[saurabh041086]

I think Ford's strategy of placing a bigger compressor does outweigh the competitors in AC department. All Ford's with 1.5tdci engines i have been in, chills the cabin like anything, that too without any noticeable impact on engine performance.

[Toni]

I totally agree with Muscle Boyy. My 2018 Hyundai Santro Sportz MT Air-Con is a chiller especially with that pair of rear ac vents, the cabin cools within a very short span of time. My daily commute to office one way is approx 10 kms. Last week when Kolkata was reeling under heat wave conditions over 42-43 degree celsius my Santro ac cooled down the cabin within minutes.

2012 Chevy Beat Diesel the ac was just ok.
First gen. Hyundai Santro also ok.
Second gen. Maruti 800 DX not so good.
First gen. Maruti 800 was very good.

[N4Nikunj]

Grand i10 2015 - Excellent AC. Changed Cooling Coil once
Ertiga ZDI+ 2017 - Good AC. Does the Job. Due to large glass area may be.
Alto 800 2020 - Bad AC - Poor Vent Design

[guywholovesuvs]

We have a December 2009 MS Estilo and the AC is quite good for a car of that age. In peak summer (may-June) when temperatures are 40+ the AC does an excellent job of cooling the cabin in 3-4 minutes which is at full blower. After that, we usually turn it down to level 3 and level 2 as per the weather and timing of using the car.

But our car does require cleaning of the whole AC unit every 3rd year.

[chandrda]

My 2003 Fiat Palio has one of the Best AC. Even after 20 years it just freezes the occupants.

Few other Cars I have experienced extensively -

2007 Scorpio - Very Good

2011 Nano - Very Good

2009 Swift - Good

2012 Vista - Good

2015 Duster - Average

2017 BR-V - Average

Regards

[Thyag]

Having Ford Aspire (TDCI, BS4) for past 4 years, never had any AC troubles, in-fact family always want to increase the temperature as they feel so cold. I went in for the fourth year service and technician informed me that coolant pressure is low and cooling coil may have been damaged. I got doubtful and asked him to refill the refrigerant alone. Later when I took it to local AC mechanic he checked and told me that cooling coil is great and only dust has covered it.

The AC mechanic told me following things,

1) Get the AC system checked every year
2) Never Start the AC until the engine temperature has risen to optimum level
3) Never run the AC in idle condition for long hours

Following these simple steps will increase the longevity of the Air conditioning system it seems

[Small Bot]

Quick review of my currently active cars (rest have been either sold or given away to family members):

2017 Hyundai i20 Active SX Petrol:
One of the best ACs I've experienced, just making a little more noise as it ages. There have not been any issues over its lifetime, except for the fact that the rear blowers are not nearly half as good as the facial blast in the front, and it has been that way since the day of purchase. Kudos to Hyundai for a relatively solid AC.

2023 Maruti Suzuki Brezza ZXi+ Petrol:
Early days yet, but the AC is a real chiller (like most Marutis generally are these days), though the new Brezza AC is almost as noisy as the old i20 AC. The fact I really like is that when I switch the AC to blow on both my face and my feet (usually during midday drives), I can actually feel it cooling both regions somewhat effectively. Most cars sacrifice one for the other. Rear blowers are not bad too. Will update the AC performance when summer reaches its peak in a month or less.

[pram_ind]

Alto 800 : Good.
Old Santro : Good
Previous Gen Ford Fiesta : Excellent
Honda City 4th Gen : Good
Creta Petrol Auto : Chiller.
MG ZS EV : Excellent

[antz.bin]

2nd gen Ford Figo owner here. The Aircon definitely does not belong to this thread but I couldn't help but share this with the ones who are here.

A small tip for everyone struggling with their Aircons. I implemented it recently and suddenly my favourite time to do inter-city drives is between 11 AM - 5 PM because the Aircon is truly rocking.

In March, I was actively looking for options in the "Legal Alternatives to Sunfilm" and "Sunfilm thread". What I realised was if I placed a small hand towel/napkin on top of the centre Aircon vents on the dashboard, my AC woes were solved. Just like that. It needn't even be wet, a dry towel works if your car has been parked in the shade (prior to keeping the towel there).

For now, the towel in my car just stays behind the HU Touchscreen. It just stays there. It's not moving, it's not falling anywhere. I don't even look at it. And if it's reflection on the windshield bothers you, just switch to Polarized sunglasses. My towel is bright green and I hardly notice the reflection even during peak sunlight hours. But if you wear specs, then unfortunately you are out of luck.

So there you have it. Do let me know if this slightly inelegant solution works for you. It did for me so I couldn't help but share.

[r4jt]

My 2022 Dzire is the ultimate chill ride. With its rear AC vent, this baby cools down in no time flat – big thanks to Maruti for hooking it up with such a genius addition. Even if I park it in the blazing sun, there's never any cooling drama. And my passengers in the back seat? They stay ice cool, never once complaining about the temperature. And me? I'm just as comfortable in the back as I am in the driver's seat.

[Reinhard]

Here's my experience (only cars owned in India) -

1. Tata Nexon XZ+ Diesel (with rear cooled blower, not just fans) - Absolute chiller. No matter how hot it is outside, no matter how long the car was standing under mid-day Sun. Someone in the car is bound to say "reduce the cooling" in 10 minutes. I have never had to reduce the ACC temperature below 24 to get any faster cooling etc. This thing works superb (like in most Tata cars).
2. Tata Indica Vista Diesel - Once more, brilliant AC by Tata cars. No issues for nearly 10 years of ownership. Once - after a mighty accident, needed to replace the cooling coil and recharge the gas. But other than that - flawless.
3. Maruti Alto K10 - Right up there with the Nexon. This little gem chilled to the bones in minutes. Impressive AC performance (aided by the tiny cabin volume to cool), and I miss it since I have let her go.
4. Maruti Ignis - Average cooling. Expected better from Maruti. But then the cabin volume, overall vent positioning and sizes, more or less seem to all contribute to this. I have checked with many Ignis owners (including my cousin) and the performance is identical. Blowers are rather noisy.
5. VW Polo GT1.2 - Average AC - but not much to complain about (That said - this is only faster than the Ignis in cooling the cabin out of the cars above). Keeps us cool without much fuss. Blower settings are good with multiple levels of precision, which helps in keeping the cabin quiet too. I really appreciate this bit about German engineering.
6. Maruti Omni - Well you know. I never had any complaints with its AC.

[techieaditya]

I will describe my experience with the following cars:
1. Swift Dzire: Absolute gem of an Air Conditioner! It works like charm even on 24-25 during the peak summers and *touchwood* during the 9 years of ownership never had any troubles with AC.
2. Skoda Laura: The worst AC we've ever seen in any car. It takes long time to cool during sommers and always need to be kept on Low to get some relief. The compressor has been replaced around 4 times in 10 years of ownership.
3. Hyundai Verna: Great AC. Worked like charm and never gave any issues during the 5 years of our ownership.

[Sabrish]

What a timely thread - At least for me as I am impacted.

The AC's in general have always been at par for most Cars I have owned

Opel Astra / Mitsubishi Lancer / Chev Optra / Hyundai Elantra / Fiat Punto / Ford Aspire / Skoda Rapid

The Aspire, Elantra & Optra had amazing Air Cons followed by Punto & Astra while Lancer was above average. Rapid TSI was pretty well placed too and I never had complaints.

2023 - Moving to Virtus AT - I experience what an underwhelming Air Con is for a car that costs north of 17L. Absolutely dead and has no impact for the rear passengers.

In a hot and a humid place like Chennai - This is a super turn off.

A tip: The VAG cars are not what they used to be and you are better off avoiding them if you are very specific about this.

[acquillew]

Mahindra Scorpio N Z8L. Drive it in Ahmedabad and my commute is about 25 km at 3 PM - hottest time of the day - seen temperatures of about 42.5 degrees till now. The AC is super chill and cools down the cabin in about a minute. The car is mostly driven solo at this time of the day, though I have heard good feedback from people sitting in the second row when occupied. Drive with Auto AC on and temperature set to 23 - both driver and passenger.

[attinder]

Honda City 5th Gen. Very Good AC. I prefer to keep it on manual as I feel blower is sometimes too strong on Auto mode.