“Good evening, I’m Tuxedo Moon, and I’ll be your silent protector.” Or some shit like that; +10 Otaku level-up bonus if you know who Tuxedo Moon is. But that’s not why we’re here tonight, no, we’re here because I just received and installed my new set of TuxMat all-weather mats and I want to tell you about them.
TuxMat is a Canadian company that puts out a series of all-weather mats that they claim cover and protect the most area of any mats out there, and I will say that from my experience so far with my Tuxmats and prior experiences with other companies’ products, I agree with them. TuxMats are by far the most protective mats I’ve come across in my 35+ years of vehicle ownership. The mats I installed covered 98% of the carpeted areas in the frontal area of my BRZ. I say frontal because I only ordered the front mats as, IMO, the rears would be a total waste of money since no one will ever see the rear seat of my car, ever. The coverage is so complete it even fully covers the deadpedal as well, which is great as, since we have winter salt to deal with here, the pedal won’t get corroded and crusty like they have in past vehicles where it never was covered. That makes me happy. I’m also happy that come Spring I won’t have to clean the other areas that never were covered like I normally would have to.
Regarding TuxMats’ construction, the company says that they are a 3-ply layered construction where the top layer is a textured rubber/vinyl material, the middle layer is a foam that gives them their shape and rigidity, and the bottom layer is a textured high grip material to help hold the mats in place. It goes without saying that they are completely water-proof and their design builds channels into the mat that help hold excess water that would come from snow, rain, etc. There is also a rubber heel pad on the driver’s side mat that helps keep your feet from slipping while you drive and also adds some extra protection to the mat in what normally is a high-wear area. The mats are fairly lightweight, but sturdy, and if your vehicle uses any proprietary mounting/locking hardware for the mats then your TuxMats will come with hardware that matches up with that system and will lock into place the same as any other OEM mats. Overall, I will say that the mats are very high quality, well made products and there is nothing about their construction that I have any issues with. As far as durability and longevity are concerned, I’ll just have to wait and see, but I expect it to be excellent based on what I’ve seen so far.
When you get your TuxMats, this is what you’ll see when you open the box (ignore the torn corner, that was my fault). The mats are neatly packed and there is a small zip-lock pouch included with them that holds a couple packs of clips which are used to help secure the mats in place in difficult areas. Installation is super simple – you basically just slide your seats back in order to give you enough space to set the mats in place, slip the mats in place, turn the OEM locks to lock them in place, and then use the included clips to fine tune the fit and help secure them even more firmly. About the clips, there are two varieties included – one is designed to slip under the trim panels of the interior, and the other is a Velcro backed clip useful for places where there are no trim panels available. I received a generous amount of clips with my mats and it only took about maybe ten minutes total to install the mats and clips. The result is very pleasing, the mats fit absolutely perfectly, and from everything I can observe, they are quite secure. Here’s the passenger-side mat as an example; if you look closely around the edges you can see a few of the clip positions I used as well.
Final thoughts. I will say that from everything I have seen so far, these are an excellent, well-designed and thought out product, that I expect will hold up quite well over time and more importantly, will protect the interior of my car from winter shittiness better than any other mats out there. Speaking of other mats, probably the most compared-to mats that I think people will be curious about are everybody’s long-time favorite, Weathertech Floor Liners. I’ve had a ton of Weathertechs over the years and they are also an extremely well-made and designed product that I know can withstand winter filth with ease and will last nearly forever. My last two WRX’s shared one set of mats that were six years old by the time I traded my last car in for the BRZ, and apart from the typical salt staining and filth that naturally builds up over the years, they were as good at the end as the day I bought them. Where I think the TuxMats jump ahead of the Weathertechs is in the sheer coverage area of their protection – they literally cover nearly everything you’re going to want to protect, so for me, that’s what made me want to give them a shot. Also, their prices are in line as well with the Weathertechs where the TuxMats were only about $22 USD more, which I think is reasonable and fair.
I also should add that I currently have a set of OEM Subaru all-weather mats for my car that I ordered as an option at the same time I ordered the car. The reason was that there were no Weathertechs available then and I had also never heard of TuxMat yet, so I wanted something to have should there not be any other options available in time by winter’s start. To compare the two, the OEM mats are extremely well-made and have OEM BRZ branding on them that matches the interior coloring, but they are very shallow and cover very little of the interior surfaces. I would say they are good if you’re only going to need protection from wet shoes from rain along with maybe sand or everyday dirt, but that’s bout it. That said, they’re only about $50-$60 USD for a full set, so for the budget conscious peeps out there, they’re still going to be better than just plain carpet mats. I would rank everything like this: OEM all-weathers = basic, cheap protection for those who don’t see much extreme weather; Weathertech Floor Liners = mid-level protection for those who have low to moderate levels of snow and slush in winter and don’t get much water build-up otherwise; TuxMats = extreme, complete protection for likely any level of winter shittiness you’re going to see, plus sand, mud, etc. that can get into carpeting and wreak havoc. All are good products, but they each offer varying levels of protection that will suit some users better than others. Horses for courses and all that shit; pick your poison.
Lastly, TuxMat also makes a trunk liner for the BRZ that is very similar to the one from Weathertech and also the OEM Subaru all-weather liner. I have the OEM liner and it works great, so no intent to change it. I’ve also had the Weathertech liner in past vehicles as well and it’s also top notch. With trunk liners they’re all more or less the same, so I pick whatever matches the mats in the cabin of the car, and it works. You do you as well. See you next installment.