MARUTI SUZUKI GRAND VITARA
The sole SUV offering from India’s largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki, the Vitara’s engine was recently upgraded. The typical Maruti all-black dash with a hint of chrome looks decent but on hindsight, affects the cooling process. The Grand Vitara managed to bring down the cabin temperature to 30ºC with the vent as low as 10.9ºC.
CHEVROLET CAPTIVA
The GM Chevrolet Captiva achieved the same minimum cabin temperature as the Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara. Interestingly, the dashboard colour combination and materials used are also similar – black plastic with matte chrome trims. The Captiva managed 30.0ºC with the vent temperature, two ºC higher than the Maruti at 12.5ºC.
NISSAN X-TRAIL
The X-trail is one of my favourite designs among the SUVs available in India. The Nissan did manage to break the 30ºC mark. The vents might appear to be tiny for a SUV but they do their duty well. The Nissan managed to achieve 29.5ºC as the cabin temperature while the vent was at 13.2ºC.
BMW X3
The Munich based carmaker’s smallest SUV in India obviously did better than the X6 in the air-con comparo by reducing the cabin temperature down to 29.5ºC. This is at par with the Nissan X-Trail. However, the vent temperature of the X3 was slightly higher than the Nissan at 14.4ºC.
MITSUBISHI PAJERO
The Pajero has a cult following and its off-roading abilities have been proven over the years. This time we put its air-conditioning system to the test. The old-school design of the dashboard has knobs, unlike digital switches available in most other SUVs. This legendary off-roader managed to bring the temperature down to 29.4ºC with the vent temp at 12.6ºC.
VW TOUAREG
The Touareg is the only SUV sold in India under the VW brand. The beige interiors with wood finish trims not only look good but also help in dispensing heat from the cabin. The sunroof with the tonneau cover did keep the harsh sun at bay for the SUV recorded 29.3ºC as the cabin temperature and 18.1ºC at the vents.
MERCEDES ML-CLASS
Here’s another good looking SUV whose performance can outshine its looks. The dash and interior design of the ML is very subtle. The round air-con vents might look docile but perform quite well as they helped reduce the cabin temperature from 50ºC to 29ºC while the vents were at 11.7ºC, which is impressive for a car of this size.
FORD ENDEAVOUR
This all American SUV has recently gone through a makeover and boy, it looks good. The interiors sport a mix of matte and piano black which have worked well for the Endeavour. The muscular SUV managed to cool the cabin to 28.4ºC and the vent temperature was at 18.9ºC.
HONDA CR-V
This Japanese SUV has one of the best ride quality and handling in its price bracket. It might drive like a sedan, but the question here is if its AC has sedan like cooling abilities? Yes it does. The CR-V brought the cabin temperature down to an impressive 28.3ºC and the vents showed 11.2ºC.
TATA SAFARI
We were glad to see the big boy of Tata in the top five of this comparo as all the other four are of Japanese make. The Safari has a large cabin room and doesn’t even have a tonneau cover to cut off the boot space from the cabin. The Tata achieved 27.5ºC as the cabin temperature and the vents showed 13ºC.
TOYOTA FORTUNER
We’ve reached almost the end of the AC comparo and there is no mention of Toyota which has one of the largest SUV range in India. This means that the Toyotas with their amazing air-conditioning systems have managed to do better than most others. With cabin temperature at 27.2ºC and the vent at 15.5ºC, the Fortuner will make sure you don’t sweat while you drive.
MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER
With a bold new design, the Outlander is here to shake up the competition but only time can tell how well the Mitsubishi will do in terms of sales. However, we can assure you that its AC did manage to shake a few souls and outperform competition with 27.1ºC as cabin temperature and 11.9ºC at the vents.
TOYOTA LANDCRUISER
The Japanese big daddy also proved to be big on the chill factor. The Landcruiser is amongst the biggest in this shootout, yet it managed to finish second overall. The reason being that Asian carmakers are more prepared to counter the tropical heat as compared to their European counterparts. The LC managed 25.9ºC as cabin temperature and 13.3ºC at the vents.
TOYOTA PRADO
After the Landcruiser ended up as the runner-up in the SUV air-con comparo, it comes as no surprise that its younger sibling, the Prado with a smaller cabin area and a similar air-conditioning system has grabbed the top position. Achieving an outstanding 24.9ºC as the cabin temperature from the 50ºC it started from is indeed a feat. The vents showed just 8.4ºC!
