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As you may have guessed from reading my other reviews, my family and I have a lot of hobbies that involve being outside and getting dirty. Everything from mountain and gravel biking and hiking to radio-controlled cars and airplanes keep us out in the dirt on weekends. We try hard not to bring too much nature home with us, but it’s unavoidable to some extent. The interior of our VW Tiguan is the first to suffer the sweaty consequences of a long ride or even just throwing a dusty RC truck in the trunk. I decided to get some Canvasback seat covers and a cargo liner to make things easier to clean.
I went all out with these covers. I could’ve chosen a boring single color. Instead, I thought I’d take a little inspiration from the interior of GTIs. The most basic single color cargo liner, without a second row and without a cutout for the latch to get to the spare is $199. The plaid is an additional $20. My Tiguan has a third row, which requires more pieces. That’s another $30 and I got the cutout for the spare tire latch, another $5. I also ordered a removable bumper flap for another $40. So the whole rear cover came to $299.
I added front seat covers at $85 apiece. Again, it was $10 per seat for plaid. And a rear bench cover was $179 in plaid. Lastly, I got the stitching done in green, which added $45 for all the pieces. It brought the total to $608. For comparison, VW’s carpeted cargo liner is $199. A rear bench seat cover from VW is $135. VW doesn’t offer front seat covers. We don’t have a factory option to compare them to. We’ll talk aftermarket a little later.
What are the specs of Canvasback’s Cargo Liners and Seat Covers?
Canvasback uses 600 x 300 denier polyester fabric with a waterproof PVC backing for its plain-colored products. The printed products use a 600 x 600 denier polyester with a urethane backing. Although the printed fabric is only water-resistant, my experience has shown that even when wet for hours, nothing soaks through.
The seat covers are held on with nylon webbing straps. It’s an “anchor,” that looks like a beanbag. It slips into the slot between the seat bottom and back, and elastic around the bottom with a drawstring. The rear bench seat cover is similar but without the elastic and drawstring around the bottom. The trunk liner is in multiple pieces. This allows me to still use the 40/20/40 second-row bench split and the 50/50 split in the third-row. Lastly, there’s a piece that sticks onto the spare tire cover, and a bumper flap which attaches to that piece with velcro. Everything in the cargo area is held down with velcro that attaches to the factory carpet. I didn’t need to install any of that self-adhesive velcro like some other mats.
How do Canvasback Cargo Liners and Seat Covers Compare to Other Brands?
I’ve had several different kinds of seat covers over the years. That includes sheepskins. Remember those? I’ve had neoprene, and I’ve had various fabrics. Some of them were meant to stay on all the time, while others, like these Canvasbacks, I consider to be used on an as-needed basis. The sheepskins would not only drain water out of you in the summertime, but they would hold onto it. Those always seemed like a terrible idea to me.
I’ve had neoprene seat covers from Wet Okole, which are essentially wetsuits for your interior. Those are probably the best “permanent” seat covers I’ve used. They are cooler to the touch than leather in the summer time and they are easy to clean. I had those when I lived at the beach when I was constantly sandy and salty. The downsides is they’re a bit of a process to install and remove and they slide around on the seat. They aren’t ideal for fast driving. The Canvasbacks aren’t ideal for fast driving either, as they also slide around. But, they go on and off the seat so quickly that you don’t need to leave them on all the time.
The trunk liner has been in my car non-stop for a couple of months. I removed the VW Accessories’ carpeted liner which was a dealer-installed profit generator. There are pluses and minuses to both. The carpeted liner stops things from sliding around in the trunk. Not just because of all the molded-in ridges and movable cargo-blocks, but just the carpet itself is more grippy. The downside is that it is much harder to clean, partially from that grip.
Canvasback’s material is slick, which means that not only do items in your trunk easily slide around on it, but spills wipe right off of it too. I guess I can’t have it both ways. In other cars, I’ve had the big rubber mat liners with turned-up edges around the outsides which can contain huge spills. These are great for keeping things clean and since the rubber is a little tacky, they stop things from sliding around. But, they are heavy and make it nearly impossible to get to your spare without removing the mat and anything sitting on it, from your trunk.
Canvasback Cargo Liner and Seat Covers: The Verdict
As I’m sure you can tell, I really like the cargo liner. My number one complaint is that things slide around on the slick surface. I have employed a system of bungee cords to stop my camp chairs from sliding around, and I am looking into some cargo nets for other items like boxes and anything else I’m not afraid of squishing. Groceries, on the other hand, are proving to be a little more problematic to secure. Stapping down a loaf of bread doesn’t seem ideal. At roughly $300, this isn’t the cheapest solution available, but I went all out when ordering it, and these are custom made for each car.
I’m also happy with the front seat covers. I only use them when I need them and I’m happy to do that since they can be removed and installed so quickly. I can literally put one on a seat in less than a minute. Not only do they keep my dirty clothes off the seat, but they also keep my sweat from soaking through as well. I’m not sure I’d want to use these for a drive much longer than an hour or so, but that’s not what they’re meant for.
At $85 per seat, I thought these were a little expensive, then I started shopping around. These are competitively priced for anything that isn’t either a repurposed beach towel or vinyl table cloth. I’m still considering something more permanent, I mentioned Wet Okole already, but for the front and second row seats, I would be looking at almost $900. Maybe for my next car.
| Canvasback Interior Protection | |
|---|---|
| Value | 6/10 |
| Ease Of Use | 7/10 |
| Durability | 9/10 |
| Protection | 9/10 |
| Overall | 7.8/10 |
I’m not nearly as happy with the second row seat cover, and maybe that’s my expectation. There’s a velcro seam that runs the width of the seat the connects the seat bottom cover to the seat back cover. The idea is, you have a small gap in the connection and pull the seat belt receiver through that. It requires a larger gap that what seems necessary. It would be better if had they dinged me for another 10 bucks or so to cut slots for the seat belt receivers. But this is a universal cover, so the placement would vary for different models of cars.
I wonder if most people are using these for dogs or items that they aren’t belting in. It just seems like a rear seat cover is ideal for carrying dirty kids. This is the one item in the group I feel you can probably find a more affordable option without sacrificing function.
The Canvasback cargo liner is the real winner here. When I’m out at the RC field or after mountain biking, I can throw everything in the trunk and even if I spill my energy drink, I can wipe right off. It looks great, fits great, and the bumper flap has saved multiple scuffs and scratches when people are loading heavy things. I also like the front seat covers quite a bit for the ease of installation and the fact that they are just fitted enough that they don’t interfere with seat controls or movement. The rear seat cover isn’t quite what I expected. The fact that everything matches is a big plus, and it works for short trips for rear passengers. The second row performance did bring down the overall score.