[amitayu]

Ideally the roof, and panoramic sunroof be damned!
But my bigger concern is what does it mean for piping and wiring?

End of the central console is perhaps the most efficient and cost effective solution. How efficient are the roof mounted ones and what technical differences does that entail?

Would appreciate any expert opinion on that.

[maverick.munish]

Voted for the B-Pillar.
Have this on my Safari and I am super satisfied with the airflow and the angle at which the air is thrown.
With the summer sun beating down on the vehicle, having it on the b-pillar also helps as the sunrays enter via the passenger window route.
Having the vents on the b-Pillar also opens up the utility for having sun roofs and reading lamps on the roof mounting as always.

[2JZ-GTE]

I just remembered two cars with unique rear AC vent placements. The Mahindra Marazzo and the good old Safari Storme.

Marazzo had the rear ac vents mounted on the roof which opened to the sides. I was fascinated by the vent placement when we took a TD long back when the Marazzo was launched.

And the Safari Storme had AC vents on both the roof and at the end of the centre console as well. And in the Safari AC was an absolute bone chilling unit.

Still I’d go for the roof mounted AC system.

[century]

I am okay with anywhere except end of central console. My family (especially ladies) always complain for cooling on my sedans/hatchback when they are seated on the rear seats. They demand me to increase the flow and I have to abide reluctantly as I don't like air flow reaching anywhere on my body (whether fan, AC, although surprisingly cooler is okay though!) I don't know why? Maybe humidity

My SUVs and MPV have roof mounted vents and my whole family is happy with them as they can control the air flow. I have not experienced B-piller and above rear doors AC vents, so voted roof.

[AnAntinspired]

Across my 28 cars until now, 14 have been multi utility vehicles/7 seaters/ people movers. Have owned all sorts of solutions for rear cooling and I haven't come across a better implementation than in the Carens currently owned!

With diffuser/vent flow mode added to each roof mounted circular unit, the cooling is instantaneous, well distributed and silent even at blower set to just first speed.

Remarkable indeed and had me vote for roof mounted in this poll!

[Arun yadav]

Voted for 'Others'.
Talking from a strictly individualistic point of view, I like the arrangement in my Hexa
( Vents at end of console + B pillars) -> no reason whatsoever to complain.

[SLK]

Originally Posted by amitayu

How efficient are the roof mounted ones and what technical differences does that entail?

Roof mounted ones have a separate cooling coil and a fan of their own! so they are a different league. On a hot day you would prefer an Ertiga to a German Sedan.

[McLaren Roxx]

Voted 'Others'.
I like the dual combination of center console + b-pillar mounted in my Hexa. The center console one is controlled via the dash AC whereas the pillar mounted one via a secondary AC unit.
This way the clean look of the roof is maintained too.

Pc: Hexa official review

[searchingheaven]

Originally Posted by GTO

I have yet to sit in a car that has powerful (and I mean p-o-w-e-r-f-u-l) rear AC vents in the most common position, that is between the front seats (the tail end of the center console).

However, every MPV / SUV I've sat in with roof-mounted rear air-con vents has been mega. Hence, voted for that.

Your thoughts on the scorpio N? It has a separate coil for the second row and has 4 blower speeds, cools really fast imho.

[It's Magic]

Originally Posted by Aditya

So, where would you prefer your car's rear air-conditioner vents to be located?

Voting for the Roof

I believe the optimal position for rear AC vents would be on the roof, as it would direct air towards the upper body of the rear passenger. However, we experience more hot days in India than cold ones, and from my observations, the rear AC is not as powerful in most cars. Therefore, I would prefer rear AC vents in all possible positions to cool down more quickly.

[JediKnight]

Originally Posted by 2JZ-GTE

Marazzo had the rear ac vents mounted on the roof which opened to the sides. I was fascinated by the vent placement when we took a TD long back when the Marazzo was launched.

Have a Marazzo and the rear roof mounted AC works perfect. Family is very happy and comfortable. Has a separate APU/Coil for the rear ac and can be switched on independent of the front AC.

[vzvish91]

Voted for "roof".
Never experienced "B-pillar" & "Above read door", so can't speak for them.
But have experienced quite many "end of center console" and most of them felt useless.
In my XL6, iirc the rear roof mount blower has a separate chiller coil. The setup is efficient & fast, and the 4 vents covers all the 4 middle & third row seats.

[century]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

Have a Marazzo and the rear roof mounted AC works perfect. Family is very happy and comfortable. Has a separate APU/Coil for the rear ac and can be switched on independent of the front AC.

Recently my brother-in-law's Marazzo has his AC gone kaput while visiting us. He had a unique problem, when the rear AC is on; the car cools, otherwise its 'tandoor'. When reached an AC technician, we got to know that Marazzo has a separate coil for the rear unit for which he charged us more as it is more complex and more work for him. Our front coil lost gas and he refilled it. Few hours later: Tandoor once again. Gas leaked again. After thorough checkup he found that there should be a protective rubber mould in between the pipe and the chassis. And it was a leakage in the pipe due to regular scratching between the two when driving on potholes and rough roads. And then 'Jija ji' said "Yaar tabhi main sochu ki chann-chann ki awaazein kyu aa rahi thi?" For non-hindi readers: "Man! I wondered why the clanking sounds were coming from the car. That's why?

[satish.gawai]

Voted for the Roof.

It frees up some space for the third passenger and also has better airflow management.

The downside is the flow is always on your upper body mainly on your face.

The second choice would be the B pillar mounted.

[Freespirit27]

Centre console is the worst, both to look at, as well as space utilisation. Best would be roof and top of door combination.
The XUV older one atleast had additional rear switcable ones which were great for 3rd row passengers i.e. my daughter and cousins/friends. When she was small, she would crawl in there and immediately ask me for the rear AC and make her own sweet world in there, through most long rides. Add the rear serenic mode of audio and her choice of music, it was a bliss of a ride for us!