Exciting! Floor Mats?!? And How Amazon is EVERYWHERE

 Well, Sports Fans, it's been a while since I have posted. Work and other aspects of my life have impinged, delaying my sharing updates about the adventures of the Red Mist.

Instead of focusing on my trip to Ottawa for Remembrance Day, I wanted to share my recent purchase of - DRUM ROLL - FLOOR MATTS.

Now for those uninitiated Sports Fans who do not know I live, like MOST Canadians, below the 49th Parallel, as such, am subject to the vagaries and trials of a winter involving snow, rain, sleet, and cold.

To counter this a front set of WeatherTech floor mats.

Background

I have had a set of these mats in my 2012 Hyndia Accent (front, rears, cargo) and was immensely satisfied with their function, design, and durability. The fit worked flawlessly, and after 225,000 km had little, if any, wear.

As I am a solo driver 99% of the time the wear on the driver's footwell mat was minimal with the only fault being the rectangular logo peeling off at about 200,000 km.

Decision Making

With such great serviceability, it was almost a slam dunk to go with the WeatherTechs. They work and look good. It is a simple product with few differentiators in the market, save price (more on this soon).

I was particularly interested in the Tux Mat product as it would be functional and allow more coverage of the floor with its design. It almost had me at "Canada" as the company is based in Canada, but it manufactures in China and I really wanted something, unlike just about everything else, not made in China.

That left WeatherTech and that is what I chose. It is manufactured in the good old USA.

WeatherTech Models

There are two models of floor mats for the 2024 Subaru Impreza.

Not to WeatherTech's credit, they do NOT make it easy to figure out the difference but I did - eventually.

Floor Liner (Part Number: 4418141): This is the front pair only. This mat has the logo as above and the ribs have a bit more "presence" than the next part number.

Part Number: 4418141. Note the coloured sticker with the logo in the rear outboard corner of the mat.

Floor Liner HP (Part Number: 4418141IM): This is the front pair only. The HP is a bit more expensive and has a more subtle look with the WeatherTech logo embossed in plastic, not a separate coloured sticker as the 4418141 set.

Part Number: 4418141IM. The logo is subtle and the ribbing is a different design.

I decided on the HP set, in part, because I like the softer look of the matt with the different logo design.

The Dominance of Amazon: The Buy

Being a person who does shop online, I try to only shop online if accessing products is unavailable through a local vendor.

But WeatherTech has a dealer network and one of their suppliers is very close to where I work.

Go Glass in Kitchener was my choice of location. I arrived to inquire and the salesperson literally told me to use AMAZON!

This is evidence of the ubiquitousness of Amazon as a retail vendor. Even their competitors are offering them as a solution to their customer's needs.

I told the salesperson that I preferred dealing with a real person in an actual location in my area. I ordered them and they came within 2 business days.

Fitment

The Red Mist has the upgraded Subaru floor mats which are great looking but have no ability to hold water or slush. I prefer the OEM fit of the mats compared to sourcing mats from a retailer, such as Canadian Tire.

With the coming winter I waited until the first week of December and changed over.

The process is simple. Remove the existing mats, unbox the new mats and slide into place. Engage the two clips on the driver's side mat and you are done.

The photographs below show the comparative difference between the OEM mats and the WeatherTechs.

Last Thoughts

I am pleased with the WeatherTech mats. They do as advertised and are cost-competitive to other custom mat solutions. I do think the price is a bit steep but if I own the car for 300,000 km the cost of the mat comes out to 0.0006665 cents per km.

I am disappointed that the Go Glass employee tried to direct me to Amazon as a vendor when they are clearly a competitor and I had decided to drive to Go Glass to do business with them.

The WeatherTech is a great solution and I may keep them in place in the summertime.

Well, Sports Fans, drive safe and you know where the rubber goes!