*This article was originally created by Wei. All the photos and content are authorized by Wei. Many thanks to him for sharing such great content and stunning pictures with us!
Hey guys,
I'm Wei. In order to find the right floor mats for my VW ID.4, I did some research and comparisons. First I have bought a set of the Weathertech floor liner. I thought the extra money was going to get me extra quality. However, after 3 weeks of usage, it still has a very strong smell. Also, it doesn't cover the full dead pedal. Then I came across a Yotube video of Lasfit floor mats and decided to make a try.
This article will focus on the fitment and difference in liner design between different brands. Cannot compare the smell yet, because I didn't smell anything from the Lasfit, which is in line with my online research that shown the TPE that Lasfit uses is a superior material over the TPO that weathertech uses. I have put the Lasfit in the id4 and shut all doors.
1. Material
The TPE that Lasfit uses is definitely softer and more rubber-like when stepped on. It won't even stand on itself when taken the comparison photos. And there's very minimal smell (I feel more like smell from the plastic bag that it came in), comparing to the very strong smell of weathertech.
First 2 are comparison of the driver side. You can see that Weathertech has more coverage behind the play and pause pedals area, as well as higher side walls next to the front portion of center console tunnel. However, it has a much shallower outside and backside walls. Also, it doesn't cover up the whole dead pedal/foot rest area, unlike the Lasfit.
Also, the Lasfit has a covered top at the 2 push pin anchor points, while weathertech has 2 open top clips. This is a great feature because you'll have more protection over the open top design, where you could possibly have liquid or dirt, mud going under from those clip areas. Same design goes to the passenger side.
As you can see, the Lasfit on passenger side won't even hold it's shape when not supported due to its material being softer and less side walls. Also, the front lip of Lasfit is much longer than weathertech, which can protect the whole floor from my #13 shoes.
The different design on the front mats shows different ideologies. I cannot tell which one is better. The Lasfit seems protecting where you most likely to step on a little better, especially up front and on the dead pedal. However the weathertech gives you more side walls that protects if you have some "happy feet". But it's front protection only goes up half ways, so if you have mud or snow on the boots, is weathertech only gonna protect half of your deal pedal while leave you a clean side curtain? I just don't get it's ideology there.
On the back. Both are pretty similar, although the weathertech's front lip (which goes under front seats) are a bit longer, almost get into those underwear vents. Lasfit also provide you 2 snap clips on the back but there's no anchor point in our ID4. I'm wondering if it's a difference from other market? Actually, I prefer the harder material of TPO on weathertech, because when you stepped on it, it won't move or change shape. But the lasfit would have some stretch and movement due to its a little softer.
2. Fitment
I've posted fitment of Weathertech on my previous post. So I'll just take some comparison photos here.
First, a general comparison to the driver side.
And you can see clearly what I talked about the side wall and front lip difference above. As well as the dead pedal for left foot.
And you can see that the Lasfit seals better on both door side and back side facing driver's seat. However, there's a small gap around the very back corner as above picture shown.
Second, on the passenger side.
You can see that, at least for my example, Lasfit has a little bigger gaps to the door side, but still better than weathertech. Furthermore, it covers a lot higher up front. Same minor gap issue on the rear corner like driver side.
Last but not least, the rear seat. I think the weathertech has a better design on the rear corners where it has some lips to cover the carpet.
Most importantly, there's very minor smell from the Lasfit (which my wife said there's NO smell) and a very strong smell from weathertech (which my wife said it's obviously there but not too strong).
Basically a liner that's almost half the price ($120 vs. $201 on Amazon) uses better and less smelly material.
So, that is my way to choose floor mats.
