What are they?

There are plenty of aftermarket car mats available but here we're testing a set of CarMat Garage mats that are designed to be tailored for a perfect OEM fit. There are different materials available, starting with the budget standard mats but we're reviewing the prestige mats that come with a generous pile, soft feel and great durability, according to CarMat.

You can choose from four mat colours and there are eight different trim colours (which cost an extra £1.99). The mats are anti-slip and water resistant with a grippy rubber backing. They are made in the UK and come with a 12-month warranty. You can buy them direct from the CarMat Garage site where there are also boot liners plus mats for vans and even tractors.

What are they like?

We're testing a set of CarMat Garage prestige mats in our Ford Focus Estate. With three children and a dog, this is used as our family workhorse and gets plenty of abuse, hence why it is usually fitted with a set of rather utilitarian rubber mats. 

This set of prestige mats for our Ford Focus Estate currently costs £54.99 and that includes front and rear mats. You can also get a boot carpet which is another £54.99 so if you want to do the whole car, it's not that cheap. Fortunately, the mats feel high quality with thick carpet while the grippy backing means they stay where they are and don't slip around under your feet. There's no heelpad though, which we usually like as it prevents wear under the pedals.

Fitting the CarMat mats is very easy - the front mats are an excellent fit and sit perfectly where they should. The driver's mat has clips built in which are compatible with the existing fittings, so it's a straightforward fit.

One thing we did notice was the quality of the stitching. It isn't the best on several of our mats (see the picture below) and while we may being picky, given these are more than £50 and billed as the 'prestige' mats, we would expect better.

However, the mat itself has proved very durable. With plenty of muddy boots from dog walks and allotment visits over the past few weeks, the mats have been put to good use. They've coped well and after a quick hoover and a bit of clean with a wet cloth, they look as good as new. 

The lack of a heelpad on the driver's mat is an issue - we're already seeing considerable wear after a few months and there's a clear dip forming in the mat. We doubt it will be too long before we'll have to replace it. CarMat does a cheaper grade mat called Dynamic which does come with a heelpad so it's strange you can't choose it on the prestige. 

Should I buy them?

We were somewhat disappointed with the quality of the finish of the CarMat mats, specifically the stitching. Given the price, we expect better. The Michelin mats we recently reviewed felt much better finished and were also considerably cheaper. Maybe we were unlucky and just ended up with a bad set, but we'd suggest you can get better finished mats for less money.

However, we were impressed by the OEM fit and the quality of the material used. They're thick and durable, which we've been able to thoroughly test in our car over the last few months. With three children, lots of mucky trainers and more than the occasionally ice lolly spill, they've had a lot to cope with. Yet after a quick clean they look as good as new. 

But the price remains a sticking point - these mats aren't cheap and for the money, we'd expect a better finish while the lack of heelpad on the driver's mat doesn't help either.