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Full IIHS study: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/most-small-suv-headlights-rate-poor-in-iihs-evaluations
Article below from: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/07/almost-small-suv-headlights-bad-none-good-iihs/
Compact SUV headlights have a long way to go if they want a passing grade from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The organization now rates headlight performance, and ] small SUVs are the latest crop of vehicles to undergo testing. The study results aren’t dazzling.
Out of 21 vehicles and 47 headlight options, no small SUV received a “good” rating from the IIHS, and two-thirds garnered a “poor” rating. Only four vehicles — the 2017 Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson and Mazda CX-3 — earned a rating of “acceptable.”
The headlight test is simple. IIHS measures the amount of light emitted by low and high beams, then measures the amount of glare faced by oncoming vehicles. Vehicles scored points if their headlights came with an auto-dimming feature.
A poor score in the headlight test isn’t good for a vehicle’s overall rating. IIHS won’t declare a vehicle a top safety pick if their headlights fail to net a good or acceptable rating.
“Manufacturers aren’t paying enough attention to the actual on-road performance of this basic equipment,” IIHS Senior Research Engineer Matthew Brumbelow said in a statement. “We’re optimistic that improvements will come quickly now that we’ve given automakers something to strive for.”
In March, when the organization tested midsize sedans, the BMW 3 Series was judged to have the worst headlights in the businesses, proving that vehicle price has little to do with headlight performance. With small SUVs, the “worst” list is a lengthy one, and very diverse. Take your pick of nationalities found at the bottom — Audi Q3, Fiat 500X, Buick Encore, Subaru Forester, Kia Sportage, and a number of other Japanese and American models.
Jeep fared the worst overall, with all of its small offerings — Patriot, Renegade and Wrangler — rated as poor. Honda’s HR-V also found a home on the bottom, as did the Chevrolet Trax, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, and Nissan Rogue.
The “marginal” category was thinly populated, with no domestic automaker found on the second-from-bottom shelf. Earning that title was the Mazda CX-5, BMW X1, Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota RAV4 and Volkswagen Tiguan.
No particular headlight type fared better than others. Halogen, HID and LED headlamps are found throughout the list, because lumens only go so far towards your final grade. Glare issues demoted 17 of the headlight combinations.
“Glare issues are usually a result of poorly aimed headlights,” said Brumbelow. “SUV headlights are mounted higher than car headlights, so they generally should be aimed lower. Instead, many of them are aimed higher than the car headlights we’ve tested so far.
Article below from: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2016/07/almost-small-suv-headlights-bad-none-good-iihs/
Compact SUV headlights have a long way to go if they want a passing grade from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The organization now rates headlight performance, and ] small SUVs are the latest crop of vehicles to undergo testing. The study results aren’t dazzling.
Out of 21 vehicles and 47 headlight options, no small SUV received a “good” rating from the IIHS, and two-thirds garnered a “poor” rating. Only four vehicles — the 2017 Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson and Mazda CX-3 — earned a rating of “acceptable.”
The headlight test is simple. IIHS measures the amount of light emitted by low and high beams, then measures the amount of glare faced by oncoming vehicles. Vehicles scored points if their headlights came with an auto-dimming feature.
A poor score in the headlight test isn’t good for a vehicle’s overall rating. IIHS won’t declare a vehicle a top safety pick if their headlights fail to net a good or acceptable rating.
“Manufacturers aren’t paying enough attention to the actual on-road performance of this basic equipment,” IIHS Senior Research Engineer Matthew Brumbelow said in a statement. “We’re optimistic that improvements will come quickly now that we’ve given automakers something to strive for.”
In March, when the organization tested midsize sedans, the BMW 3 Series was judged to have the worst headlights in the businesses, proving that vehicle price has little to do with headlight performance. With small SUVs, the “worst” list is a lengthy one, and very diverse. Take your pick of nationalities found at the bottom — Audi Q3, Fiat 500X, Buick Encore, Subaru Forester, Kia Sportage, and a number of other Japanese and American models.
Jeep fared the worst overall, with all of its small offerings — Patriot, Renegade and Wrangler — rated as poor. Honda’s HR-V also found a home on the bottom, as did the Chevrolet Trax, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, and Nissan Rogue.
The “marginal” category was thinly populated, with no domestic automaker found on the second-from-bottom shelf. Earning that title was the Mazda CX-5, BMW X1, Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota RAV4 and Volkswagen Tiguan.
No particular headlight type fared better than others. Halogen, HID and LED headlamps are found throughout the list, because lumens only go so far towards your final grade. Glare issues demoted 17 of the headlight combinations.
“Glare issues are usually a result of poorly aimed headlights,” said Brumbelow. “SUV headlights are mounted higher than car headlights, so they generally should be aimed lower. Instead, many of them are aimed higher than the car headlights we’ve tested so far.
