Mitsubishi Electric's MSZ-AP is the one for a bedroom, because it turns down further than the others. Its 2.5kW model runs from 19dBA at the lowest fan speed up to 44dBA at full, and it is the bottom of that range that matters in a room you sleep in. It comes in seven sizes from 2.5kW to 7.8kW, all with Wi-Fi built in.
Fujitsu is the easier one to buy. The 3.5kW reverse-cycle set sells at the big chains for around $1,400 before installation, carries 4.5 cooling stars, runs at 42dBA indoors and includes a human sensor that points airflow away from people. The warranty runs five years.
Daikin's Cora sits between them on both counts. Its edge is control: temperature in half-degree steps, Coanda airflow that throws air along the ceiling instead of down onto you, and a two-area sensor that tracks where people are sitting.
Fujitsu 3.5kW Reverse Cycle
3.5kW cooling and 3.7kW heating, 4.5 cooling stars and 3 heating stars in an average climate, 770 cubic metres an hour of airflow and an inverter compressor. Wi-Fi, human sensor, 24-hour timer, Apple-Catechin and ion deodorising filters. Indoor unit 834mm wide at 42dBA; outdoor 799mm at 59dBA. Five-year warranty. Owners rate it 4.9 at The Good Guys.
Heating is the soft spot. At 3 stars in an average climate and 2.5 in a cold one, it is a better cooler than it is a heater.
What We Like:
- 4.5 cooling stars
- Human sensor redirects airflow
- Sold at retail, price is visible
What We Don't Like:
- 2.5 heating stars in a cold climate
Daikin Cora
Seven capacities from 2.0kW to 7.1kW in both reverse cycle and cooling only, with R32 refrigerant, Coanda airflow, a two-area Intelligent Eye that directs air toward or away from where people are sitting, an enzyme blue deodorising filter and temperature set in half-degree steps. Five years parts and labour.
Daikin does not publish a retail price, and the Cora is not carried by the electrical chains, so the number you pay comes from an installer's quote and varies by job.
What We Like:
- Half-degree temperature steps
- Coanda airflow avoids draughts
- Seven sizes including 4.6kW and 6.0kW
What We Don't Like:
- No shelf price to compare against
Mitsubishi Electric MSZ-AP
Seven sizes from 2.5kW to 7.8kW, covering 2.5, 3.5, 4.2, 5.0, 6.0, 7.1 and 7.8kW, with built-in Wi-Fi, a night mode, vertical and horizontal vanes, and Dual Barrier Coating inside the unit to stop dust and cooking oil sticking to the internal surfaces. The 2.5kW runs from 19dBA at its lowest fan speed, the lowest figure anything here publishes.
Like the Cora, it is sold through installers rather than the chains.
What We Like:
- 19dBA at the lowest fan speed
- Dual Barrier Coating
- Built-in Wi-Fi
What We Don't Like:
- Bought through a quote, not a price tag
Side by side
| Fujitsu 3.5kW | Daikin Cora | Mitsubishi MSZ-AP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,300–1,400 | Installer quote | Installer quote |
| Sizes | 2.5–7.1kW | 2.0–7.1kW | 2.5–7.8kW |
| Cooling stars (average) | 4.5 | — | — |
| Heating stars (average) | 3 | — | — |
| Indoor noise | 42dBA (3.5kW) | Not published | 19–44dBA (2.5kW), 19–45 (3.5kW) |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Not on Cora | Built in |
| Occupancy sensor | Human sensor | 2-Area Intelligent Eye | i-see on other series |
| Temperature steps | 1°C | 0.5°C | 1°C |
| Warranty | 5 years | 5 years parts and labour | — |
| Owner rating | 4.9 (29) | — | — |
Fujitsu figures are from The Good Guys; Daikin and Mitsubishi figures are from the brands' own product pages.
What actually differs
How you buy it. Fujitsu sits on a shelf with a price on it, so you can compare the unit cost against another brand before anyone visits. Daikin and Mitsubishi come as part of a supply-and-install quote, which bundles the unit, the bracket, the pipe run and the electrical work into one number. Neither approach is wrong, but only one lets you separate the cost of the machine from the cost of the job.
Airflow. This is Daikin's genuine advantage. Coanda airflow pushes cooled air along the ceiling so it falls evenly rather than blowing onto whoever is under the unit, and the two-area sensor knows where people are. Fujitsu's human sensor does a simpler version of the same thing.
Quiet, and at which fan speed. The brands publish these figures differently. Mitsubishi quotes a range across its fan speeds, 19 to 44dBA on the 2.5kW. Fujitsu quotes a single 40dBA for the same size, and Daikin publishes none on the Cora page at all. At full fan there is little between the first two. At the lowest setting, which is where a unit sits once the room is at temperature, Mitsubishi goes considerably quieter, and it holds that across the range: even the 7.1kW starts at 30dBA. Decibels are logarithmic, so a 20-point gap is much larger than it reads.
Keeping the inside clean. Mitsubishi's Dual Barrier Coating stops dust and cooking oil adhering to the internal surfaces, which is what causes the smell older split systems develop after a few years. Daikin's answer is a replaceable deodorising filter; Fujitsu's is an ion deodorising filter.
Heating. Fujitsu publishes 3 stars for heating in an average climate and 2.5 in a cold one against 4.5 for cooling. That gap is common across the whole shelf, and it is the number to check if the unit's main job is winter in Melbourne or Canberra rather than summer in Brisbane.
Fine control. Half-degree steps sound trivial until a room sits exactly between two whole numbers all evening. Daikin is the only one of the three that offers them.
Who each one suits
Fujitsu suits anyone who wants to know the unit price before committing, and rooms where cooling is the main job.
Daikin Cora suits a room where the unit sits above a seating area and draughts would be noticed, and buyers happy to work from an installer's quote.
Mitsubishi MSZ-AP suits bedrooms, nurseries and studies, where how quiet a unit gets on its lowest setting matters more than how it sounds at full fan.
FAQs
Why do Daikin and Mitsubishi not have retail prices?
Both sell primarily through air conditioning installers and specialist dealers rather than electrical chains, so the price comes with the installation quote. Fujitsu, Panasonic, Samsung and Hisense are all sold both ways.
Does a five-year warranty cover the installation?
It covers the equipment. Faulty installation is the installer's responsibility, which is why a written quote naming the licensed installer matters as much as the badge on the unit.
Is R32 refrigerant better?
It carries a lower global warming potential than the R410A it replaced and allows slightly smaller charge volumes. Every brand here has moved to it, so it is no longer a point of difference.
