Tried Seat Covers on the 4th Gen — Still Feels Like Something’s Missing Inside

[Mabett]

Hey everyone — Jeremy here from Mabett.

Been putting some more time on our 4th Gen Tacoma and wanted to share something we’ve been testing.

Trying Out Seat Covers

We’ve been running a set of seat covers on our truck recently — mainly to see how much of a difference they actually make in day-to-day use.

Nothing crazy, just a clean black setup for now:

So far, they’ve been solid — definitely help with protection, and with a good fit they don’t really take away from the factory look.

Feels Like There’s More Room to Improve

At the same time, it’s been pretty clear that seat covers are just one part of it.

We’ve been going through a lot of the comments here, and one thing that keeps coming up is the interior — especially around the doors.

A lot of you have mentioned things along the lines of:

• adding some color to break up the all-black look
• improving how certain areas feel to the touch

It seems like the idea of color-matched trim upgrades is something people are pretty interested in — with the door panels (front and rear) being one of the main areas that could make a difference. Whether that’s through added layers, soft-touch sections, or panel overlays — feels like there’s something there worth exploring.

What Would You Change First?

Seats, door panels, or something else? Drop a comment and let me know.

Jeremy

Mabett

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[Mabett]

agree but this requires an overall color scheme...

cant argue with that

 

[chrissd]

Excited to see how these color matched trim kits turn out..

 

[Will721]

Most would probably agree seat covers first if you have base seats. The reason? Toyota in all their wisdom decided that the base seats, and only the base seats needed to be two tone. They are "boulder" (light gray almost white) and black. They do not match any exterior colors other than gray and black. They clash with, the basic blue, and red, along with all the more impactful colors. Now, why in the hell they would choose such a light color that's easily stained, in a truck, geared towards the offroad market is beyond me. I'll add some additional details to the idea.

As I stated in an earlier thread, I would personally like to emulate the 1794 edition. To that end, if you are going to do an entire interior kit to do so I would most definitely be interested. Actual leather would be preferable over plastic/vinyl (vegan leather or however you want to call it). Mostly because the synthetics cannot be preserved and will crack, where leather can be moisturized and patinas. The type or origin of the leather I would say isn't really a concern as long as it is a hearty and durable hide. Likewise, high traffic portions or those exposed to direct sunlight like the tops of doors or console lids would benefit from actual hide. Low traffic areas like dash board trims could easily be synthetic as long as they actually match.

For reference, the 1794 interior:

Of course are chocolate or saddle tan is my preference but not the only option. I'm sure many owners would also be interested in gray or (and probably the most popular option) a black with colored stitching. I.e. Black with dark blue, red, orange, light blue, bronze, and gray for a more matching "premium" look. Preferably without company logos, but some may be inclined for a Toyota symbol, TRD or Tacoma stitching on the seats or center console.

For full synthetic options, camouflage an topographic patterns are very popular among off road oriented markets. These could also have varied stitching colors or even color matching in the patterns themselves as long as they are minimalist in nature as to not come off as being tachy.

 

[Mabett]

Most would probably agree seat covers first if you have base seats. The reason? Toyota in all their wisdom decided that the base seats, and only the base seats needed to be two tone. They are "boulder" (light gray almost white) and black. They do not match any exterior colors other than gray and black. They clash with, the basic blue, and red, along with all the more impactful colors. Now, why in the hell they would choose such a light color that's easily stained, in a truck, geared towards the offroad market is beyond me. I'll add some additional details to the idea.

As I stated in an earlier thread, I would personally like to emulate the 1794 edition. To that end, if you are going to do an entire interior kit to do so I would most definitely be interested. Actual leather would be preferable over plastic/vinyl (vegan leather or however you want to call it). Mostly because the synthetics cannot be preserved and will crack, where leather can be moisturized and patinas. The type or origin of the leather I would say isn't really a concern as long as it is a hearty and durable hide. Likewise, high traffic portions or those exposed to direct sunlight like the tops of doors or console lids would benefit from actual hide. Low traffic areas like dash board trims could easily be synthetic as long as they actually match.

For reference, the 1794 interior:

Of course are chocolate or saddle tan is my preference but not the only option. I'm sure many owners would also be interested in gray or (and probably the most popular option) a black with colored stitching. I.e. Black with dark blue, red, orange, light blue, bronze, and gray for a more matching "premium" look. Preferably without company logos, but some may be inclined for a Toyota symbol, TRD or Tacoma stitching on the seats or center console.

For full synthetic options, camouflage an topographic patterns are very popular among off road oriented markets. These could also have varied stitching colors or even color matching in the patterns themselves as long as they are minimalist in nature as to not come off as being tachy.

I completely agree that, especially your points about using real leather in high-traffic / high-sun areas vs synthetics in low-wear areas, and of course the desire for a “1794 Edition” style interior. These thoughts have given me a lot of insight and i will keep you updated on this progress.

Also, please feel free to join our facebook group for chances to test new arrivals.
https://bit.ly/MabettFacebookGroup

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