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You probably use your car almost every day, which means that it doesn't take long for dirt and grime to start to build up. Fortunately, a good set of floor mats can help you keep it clean and tidy. Your vehicle probably came with a set of floor mats, which are fine during normal circumstances and good weather. But the best floor mats will offer serious protection and mud, snow and other more serious messes.
The right set of car floor mats will keep you from transferring the grime, slime and debris that clings to your feet outside to your car's interior. These automotive accessories are designed to be removable, cleanable and ultimately replaceable -- so if you get them dirty or stained, it's no big deal. The only issue that remains is how you pick the set of mats that's right for you and your vehicle.
To answer that question, we've compiled a list of some of the best car floor mats across a variety of categories, based on customer satisfaction and expert opinion. Odds are there'll be one (or more) that seems like a good fit for you. Plus, after you're done browsing our selections, read on for some more important information about car floor mats.
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The best overall mats need to protect each and every square inch of your car's floor. They need to be sturdy and stable, but also easy to clean -- because they will get dirty quickly. They also need to be reasonably priced for the service they offer. Husky Liners X-act Contour Floor Liners check all these boxes and more.
It's important to note that Husky Liners X-act Contour Floor Liners are designed to fit individual vehicles for the best fit possible. For every vehicle the rubber mats will vary in terms of size and price.
Husky Liners X-act Contour Floor Liners have 4.8 stars out of five on Amazon, with over 1,900 ratings. Satisfied customers cite the custom floor mats' exact fit and ability to stay in place during use.
Really, it's a tossup between the Husky Liners X-act Contour Liners above for the best floor mats overall title. Just like the Husky Liners above, the WeatherTech FloorLiner sets are specific to each vehicle model (which means the price varies from set to set). WeatherTech laser measures every car to provide precise fit for maximum protection, ensuring that you won't be caught with a bare section of floor.
The WeatherTech FloorLiners are designed with ease in mind. Not only are they custom-fit for each vehicle, but the rubber mats have a high outer lip that prevents spills from sloshing over onto the floor. These sturdy, heavy-duty custom floor mats excel in their category -- like the X-act Contour Liners, the WeatherTech FloorLiners have 4.8 stars out of five on Amazon.
Like any other automotive accessory, car floor mats vary in price -- and while there are always bargains to be had and products to avoid, if you want the best floor mats money can buy, you'll have to spend a bit extra. You'll also end up with Husky Liners WeatherBeater floor liners.
As the name suggests, WeatherBeater floor liners are built to stand up to pretty much whatever you can bring inside a car -- whether it's snow, ice, water, dirt, mud, debris or food and drink spills. The liners are built to specific vehicle measurements and they have cleats that keep them steady. Still, rubber floor mats are easy to remove when you need to clean them.
The Husky Liners WeatherBeater has 4.7 stars out of five on Amazon with over 2,200 reviews. Satisfied customers cite the durability of the custom floor mats, as well as their ability to grip vehicular floor carpet.
WeatherTech's FloorLiners are among the best mats you can get -- and if money is no object, you can go even further and opt for their premium mats, sold under the FloorLiner HP banner. Like the regular FloorLiners, they're built to size for specific vehicles (which means prices vary), but they're all sturdy and effective when it comes to keeping your vehicle's interior clean from debris.
What sets the FloorLiner HP models apart from the regular FloorLiners is just how durable they are. They're made from a Thermoplastic Elastomer compound designed to hold up under extreme weather conditions, which means they can take a pounding. They also have plastic nubs on the underside to prevent the mats from moving during use.
There's not much that will get the floor of your car dirty as quickly as mud. We make sure to take off our shoes inside so we don't track mud in our houses, but we don't have the same luxury with our vehicles. Our choice comes down to a reliable floor mat or a dirty car interior.
Thankfully, there are many mats that are up to the task of handling excessive mud, with Rugged Ridge's All-Terrain Front Row Floor Liner at the top (the same product is also available for back seats). These heavy-duty thermoplastic mats create a protective barrier designed to fit your car and the treads catch mud and channel it away from your shoes.
Rugged Ridge's All-Terrain Black Floor Liners have 4.6 stars out of five on Amazon based on more than 1,400 customer ratings.
Snow presents a unique challenge for car interiors -- when drivers or riders track it into a car on their shoes, it slowly melts, meaning that the level of liquid to which the floor is exposed increases over time. The right floor mat for dealing with snow needs to be able to contend with this fact.
Once again, it's a selection from Husky Liners' WeatherBeater line that takes the cake. The WeatherBeater liners are designed with a tread pattern that holds and contains liquid during a car ride. The liners can then be removed from the car and washed or dried as necessary.
Husky Liners WeatherBeater Floor Liners are highly praised on Amazon -- site users have given the liners 4.8 stars out of five, with nearly 8,000 ratings. Again, please note that these mats are made for individual vehicles and need to be ordered for your specific vehicle.
Some floor mats may be better suited for specific weather conditions, but if you're going to keep the same mats on your floor year-round, you'll want to make sure they can handle all sorts of weather in a satisfactory manner.
FH Group's Universal Fit Rubber Automotive Floor Mats are waterproof and stain-resistant, meaning that rain, snow, mud, dirt and any other seasonal messes won't phase them. They're also easy to clean -- just use soap and water for liquid messes or a vacuum for solids. They can also be trimmed to fit your vehicle precisely for the best protection.
It's also worth noting that not only are these all-weather mats great at protecting your car's floor year-round, they're also one of the least expensive mat sets on Amazon, starting at $17. This has earned them the "Amazon's Choice" designation, as well as 4.4 stars out of five on the site with more than 9,000 ratings.
When it comes to car floor mats, carpet makes for an entirely different experience than rubber or plastic. While those mats are designed to channel liquid messes away from a driver or pedestrian's feet, carpet mats are meant to absorb liquid messes. This makes them more effective at getting rid of liquids.
BDK's Carpet Car Floor Mats offer that level of absorbency, much like heavy foot traffic welcome door mats in front of your home. They're sized to fit most cars, trucks, vans and SUVs and they have grips on the underside that will keep them from sliding around. They're also available in a variety of different colors.
BDK's Carpet Floor Mats are the seventh-best-selling automotive floor mats on Amazon and they too have an "Amazon's Choice" designation. Over 9,000 satisfied customers have given the mats an average rating of 4.2 stars out of five.
BDK is a major player when it comes to carpet floor mats, so it's natural that another one of its products would rank as our runner up in the category. BDK's Classic Floor Mats are a little bit less costly than their regular floor mats, but they might be the answer to your needs.
Where the products differ is that the classic floor mats are all a single color, while the regular floor mats have colorful faux leather trim. That's really it -- just a stylistic difference. Beyond that, the absorption capabilities are the same and the universal fit sizing works the same way.
BDK's Classic Floor Mats are the sixth-best-selling mats on Amazon and they're also listed as "Amazon's Choice." They have 4.2 stars out of five with more than 3,400 customer ratings.
Different car mats are designed with different fits in mind. Some are custom made for a specific vehicle's make and model. Others have what's known as a "universal fit" -- they're meant to be trimmed down (either by a user or a professional) to fit the spaces in which they're going to be placed. These mats can work in a wide range of vehicles and are typically cheaper than custom-made mats.
Husky Liners Uni-Fit All Weather Floor Mats are heavy-duty, universal-fit mats that can be trimmed to fit just about any automobile. They're made of a rubberized DuraGrip material and designed with channels that lead water and other liquid messes away from their center. This means that they can keep spills away from your feet until you have a chance to clean.
Husky Liners Uni-Fit All Weather Floor Mats currently have 4.5 stars out of five on Amazon.
WeatherTech is another major name in car floor mats, and like Husky Liners, they also have a contender for best overall universal floor mats. The WeatherTech Universal Trim to Fit All Weather Floor Mats are that contender, made of a durable material and designed with channels that catch mud, dirt and liquids.
The WeatherTech mats are cheaper than our top pick, the Husky Liners, but it's also worth mentioning that the WeatherTech mats are not designed to fit specific vehicle models. Instead, they come in set sizes and can be trimmed to fit your car's floor, either by yourself or by a professional.
If you want to save some money by picking a universal-fit mat over a custom-fit mat, but you don't want to sacrifice quality or cleanliness, Armor All Rubber Rubber All-Season Floor Mats are another great choice.
These Armor All mats are designed to be easily trimmable, so they can fit your car no matter what. They're also designed to keep from cracking in sub-zero temperatures. Please note that the mats are actually available in different colors and in different set sizes, with the noted price applying to a black four-piece set. Two-piece and three-piece sets are also available, if those suit your needs.
Armor All Rubber Rubber All-Season Floor Mats currently have 4.5 stars out of five with more than 20,000 customer ratings.
Car floor mats are designed to protect the interior floor of your vehicle from any messes it may encounter -- whether brought in from outside (like mud or dirt) or created inside (like spills). Many cars come with factory floor mats, but these typically aren't of the highest quality and may not fit your car well.
Floor mats are typically made from either rubber, vinyl or carpet, with different materials offering different benefits. For instance, carpet is very absorbent, while rubber mats use ridges to capture and guide liquids. These ridges can ultimately become caked with mud or other forms of moisture and are then difficult to clean. Some models combine materials -- for instance, with carpet on the top and rubber on the bottom. They also vary in terms of thickness with thicker carpet mats providing greater absorbency.
While both ultimately serve the same purpose, there's a difference between floor liners and floor mats. Liners are usually custom made to fit the exact floor shape of your vehicle with very little space (if any) left unprotected. Mats are generally premade and come in a variety of sizes. This means that liners offer more comprehensive protection and are more expensive than mats, while mats are less costly and easier to remove and wash.
"While the traditional rubber or carpeted floor mats can do the job if you are super careful, I find that liners that are laser-measured do the job best," said Chaya Milchtein. Milchtein is the founder of Mechanic Shop Femme, an online resource devoted to helping women and members of the LGBTQ community feel empowered when it comes to their vehicles. "One size fits most doesn't work too well in the clothing industry because bodies are different and that carries over to cars as well. The shape of the floor beneath your feet varies greatly from car to car. In addition, poorly sized floor mats can move and shift, creating a safety issue if they slide to cover or interfere with your pedals. Floor liners tend to inch up the sides of the floor area, protecting not just the carpet beneath, but the sides as well, in a precise way."
Custom-made mats are available as well, which are cut to a specific vehicle's floor size. And there are universal floor mats, which are sold in a few set sizes that are meant to cover the entire gamut of interior dimensions. If you want a good fit without spending too much money, you can also buy universal floor mats and cut them down to the size of your car's interior.
If a mat isn't tailor-made to your vehicle's specifications, it will be prone to slipping around. Many car mats are designed with tread patterns on the bottom that's meant to keep them in place, but it's not a perfect system. If you have a mat that slips, you can secure it with carpet tape or clips.
To determine which kind of floor mat is right for you, you'll want to take many factors into consideration, such as the price you're willing to spend, the amount of coverage you want and the amount of time and effort you're willing to devote to cleaning and maintenance. You may also want a mat that matches your car's interior -- whatever your needs, you'll eventually be able to find the right mat.
"If you're looking for a good floor mat you need to know the use case," said Andy King, founder and managing director of Jamjar.com. Established in 1997, Jamjar is an online service devoted to car-buying comparisons "For example, if you think that you'll be getting a lot of dirt in your car because of the area that you live and the activities that you're doing, synthetic rubber or plastic floor mats might be the best choice. This will make for easy cleaning while protecting your flooring. However, the bottom of your shoes won't dry, so that is something to watch out for. If you'd prefer to get mats that are more absorbent, look for something that has a non-slip backing so that the mat doesn't move around while you drive. These mats often have nylon fibers to make them stronger and last longer."
Just because of where they sit and how they're used, car mats tend to get very dirty very quickly. If you want to keep your vehicle as clean as possible, you'll have to wash your mats frequently. While your cleaning tactics will vary based on the material of your mats, you'll always want to remove your mats from your car, wash them thoroughly and let them dry off before replacing them.
Of course, if you use a set of floor mats long enough, you'll eventually have to replace them. There are many reasons to retire a set of mats, but some of the most common include the mats becoming moldy or smelly or carpet mats losing their absorbency. You may also decide to replace a rubber mat if the treads get caked with dirt and it's simply too difficult to clean them completely.
Written by Scott Fried for CNET.
It really depends on what you're looking for and how much money you want to spend. Custom-made mats will be a better fit for your vehicle, but they'll also be far more expensive than mats that you can buy off the rack and cut yourself. Universal mats may leave areas of your floor unprotected, and if you have to cut them down to size, they'll require additional work on your part.
Floor mats are available rubber, vinyl or carpet. The material that's best for you will ultimately depend on your needs. Rubber and vinyl mats are less absorbent than carpet mats, but they're also easy to clean with just a hose. Carpet mats retain more moisture, which can be handy if you live in an area that gets lots of rainfall. However, when carpet mats absorb too much moisture and get dirty, the result can be mold or odors or both.
If you have custom-made floor mats, or if you're able to cut your floor mats to the exact size needed, they should fit the area of the floor in front of each seat with minimal slipping. If your mats aren't custom made, they won't fit on your floor perfectly and will be prone to slippage. Use carpet tape, hooks or some other kind of fastener to keep them steady.
Thicker carpet mats absorb more liquid. If you're getting carpet mats, it may be worth spending a little extra to ensure that they can handle any spill that comes their way. When it comes to vinyl or plastic mats, the thickness won't affect the level of absorbency, but thicker vinyl and plastic mats will have a longer life as they're harder to tear.
Wagon R Dashboard Cover Most plastic and vinyl mats are relatively easy to clean -- simply take them out of your car and use a high-powered hose setting to blast dirt and grease away, then finish with a hand wash to make sure you get everything. Carpet floor mats may require more thorough hand-washing or vacuuming in order to get clean. Individual manufacturers may also have specific instructions for cleaning their mats, so make sure to familiarize yourself with these.