade, though functional, does not cover enough, I remember a stroller that my siblings had and it was like a car dealership with the long overhang to prevent the sun from hitting the baby's eyes. I do like the window on the sun shade to make sure that I know if the baby fell asleep.

Once the stroller is folded it is about 10 inches thick when put in a car or SUV trunk, that is not bad, and it is fairly uniform so it is easy to put other things in the trunk together with the stoller, however I did not count on more than half of my trunk for everyday quick pull out/put in.

Travel System
When strolling the baby around we realized that the wheels are not the sturdiest and stable when going around less than flat surfaces, however they have never broken leaving us stranded.

The fit with the Primo Viaggio SIP is very good, not "click and forget" perfect, but once the Primo Viaggio SIP and the stroller are locked it is impossible, under normal use, to pull them apart. Sometimes you will struggle with the cloth sides of the seat getting in the way of inserting the Primo Viaggio.

The stroller fits well in the airport security scanners and is light to carry, comparatively lighter than the Primo Viaggio SIP car seat.

Once our baby graduated from the Primo Viaggio SIP we strolled him around in two countries (US and Mexico) and though the stroller feels fragile, the baby was well protected.

One final complain is a cup holder in the baby's tray in front of him, it keeps falling off.

Summary
I really hope that Peg Perego reads this review and realizes that they could really have an awesome travel system if they designed the Aria like they designed the Primo Viaggio SIP.