Almost every aspect of your car is customisable, including its flooring. That’s why you’ll find options on the market for carpet, vinyl, or even rubber car flooring.
How does vinyl flooring stack up against carpets that come standard in most cars?
Vinyl car flooring is best suited for heavy-duty use in off-road vehicles and work trucks. You can get it messy with dirt, mud, grass, and other stains without having to worry at all. Vinyl is non-porous or won’t absorb water, so you can wipe it clean or wash it with a garden hose.
In this guide, you will learn what vinyl car flooring is, how it compares with carpet mats, and its pros and con to help you make a better-informed choice.
Let’s get started.
What Is Car Vinyl Flooring?
Most people are already familiar with carpet flooring in their cars. An automotive carpet is the standard feature in most vehicles, so most people don't think twice about it.
So, let's start this guide with what vinyl flooring is all about.
You’ll typically find vinyl car flooring in utility vehicles. Auto manufacturers usually offer vinyl flooring options for SUVs, utes, and jeeps.
As you might imagine, these vehicles will get wet and messy regularly. You can imagine these vehicles going offroad and to job sites where boots track mud, grass, and other muck into the car.
Vinyl is perfect for those conditions because it’s a non-porous material. So, the floor won’t absorb much of the dirt, mud, grass, or moisture that you’ll bring into it after a long day of work.
More importantly, you can clean it super quickly. All you'd have to do is wipe it down or whip out the garden hose to get it squeaky clean again.
Why Do Cars Have Carpets Instead of Vinyl?
As you can already see, vinyl car flooring comes with plenty of benefits. Yet, carpet flooring is still the industry standard that almost all manufacturers use.
Even if the car or truck you want doesn't have an option for vinyl flooring, carpeting will undoubtedly be available.
Despite the benefits of vinyl, carpet flooring is the industry standard because it can please most car buyers. The carpet will look elegant and feel soft under your feet, no matter where you drive.
Can You Put Vinyl Flooring in a Car?
Yes, you can buy a vinyl car flooring replacement for your vehicle, whether it’s a car, truck, or anything else.
Generally, the installers will remove your existing carpet flooring. Then, they’ll prepare and install moulded vinyl car flooring to fit your car perfectly.
That’s excellent news for anyone who wants to convert their family car to a work vehicle. Or you could convert your flooring to vinyl to enjoy the added protection from dirt and moisture.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Car Vinyl Flooring?
In this guide, you've briefly seen some of the benefits that vinyl flooring offers over an automotive carpet floor.
But before you go out and choose a vinyl floor for your car or truck, you must get a complete picture of the pros and cons vinyl has to offer.
Here are some of the main benefits and drawbacks that come with car vinyl flooring.
Pros of Vinyl Flooring
- Doesn’t Trap Dirt: One of the essential qualities of car vinyl flooring is that it doesn’t trap dirt, mud, grass, or anything else the same way carpet does. That’s why vinyl is a popular option with offroaders and workers – they can step into the car with their muddy boots and not worry so much about cleaning the floor later.
- Non-Porous: Vinyl is also non-porous, which means it doesn't have tiny holes like fabrics do. That's excellent news because the flooring won't absorb and trap moisture in it. So, even if you spill water on your car's floor, there's no concern about damp smell or mould growth later.
- Quick and Easy Cleaning: Why are people with vinyl flooring so unbothered about wearing their muddy boots in the car? Well, that's because the floor is quick and easy to clean. All you have to do is wipe your vinyl floor clean or spray it down with a hose.
- Suitable for Heavy-Duty Usage: When you combine the strengths listed above, vinyl flooring becomes the ideal choice for heavy-duty usage. That means the floor will not wear down so quickly, even when hundreds of people come in and out of your car every day.
Vinyl Flooring Drawbacks
- Not as Soft as Carpet: Unfortunately, vinyl flooring is not as soft as carpet. That means you won’t get the same feeling of comfort or luxury that you’d usually get when you step on a lovely carpet floor.
- Limited Design Options: Carpet flooring is the industry standard partly because you have unlimited options for colours and designs. However, with vinyl, you’ll have to choose from only black, grey, or tan. Plus, they typically don’t come available with any fancy patterns.
- Traps Some Moisture: Vinyl flooring does not absorb moisture, but some water can still get underneath the vinyl, particularly around joints.
Bottom Line: Should You Choose Vinyl Car Flooring?
So, should you choose vinyl car flooring over carpet? Well, like most things in life, that depends.
Let’s suppose you’re using your car or truck for your daily commute and to drive friends and family around. If that’s the case, you’ll probably want to stick with the carpet flooring instead of getting a car flooring replacement.
However, if your car is for off-roading or work purposes, you’ll save yourself a lot of stress by getting vinyl. When you drive off-road or go to and from job sites, you’ll undoubtedly get the inside of your car dirty.
With a vinyl floor, you can quickly clean your car's interior without much hassle, which you can’t say about a carpeted floor.
To learn more about your car interior, check out the blog at CarpartAU. The blog is continually updated with new guides to help you become a better-informed car buyer and owner.
By Ray Hasbollah