Best for Graco seats: Lusso Gear’s Car Seat Protector

Let’s talk protective mats for vehicle seats. There’s no escaping it: some car seats have sharp edges. When you tightly install these seats, they can sometimes damage your vehicle’s interior—leaving dents or marks on the seat.

Even if your car seat doesn’t have sharp edges, kids and cars can be a messy combo—muddy feet get seat backs dirty and juice boxes can spill. Protective mats help protect against the worst dirt and grime.

So, it’s simple—just get a protective mat, right? Well, no. As with any accessory you might use with a car seat, you should always consult your car seat maker’s instruction manual first.

That’s where things get tricky. Some car seat makers (Chicco, Cybex, Peg Perego) do not allow ANY mats to be used under their seats. Other car seat makers (Britax, Diono) only allow their own brand of mats. Good news: some popular seat makers like Graco actually give you the green light on any vehicle seat protectors.

Before you purchase any of these mats, however, check your car seat’s instruction manual to determine if the mat is allowed! While these recommendations were valid and correct as of publishing time, things can change.

So let’s start with Graco—for these seats, we like Lusso Gear’s Car Seat Protector. Here’s why:

What We Liked

• Easy to install and clean. In our testing, we found the adjustable straps easy to use to attach this protector to the headrest.

• Mesh storage pockets. 

• Protects both the seat and seat back. Not all protectors do this!

• Affordable. This was among the more padded seat protectors we tested, despite the affordable price!

• Front apron offers good coverage to keep muddy feet off the seat.

What Needs Work

• Can slide on some leather seats. We didn’t see this in our testing, but other users reported this problem.

• Strong smell when removed from the package. Give this seat protector a few days to air out before installing.

Best for UPPAbaby seats: Munchkin Brica Elite Seat Guardian Car Seat Protector

This seat protector is among the more popular ones on the market today—and after testing it in person, we see why. It is well made and easy to install. But it also has some shortcomings. Here’s a rundown:

What We Liked

• Easy to clean fabric impressed us. And the raised edges contain spills from juice boxes.

• Smart design leaves space for LATCH connectors. 

• Easy to install. The blue plastic bumpers did a good job keeping the seat protector in place.

What Needs Work

• Can leave marks on leather seats. The blue gripper bumpers have their share of critics, who complaint they can leave marks on leather seats. And that’s not why you get a seat protector! One tip: you can remove the bumpers from the bottom of the mat to prevent this from happening.

• Apron not as big as the Lusso seat protector reviewed earlier in this article.

• Doesn’t work on middle seats in some vehicles. That’s because this mat’s large size covers up the seat belt attachments.

Best for Diono seats: Diono Car Seat Protector

Diono only recommends its car seat protector mat be used with its car seats—and good news, this mat is actually well designed and affordable. Here’s more:

What We Liked

• Front apron with storage. 

• Includes sun block shield to keep the seat cool when your child isn’t in the seat—that’s a nice bonus.

• Easy installation. This mat grips well, thanks to a design with a tongue at the back that slides into the seat bite.

• Easy to clean.

• Affordable.

What’s Needs Work

• Can slide on some leather seats. We didn’t see this in our testing, but we see other reports that this could happen.

• Grippy dots on underside of mat can melt in extreme heat. We see reports from Arizona and Texas that during extreme summer heat, the grippy dots on this seat protector can actually melt! So this may not be the best mat to use if you live in such a climate.

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing baby gear, including car seats and accessories, since 1994. We do hands-on testing—we buy the products with our own money and evaluate with an eye toward safety, ease of use and affordability.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Baby Bargains is your independent and unbiased source for expert baby gear reviews.