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Should I buy tailored or universal car seat covers?
When we started out making our heavy-duty covers, seats were simple. You could pull them forward, push them back, and that was about it. As seats have gotten more complicated, we’ve had to evolve with the times which is why we started producing tailored seat covers for a wide range of vehicles.
What's a universal seat cover?
What are the benefits of a tailored cover compared to a universal cover? Is a tailored cover worth the extra money? Let's look at the differences to help you decide which type of seat cover is right for you.
First things first - be it universal or tailored, one fact reigns true above all else – it has to fit the seat to be effective. Not only does it have to fit but this fit has to hold, as a seat cover that slips off is about as useful as a chocolate teapot. This is something which is especially true for people who are sliding in and out the cab of their van or truck all day. Enter, the slidey trucker test (patent pending).
As you can see, our covers can withstand heavy disruption without compromising the fit.
Now that we’ve established that a seat cover needs to fit to be effective, let’s look at a universal cover. Universal seat covers are designed to fit a variety of cars and vans as the name implies and are usually a one-piece cover that slips over the whole seat. Owing to the fact that seats vary from vehicle to vehicle, this means you’ll never get a universal cover that fits like a glove – there will be slack in some places or it may be a little too tight in others.
Does that mean it doesn’t serve a purpose? Absolutely not. In fact, for most cars a universal cover is actually the only option. At Town & Country Covers, we make our universal covers from the same high-quality material that our tailored covers are made from so they offer the same waterproof, heavy-duty protection. They’re also much easier to fit and you can usually have them out of the box and onto the seat in seconds.
Universal Pros:
· Easy to fit
· Can be kept if you change vehicles
· Same heavy-duty, waterproof material as our tailored range
Universal Cons:
· May not give access to functions like adjustable headrests
· Won’t fit perfectly – will have slack/tight parts
Universal seat covers can still look great on your seats
What about tailored seat covers?
So, what is a tailored cover? Tailored covers are designed to fit the exact shape of specific seats and vehicles, giving you unimpeded access to all the important parts of the seat. This includes things like drop-down trays, under-seat storage, adjustable headrests, and integrated seatbelts. Not only that, but they look the business as well. One thing we’re seeing is more and more people using their vans as their daily leisure vehicle outside of work so they want their cab to carry a certain level of style.
Our tailored covers are hand-designed in the UK by our in-house designer and as good as our universal covers are, nothing looks as good as tailored. Just think of the difference between a new fitted suit and the suit collecting dust in your cupboard that you bought five years and 10kg ago. There’s no comparison. What’s more, this intricate level of fit means that there’s zero chance of any dirt or grime getting through to the seat, which protects the resale value of your vehicle.
Tailored Pros:
· Fitted look for unrivalled style
· Unfettered access to all seat functions
Highest level of protection
Tailored Cons:
· Takes longer to fit
· Slightly more expensive
Written by Josh Wilkie
Unsure what cover is best for you? Our team of seat cover experts (yes, that’s a real thing) are on hand to answer any of your questions on 02392 47 47 11. You can also use our online cover finder to search for the best covers for your vehicle. Whether you decide to go tailored or universal, we’ve got you covered.