Tailored car mats or standard mats?

Mar 3 2010 By Staff Reporter

A decent set of floor mats for your car is one of the most undervalued purchases for your vehicle. They protect your carpets, dry your footwear, keep your feet firmly placed on the pedals and add a bit of comfort to your daily drive.

A set of car mats are conversely the most badly treated item in your vehicle. Consider the conditions they have to deal with – mud, oil, and even tar. Your car mats take the brunt of your daily life and therefore have to be up to the job.

Those with small children may also understand how fast the mats in your car can look tired. A couple of trips to the great outdoors and a few dirty shoes later, and your nice new floor mats are looking decidedly worse for wear. If your lifestyle dictates that you use your car often, you will probably appreciate how constantly getting in and out of your car can wear on your mats. All of the material you introduce into the car ends up around your shoes and is quickly pressed into the fibres of your mats. Those carpets you cleaned over the weekend can look rather unkempt by the middle of the week and it doesn't take long before, despite attempting to avoid it, muck gets permanently engrained in your mats.

The answer is quite obvious, a set of car mats produced using a good standard vehicle carpet, heel pad, edging and backing, tailor made for your specific vehicle to ensure an exact fit. Tailored mats are designed to mould around your footwells, preventing them from slipping around. A high quality backing and trim ensure that dirt and fluids are contained within the mat, and specifically designed car mat carpeting ensures your mats are easy to keep clean.