Wait you actually meant the latter one was easier to read? Thought that was referring to the else-if one, which is definitely more appropriate. Else-if is much better once you throw %c, %d, and %e into the mix, because the first one stays coherent and simply grows longer in a similar manner while the latter turns into a trainwreck of embedded ifs and elses.
I was saying else if is easier to read. :P
To represent more than 1 else if will increase the complexity of the code, you'll have tons of embedded elses and ifs. if, else if, and else makes it much clearer to anyone reading the code.