The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has found that the quality of headlights in many small SUVs is not as good as it should.
Out of the 21 models put under the spotlight, which sport 47 different headlamp combinations between them, more than two-thirds have been rated Poor, five carry a Marginal rating, and just four have been noted to be Acceptable. However, customers need to make sure that they are getting the best headlight combination in each case and for the Hyundai Tucson, for example, this is available on the Limited version.
“Manufacturers aren’t paying enough attention to the actual on-road performance of this basic equipment. We’re optimistic that improvements will come quickly now that we’ve given automakers something to strive for“, said the IIHS Senior Researcher Engineer Matthew Brumbelow, announcing at the same time that for 2017, vehicles will need to have Good or Acceptable headlights in order to qualify for the Top Safety Pick Plus.
The IIHS’s tests aren’t favoring the modern headlight technology that includes HID and LED lamps, as they measure how far the light is projected as the vehicle is driven on five approaches: traveling straight, gradual left and right curves and sharp left and right curves.
In each scenario, the engineers also test glare from low beams for oncoming drivers and a vehicle that emits excessive glare on any of these approaches can’t earn a rating higher than Marginal. They can, however, earn extra credit for the high-beam assist, which switches between low and high beams automatically, on the presence of other vehicles.
