Which cars have the best air con ?
Discussion
In the states with a Dodge Caravan and we aren't all that impressed with the air con, to be fair it's 45 degrees so I guess a big (in terms of interior volume) car in high ambient temps is never going to be the coolest.
I gad an old Audi 100, a 1990 model and the air con was, I think a dealer fit option with a button near the handbrake, it must have been a hell of a set up as it would chill the car to fridge like temperatures, to the point your breath would condense like a really cold day, it had a noticeable affect on performance, used to have to turn it off to overtake.
The little C1 has really cold air con, the Galaxy I think is marginal and probably needs a regas/service.
The 944 doesn't have it, it just treats you to a selection of manly old Porsche aromas, from musty trim, through cooking Mobil 1 to complaining clutch.
I gad an old Audi 100, a 1990 model and the air con was, I think a dealer fit option with a button near the handbrake, it must have been a hell of a set up as it would chill the car to fridge like temperatures, to the point your breath would condense like a really cold day, it had a noticeable affect on performance, used to have to turn it off to overtake.
The little C1 has really cold air con, the Galaxy I think is marginal and probably needs a regas/service.
The 944 doesn't have it, it just treats you to a selection of manly old Porsche aromas, from musty trim, through cooking Mobil 1 to complaining clutch.
i'm impressed with the air con in my E38, i have a read out saying it was cooling air to 5 degrees on its coldest setting when it was last re-gassed last year (in june....so the air was hardly cold to start with!!)
i'd have thought the new 7 series/S class/A8 models must be up there with their 4 zone control units....not sure about the others but you can spec a 7 series to have a separate air con pump for the rear alone (which takes up some of the boot space). i bet you could get the cabin pretty chilly with that set up!
i'd have thought the new 7 series/S class/A8 models must be up there with their 4 zone control units....not sure about the others but you can spec a 7 series to have a separate air con pump for the rear alone (which takes up some of the boot space). i bet you could get the cabin pretty chilly with that set up!
My series 2 Discoveries had tremendous air con systems - would get a 40C+ cabin (parked in sun in 30C+ ambient) down to a pleasant 18C in a couple of minutes flat. Mind you, the amount of condensed water that poured out of the bottom of it was incredible - on more than one occasion, especially in fuel stations, other drivers would point out that the Disco had a serious water leak such was the 'gush'.
Just been to the tip in my series Land Rover. AC consisted of me opening the window and even that didn't make much difference 
(
The Saab AC is pretty good. I can leave work when its 25/30C outside and no doubt the car interior is much hotter than that and by a few miles it can be down to a nice 18C
( The Saab AC is pretty good. I can leave work when its 25/30C outside and no doubt the car interior is much hotter than that and by a few miles it can be down to a nice 18C
jcremonini said:
I would imagine a car with climate control would be better than any car with airconditioning so none of the above so far.
(yes, there is a difference)
My 944 has climate control allegedly, but no air conditioning system, you set a temperature and it uses a sensor to try and achieve that temp, on to a loser without any means of cooling the cabin though.(yes, there is a difference)
I always understood that climate control was just an automatic way of setting the temp so it controlled the HVAC without you having to fiddle with it ? I have had cars with both and the coldest was the Audi which was just manual.
Let's add in reliability, my Saab was nine years old and worked brilliantly, we bought a new Sharan, it lasted four years before an £800 bill, apparently VW air on was very cheaply made, always find it still works in most Japanese stuff at any age.
J4CKO said:
I always understood that climate control was just an automatic way of setting the temp so it controlled the HVAC without you having to fiddle with it ? I have had cars with both and the coldest was the Audi which was just manual.
Yep, climate control is just automatic airconditioning.Marf said:
J4CKO said:
I always understood that climate control was just an automatic way of setting the temp so it controlled the HVAC without you having to fiddle with it ? I have had cars with both and the coldest was the Audi which was just manual.
Yep, climate control is just automatic airconditioning.jcremonini said:
I would imagine a car with climate control would be better than any car with airconditioning so none of the above so far.
(yes, there is a difference)
Ages ago, in Autocar, I remember Steve Cropley(?......or one of the regulars) saying that when the Ford test drivers were doing hot weather durability testing in Mondeos that they always specified ( or tended to pick as first choice ) the car with plain aircon rather than climate.(yes, there is a difference)
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