Comparing Custom Floor Fit Liners vs Universal Fit Liners: What’s the Difference?

When you want to make affordable modifications to your vehicle, whether you own a car or a truck, it’s best to start upgrading parts of your vehicle that offer worthwhile functionality—such as custom fit car floor mats. That being said, it is understandable if aesthetic upgrades are your priority. After all, who can resist really good eye candy? Given the choice, however, when you have the opportunity to make an aesthetic upgrade that also offers awesome functionalities, why not go for that option, right?

In choosing car floor mats, a wide variety of options can be found available. Focusing on two: custom floor fit liners and universal fit liners—which one do you choose? Before we proceed with the comparison, let’s define both types first.

What are Custom Fit Floor Liners?

Custom fit floor liners are custom-made, designed to the exact fit of your vehicle model’s floor space. This means that production cost can be on the pricier side when compared to universal car floor mats. The higher cost is due to the precise measurement and accurate engineering involved in manufacturing custom fit floor liners.

Since custom fit floor liners fit the exact contours of your vehicle, these mats have features such as raised edges to ensure that it doesn’t slip. This feature, along with premium materials, also adds protection from spillage and other unnatural elements that find their way into your vehicle. The KAGU All-Weather Custom Fit Floor Liner, for instance, offers a three-layer structural design that offers style, safety, and comfort.

With newer car, SUV, or pickup truck models, it might take a while before manufacturers produce useful and attractive floor mats. It may seem like an easy product to make, but to successfully manufacture a set of efficient and aesthetically pleasing car floor mats for every new vehicle takes thorough research and design prior to production. If your vehicle is one of the more popular models out on the market, you’re luckier than most car owners, whose vehicles might not have dedicated accessories built for their car models.

What are Universal Fit Floor Liners?

Universal fit floor liners are structured and designed for all vehicles, which basically means it’s a “one size fits all” type of product. This also means that it’s rare for any vehicle, car, or truck, to enjoy perfectly fitting car floor mats. That being said, universal fit floor liners will cover as much floor space as possible in a wide range of vehicle types and models. Often, there will be around two to four sizes available for universal fit floor liners, which allows you to find the best fitting set.

As mentioned, it’s not a perfect fit, so there is going to be some floor exposure, like tiny gaps here in one side, or mats that overlap with each other. But with this little inconveniences, it’s worth mentioning that universal fit floor liners are more affordable when compared to custom fit floor liners, since they’re easier to produce in scale. Given their universality, changing vehicles won’t warrant new floor mats, so you can reuse your universal fit floor liners. So, for old car owners, universal fit floor liners might be the better option if custom fit floor mats for your vehicle have yet to be made available, or if you’re looking to upgrade cars anytime soon.

Universal fit floor liners also come with cutting lines for those who might choose to trim or modify their floor mats to a specific measure. 3D Mats’ Universal Floor Liner, for example, offers features such as anti-skid properties, all-weather protection, and a sleek style that go with most vehicles. Its DIY trim-to-fit design allows car owners to upgrade their car floor mats with a universal fit floor liner with style, safety, and comfort.

The Bottomline: Comparing the Two Types of Car Floor Mats

So, which car floor liner works better for you? To quickly sum up their unique qualities, custom fit floor liners primarily offer: exact fit, premium design, and availability for up-to-date car models. Universal fit floor liners, meanwhile, offer these: modifiable fit, affordability, and availability for a wider range of vehicles. Given these factors, you’ll have to decide which ones matter to you the most and which advantages would you rather compromise. Either way, it’s a car upgrade that’s worth your budget.

For any questions or inquiries on car floor liners, don’t hesitate to contact us  today.