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At least half of my gearhead friends are going to shake their heads in silent judgment when they read this, but I reckon a set of CocoMats floormats is absolutely worth the $300-odd list price. I know, when you can cop a pair of Tweety Bird mats on the hardware store discount rack for $9.99 it seems like a wild splurge. But after weeks of daily driving and a rallycross with a set of CocoMats in my Civic, I’m completely sold.
Jokes aside, you can get decent-looking floormats—even ones cut to the floor shape of most common cars—for short money on Amazon and eBay. Heck, I’ve got a set of universal rubber mats I found in the miscellaneous section of a Ross Dress For Less in my Montero and they actually work quite well for the $20 I paid.
CocoMats are not really for “I need some floormats, let me grab these” scenarios. Nor should they be the first thing you buy when you start a new automotive project. But if you’re looking for a super simple-install mod with a huge visual impact and appreciable elegance boost to a vehicle’s interior, these things are pretty darn choice.
I’ve been running a four-piece set of CocoMats’ Checkers model (#101, “Black & Red”) in my two-door Honda Civic Si for over a month now. In this review, we’ll cover the sizing process, unboxing and installation, durability and cleanability, and illustrate how dramatic of an interior design change you can make with a set of bold mats like this.
The Style Selection and Custom-Fitting Process
CocoMats sells nine different styles of mats in a bunch of different colors, and will even make custom-shaped trunk carpeting if you’re willing to pay for it. There’s a range of aesthetics, though I think all the options generally have kind of a retro, classic-motoring vibe. You can get samples of the patterns and colors if you need to feel one before buying. The swatches aren’t free but they are cheap and as a bonus, they make great little Hot Wheels display rugs.
The Checkers design, in red and black in particular, is one I’d had my eyes on for years. But I never had a car I thought they’d work in until I started rebuilding this Civic. As you’ll read about in some of my Project Car Diaries, I’m cosmetically backdating this 2006 car to feel more like something from the early ’90s—the checkering goes great with such a look.
I reached out to the company slinging these to ask if they’d be willing to send me a set for review, they were into it, and here we are.
When you place an order, you’re asked a litany of questions to confirm every sizing parameter. If there’s any uncertainty at all about fitment, you can receive brown paper full-size templates of the mats you’re going to have made.
In addition to the templates themselves, you’re given a sticker to indicate the gas-pedal heel position and a big extra sheet of measuring paper. The latter is for you to expand the templates (with scissors and tape) if necessary.
Once you’ve cut and labeled your templates, you’re to mail them back to CocoMats so that your new floormats can be made to your exact physical specs. When I got my templates it was instantly clear that the company had made a set for an eighth-gen Civic coupe at least once already—the provided shape was perfect as it arrived. I simply marked my heel spot, drew little Xes where the OEM J-hooks go, and mailed the templates back in their pre-paid envelope.
Unboxing Cocomats
After ripping through the delivery packaging, my CocoMats came in a really robust and nicely decorated paper bag. The quality of the templates had been a great first impression of the brand; my first impression of the product itself here was even better.
I carefully cut the bag (which has a “be careful how you cut it” label, further evidence that the people working at CocoMats actually give a damn) and four floormats slid out with a hefty thump.
The black and red checker mats I got don’t really look like car accessories—more like nice furniture you’d find on the deck of a really rich person’s rural house. In other words, rugged and classy. OEM floormats have more uniformity to them simply because they’re machine-made, but the CocoMats I got look exceptionally artful and carefully crafted. And boy are they heavy! The rubber backing is no joke; while cheap mats flop around like overboiled pasta, these things clamp onto your factory carpeting and are not going anywhere.
In-Car Fitment
Perfection. The curves, the mounting holes, these things left absolutely nothing to be desired in terms of fitment.
While my Civic coupe’s stock rear mat is one piece, CocoMats’ people told me they couldn’t make my desired red checker pattern that size at the moment, so they proposed an alternative: Two pieces, but with a hidden velcro piece on the bottom to lock them together. I agreed that sounded fine, and I don’t think I could ask for better execution.
Getting Dirty and Cleaning
My Civic is currently stashed in New York’s Hudson Valley, where the weather is snowy and salty and wet and gross this time of year. I specifically wanted to spend a few weeks with these mats to get a sense for what happens when they get dirty. One school of thought would be “use rubber ones in winter,” which is an option, but for the sake of a review here’s what I noticed about dirt and cleaning.
The Checkers-style mats are made of very large fibers, and it seemed sand and mud didn’t “soak in” very easily because of this. It was really easy to agitate the surface just by dragging a vacuum hose across it and tapping a bit, which shook the vast majority of dirt loose making it easy for the hose to pull away.
However, while a cursory clean did a lot, a deep clean would really take major time because the tiniest of sand particles can find nooks to hide in.
I personally plan to run the mats year-round with weekly vacuuming and I think that will be enough to keep them reasonably clean. I also always kick my shoes together before entering the car when it’s dirty out, too.
Are CocoMats Worth It?
Short answer: Yes. Based on the execution quality and style in the context of alternatives, you’re absolutely getting your money’s worth with these.
The practical answer is always a little more slippery, but it’s not hard to justify buying a set of CocoMats for your car. For one thing, it’s a highly cost-effective and easy way to significantly change the look of an automotive interior. Custom upholstery is challenging and expensive (I once got a quote of $400 to re-cover a steering wheel alone) while fitting a set of floormats is about the easiest thing you can do and still say you “installed” something.
Plus, these things look better than good—they’re really premium, and your cockpit instantly feels higher-end with cooler rugs. For bad-weather proofing and super easy cleanability, solid rubber mats with zero carpeting (WeatherTech, for example) can’t be beaten. Those also offer more of a commercial or tactical look, if that’s what you’re going for. But as far as perfect-fitting mats with a sport/luxury vibe, I think you’d be stoked to have a set of CocoMats.
Where to buy CocoMats
Since CocoMats are made-to-order with a range of customization options, the main CocoMats site is where you’ll want to place your order. You can also see the different style of mats in a big range of cars on the main site.
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