What are the best car floor mats? A Mechanic Answers!
If my life-long experience and the thousands of cars I have worked on have taught me something valuable about mats, it is how to differentiate good from bad-quality ones. Put briefly, mats must protect your car flooring against wear and tear and offer proper comfort. How one can pick the best-fitted set of mats for their specific car model is a different story!
Let me give you some hints and tips about car floor mats. Custom-Made Luxury Car Floor Mats
Why put car floor mats?
Car floor mats help shield your car flooring from all sorts of damage. Whenever you hit the road, your feet and their movement over the pedals put a repeated strain on your driver’s seat mat alone. The continuous friction of your heel over it will inevitably lead to the degradation of its surface. For that reason alone, installing car floor mats will help save up tons of money on car flooring replacement.Car floor mats keep your car interior clean
Other than preventing damage, car floor mats also protect against soiling, which can, over time, penetrate deeper into the carpet flooring underneath and stain it permanently. Once again, you will lose much less money having mats installed than getting your entire flooring pulled off and redone.Car floor mats are a nice decorative touch
Whether old or new, an impeccable car on the outside and inside are both esthetically pleasing and adds value when parting ways with it. A decorative piece, car floor mats not only highlight the beauty of your vehicle but also allow for a personal touch. There is no lack of customizing options and custom-fitted sets on the market either!
Black Leather & Red Stitching Floor Mats Set
One-size-fits-all or personalized custom-fitted car mats?
Once you know when to get your car floor mats replaced, there are two main options available to you:- One-size-fits-all car floor mats
Generally, rubber-based, standard car mats come in plastic or other materials. They are both widely commercialized, do not cost a small fortune, and are not complicated to lay down.
While they are supposed to fit most car models, you are not free from running into annoyances. Little adjustments might do the trick in most cases, but remember that these mat sets are in no way cut to the dimension specificities of your car brand or model and may leave some parts of your car flooring uncovered.
- Custom-fit car floor mats
7 criteria to take into account when picking the best mats for your car
While available funds and personal esthetic taste generally tilt the scale, picking a set of car floor mats randomly is never a good idea! Mats may not fit your vehicle interior layout and might not suit your definition of comfort either. It is, therefore, necessary that you weigh several different criteria:
N°1. The brand and model of your vehicle No vehicle interior is identical. Some elements may either differ slightly or be entirely distinct. A set of car floor mats will only fit your car flooring if made for your model. Unlike custom-fitted mats - which perfectly correspond to the dimensions of your car flooring -, one-size-fits-all mats will never but approximately fit your car interior.
Bright Blue Leather Car Floor Mats Set
N°2. The purpose of use of your car floor mats You will not need identical car floor mat models depending on how and what you drive. Long-distance or occasional drivers; urban, family-friendly car, or pickup truck owners will all take their specific pick:
- Heavier, dirtier vehicles would benefit from having a set of car floor mats that is durable, flexible, and easier to maintain and clean up, for example. Rubber all-weather floor mats would be an excellent option, in that regard.
- Luxury car owners or drivers who enjoy pampering their vehicle would find custom-made diamond-stitched leather car floor mats to be more in line with their taste for the refined.
- Sports car owners would do well to prefer mats with sturdy fasteners, so as not to have the unpleasant experience of seeing their mat come off while speeding up.
N°3. The material car floor mats are made of How well your set of mats will protect your car interior, how long they will last you, and how comfortable they will be are determining factors. From fabric or rubber to more expensive materials such as leather, there is no lack of car floor mat options on the market. Here, I would suggest looking into the flexible kind: rubber, for example, which tends to be more durable and offer all-weather features, is not pricey. Being flexible makes them even more reliable. Plus, rubber is an easy-to-clean material.
N°4. The dimensions of your car floor mats Whenever mats are maladjusted to your car model-specific dimensions, they leave holes in uncovered and unprotected flooring, which then facilitates the penetration of dirt and accelerates the deterioration of your mats. That is precisely why it would be ideal to have mats properly fit your car flooring.
N°5. The mounting system of your car floor mats A sturdy mounting system that grips and stays in place can help maximize security and comfort while driving. Subpar mats that come off can roll up and sit right underneath the brake pedal, causing catastrophic accidents.
Yellow Leather Car Floor Mat Set
N°6. The design and colors of your car floor mats Here too, choices are all yours. However, keep in mind that, while picking a complementary color adds to the esthetics of your car, darker tones hide stains and marks more discretely. Put differently: select mat sets of darker colors.
N°7. Price-quality ratio when buying car floor mats Similar to car models, car floor mat models differ. They do not have the same characteristics or offer the same performances. Therefore, before buying anything, carefully factor in both quality and price.
