Laser v LED v halogen: Headlights tested, compared & explained! Should you upgrade to laser?

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks for watching everybody! Just a note on a question a few of you are asking, why no HID/xenon/bi-xenon? This technology has almost entirely been phased out - most new cars on the market today have either halogen at the entry level or LED as they step up the model grade. So we didn't think it was worth including the technology if it won't be seen in the years to come.

[@annasviatoslavovnamelnikov361]

Could've used a dyno for the beamer....

[@Mogsy28uk]

glad bi-xenon id being phased out, hated them on my old Focus Titanium's and ST, when i got my CX-5 with Adaptive LED it really was like night & day!! No more fitting Nightbreaker bulbs.

[@srinitaaigaura]

Actually xenons IMHO lit up the road better than most OEM LED headlights. The LED has more sideways reach but the Xenon was super bright with a clearly defined cutoff point.

[@CarExpertAus]

@Anna: That wouldn’t have worked. The car needs 200m of clear vision in front of it, it would be hard to find a dyno with nothing in front of it to make the car think it was out on an empty road.

[@aaronjaggan]

Yeah I thought xenon was more powerful than leds especially in the center area of the projection.

[@Dan4096]

Literally the first ever headlight review for new cars. I'm a headlight nerd. Thanks.

[@CarExpertAus]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MrModikoe]

but we left the king of lights Audi..We know they killing it with light technology.

[@mikerelvas]

Same here. To my disappointment none of my cars have cool headlights - they're the bog standard halogens, not even the ones with projectors (Ford Focus MK4 and Renault Megane MK3).

[@littlebuch]

@@MrModikoe sadly, yes. Should have had some beautiful Audi lights

[@karanbeastat55]

What's the best aftermarket led headlight bulb to get for reflectors?

[@workoutguru3211]

U should do a review comparing all the headlight technologies of all popular luxury cars such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Lexus

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@jkxss]

Audi is so far ahead of the competition for headlights at least.

[@workoutguru3211]

@@jkxss yee I agree and Lexus triple beam headlights are trash

[@apocrypth]

@@workoutguru3211 absolutely and do not try their toyota/lexus "auto head light" pretending to dim matrix led's when you are driving and there is some car coming the other way, you will blind him into oblivion...

[@mezo72271]

@@CarExpertAus Lexus just came out with a new LED headlight technology, a few months ago. It might be worth to take a look at it

[@kaflor8005]

While I was in Germany last time, I had a Volvo rental with the matrix LED lights. They were AMAZING. My co-workers made fun of me for geeking out over headlights.

[@filipn1684]

sometimes I like to take the unlit roads home just to geek out over the headlights and play around with the highbeams....yeah, most people will think I'm crazy lolol

[@KaneTheMessiah]

While Volvos headlamps are great they're not Matrix LED and just adaptive headlights called Active Main Beam which turn on and off and uses mechanical swivelling. The first Matrix LED by Volvo is used in the latest Polestar 2! :)

[@SJAutomotiveDesign]

Mazda CX-5 also has matrix LEDs. They are indeed amazing. They light up everything except oncoming traffic.

[@ContraVsGigi]

@@SJAutomotiveDesign Except for truckers, which are above the other cars and the system does not protect their eyes. I got flashed multiple times by truckers and unfortunately unless I go manual on low beam (Mazda, not sure if the others are smarter about this), there is nothing I can do for them.

[@Pumxee]

Should’ve put the bmw on a dyno and the light meter directly in front of it.

[@lordedward9587]

Maybe had a Gps speedometer 🤷‍♂️

[@thumperjdm]

Probably would have been impossible to get the light meter far enough from the dyno-mounted car.

[@hexrust8266]

@@thumperjdm put it on jackstands and run it at 60kmh

[@duckguide4109]

thumperjdm Back the car 🚘 into the dyno then put the meter outside of the garage the dyno is in :)

[@ardonjr]

Or just put the light meter in the back of any other car.. drive with the trunk open in front of the BMW Laserlights.

[@takundamapako7856]

I am a headlight nerd! for years, I have looked for a video like this, but have never found it. You have finally done it for me, and you did it very well! Yours is one of the best channels out here, not just because of the headlight review, but all the car reviews are dope! PS: Please do a video of the Mercedes Benz headlights, lets hear from an independent person just how good those lights are, coz Mercedes seem to make a lot hype about them. Perhaps do for Audi as well.

[@fireball1970]

A very impressive result for the Skoda. I got one big issue with it matrix LED though: I used to drive my bike going to the gym, returning by night on a bikeway 2m next to a road and I often got dazzled by cars. But as far as I recognised it, all the cars with matrix LED were still on high beams in my directions as I was passing by and I went blind for a few secs. Driving a car I'm happy to see as much as possible, driving a bike I'm shocked some headlights are legal as it is REALLY scary to get dazzled by them. Sry for spelling, not a native speaker

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks for that feedback, You're also right that some cars won't dip their matrix LED beam for cyclists or pedestrians.

[@filanfyretracker]

@@CarExpertAus I figure matrix systems are no different from the auto-highbeam systems in the USA in that functionality. Odds are the camera that operates it is looking for the headlights of an oncoming car. Interesting would be to see if the system improperly dips for a car with one lamp out thinking its a motorcycle.

[@Watson2108]

Most of these don‘t recognize a motorcycle either…

[@rhonanastill4197]

Yes. If you watch some of the video demonstration videos by the manufacturers. They say the lights single out cyclist and pedestrians and shine light towards them so the driver can see them more. While great to prevent the car from hitting them. Horrible for the cyclist and pedestrians eyes.

[@Denis19912]

Ye my Opel Insignia also doesn't turn off high beam for pedestrians, cyclist or cars that are parked sideways to the road :/ I have to manually turn off matrix LED in those cases :/ Also if there is just a bit of ice on the sensor matrix led doesn't work at all (guess that's normal as the camera can't properly "see").

[@NomadicJulien]

Always surprising that 99% of car youtuber don't talk about car headlights. Always interesting. Could watch a headlight review for every single car

[@vsboy2577]

The Skoda was very impressive

[@CarExpertAus]

Agreed! We were really surprised with the results.

[@kjyu]

yes, I have seen it in action many times and the visibility it gives is *superb*

[@salmansengul]

@@kjyu Great Pun!

[@erikbuiten14]

Audi tech you know, always the best

[@t_mandry]

Much better in person the matrix system really worth having

[@Steven-cr8ju]

Great review. Head lamp illumination can be complex to assess since there are quanitative and quanitative measures. While "throw" and "spill" relate to far and near lighting, you could be measuring lumens for total light output and candela as a better indicator of beam throw or distance per steradian (per square metre, or 1pi steradian.) Measurements should factor weighting of human eye sensitivity around the 550 nm wavelength. Also, total light output is not always relevant since some bean patterns to the extreme sides may be unnecessary. Similar for head light center or hot spot may not be the same place for each car and you would need top mode your lux metre around the beam to find the most concentrated spot. And the angle where lux drops to 50% is your lumen conversion. Related to eye sensitivity, light output is one thing, but how much is reflected back is another and gets more into the wave length used in the emitter. LEP headlights can have the same lux reading or lumens, but they have much higher candela since they project those lumens much further.

[@grantm1891]

I like those directional LEDs; 25 years ago when I was a young engineer in Mt Isa, my wife and I used to do the Brisbane drive (1850 kms) straight through. I used to turn the spotlights off after about 3 hrs because they would make my eyes sore from road sign reflections. I have to say I love the low beam on the Swift and Skoda as it shines the brightest light lower than the road signs. Great for avoiding eye fatigue. Lux is not everything.

[@pastorofmuppets8834]

Also worth mentioning that the matrix LEDs shade out reflective signs, which I have to say is a great idea. I have to turn my high beams off when reflective signs are so bright with good head lights.

[@iSteveGWT]

I actually just noticed this on the way home from work there 5 minutes ago after fitting Autobeam LED dips and full beams on my mk7 Fiesta ST. With the full beams on, the white UK national speed limit signs are almost blinding.

[@CarExpertAus]

Yep exactly. We've found that some cars don't disable the matrix beam with road signs, which can get a little frustrating!

[@ContraVsGigi]

On Mazda they do not turn off over the traffic signs, either. But that is high beam, low beam is lower yhat the signes and good to the eyes.

[@andy19934]

LED are great, except that, in my experience driving at night (I drive a little sedan), most of these are absolutely blinding for oncoming cars. I have had times where I literally can not see anything but bright white light, damn near driving me off the road. I think they are an amazing addition to a cars safety system, but I feel that car manufacturers need to work on the software that controls where the light goes with "obstacles" and I feel they need to be aimed not directly at other drivers.

[@LorandHungary]

Pawan kohad Well , Audi , Mercedes and bmw are making their new headlights that way , quite nice , since it works fully automatically, but it will increase the price of your headlight by quite a lot again.

[@BenjaminMutuku]

Tesla is notorious for THIS. Blinding oncoming motorists.

[@Sacto1654]

A HUGE problem with LED lamps is that many people try to use LED "bulbs" in a standard headlamp housing intended for halogen lights with really bad results. You have to make sure the LED "bulb" has the LED element location the exact same as the location of the filament in a halogen bulb; that way, it works with the reflector design to keep the beam properly focused, but brighter.

[@ThinkCleverAndSmart]

That's exactly what the matrix lights does :)

[@transtubular]

Well most cars don't have the "Matrix" system as it is patented and higher cost. So until other manufacturers come up with their own plus reduce the cost so that they're on every vehicle, even retro-fitted to older ones...it won't matter. Are you old enough to recall when here in the states they switched from the old sealed beam to the new fangled halogen lights, everyone complained they were too bright. Seriously...halogens were too bright. Then slowly over the years people got used to them and stopped complaining about halogens and started complaining about Xenon lights. Then LEDs. I'm sure the next evolution in automotive lighting will elicit the same response. Only in the last few years have LEDs become capable of emitting enough light to be used for automotive head lights. Give them time to figure it out.

[@SuperZbx]

I think there is a way to test the laser high beam of bow cars stationary. U can use the rollers in those 4wd test videos, they might be able to trick the computer thinking it is driving at 60 mph while it is stationary.

[@parthpatel9602]

They can put the car on the dino but the navigation system only allows laser to be used on the road.

[@maxvolobuiev]

@@parthpatel9602navigation system control lights? Don’t think so, light depends on the speed only

[@Reepicheep-1]

"Halogens are the bulbs You Used to have in your homes." Still do, for some lamps. CFLs, LEDs, and a couple others just get too harsh on the eyes after a while. Incandescent is good.

[@CarExpertAus]

Very true!

[@tcecoleshaw]

Fantastic video and I've always pondered these questions. I've gone from projector halogen to HID kit in the same unit in a Vauxhall Corsa, then more recently to Matrix LED in a Vauxhall Astra. The difference is amazing and I wouldn't go less than Matrix LED ever again. But what this video shows (not necessarily proves) is that the laser tech is fancy but not necessarily the brightest illumination. I think what it may provide is a more precise light pattern just like how a mag lite lens can be twisted for a more precise beam. I'm not sure how you can test and measure that but it might provide a sharper focus for the driver for greater comfort versus fatigue or something sciency. One missed opportunity in this video is demonstrating how the Matrix and laser lights switch about from an oncoming vehicle perspective and whether you notice the leds switching off to prevent dazzle, as the oncoming driver. I've been flashed many times and sometimes it's because the light pattern hasn't changed but sometimes I can see the pattern has changed but not sure if the oncoming driver has recognised that they're in fact NOT being dazzled but they think I'm on full beam.

[@Jackson-rf6rv]

I literally have that same model Seltos. Same colour and all. Can confirm the lights are shit

[@TopiasSalakka]

Honestly, all halogen lights are shit. In all the cars i've driven at night that have halogens, can't see anything.

[@LicaM]

Topias Salakka true. I agree with u

[@cjwest9094]

Haha

[@thepurdychannel8866]

@@TopiasSalakka mine are ok they are halogens my dads are too

[@rahuldogra]

Change to HID OR LEDs! There should be LED that are compatable with Hyundai system

[@stuartmunto4755]

Matrix LED is the perfect combination for performance, safety and cost.

[@CarExpertAus]

Agreed!

[@uvwuvw-ol3fg]

Shame high CRI emitters aren't popular in those lights since they help red signs and objects to stand out better while providing better depth perception similar to 100 CRI halogen headlights which simulate horizontal rays of the sunset sunrise. Only diffuset cool white light coming from all directions like from the sky gives acceptable depth perception.

[@Tupeutla]

@@uvwuvw-ol3fg CRI is an index , I never seen 100 CRI lamp in my life

[@Fromatic]

LED projectors are the better balance when including cost I reckon, however unlikely, if theres a fault or damage, in an LED projector the bulbs are relatively inexpensive, a fault or damage in a matrix headlight and it is very pricey as the whole unit has to be replaced. Not including cost the matrix are definitely the better light

[@shaktis6877]

@@Fromatic I think you are right .

[@abhisheksavant4307]

In India, every Tom, Dick & Harry is installing after market led lights in cars & even in 2 wheelers. They drive in city with high beams on. I've lost count of how many times i've been blinded & lost sight of the road. These days i just slow down or completely stop untill the vehical passes me. Can't risk the chance of running into the fields. And the way it looks...its only going to get worse as led's are getting cheaper & cheaper every year.

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks for that feedback, Abhishek!

[@BoomChing]

they dont care? or they dont know the difference of high and low beam that blinds ppl?

[@paritoshtaklikar9894]

@@BoomChing Both actually.. Even if they get to know the difference, they won't care...

[@pradeepmalode8318]

@@BoomChing some people give no fucks. Some people. Not all

[@abhimanyuprasad1674]

Exactly its frustrating

[@us_er_Max]

Really good quality video! I've found it very helpful so thank you. I also think it would be cool to use a drone and see the illuminated terrain from above.

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks for watching!

[@jbblock7691]

I seriously cannot thank you enough for that video. I am a analytical engineer nerd and I knew nothing about BMW laser lights. Extremely well done I appreciate it

[@darius2640]

you overlooked refletor halogen and xenon types, i know they are not fitted to new car anymore but a major part of cars on the road still have them

[@leviathan1195]

They are in actual cars. Nissan K14 for example..

[@zakm4012]

He overlooked it cause those shouldn’t even be spoken about they’re horrible

[@leviathan1195]

@@zakm4012 I really think u dont know what ur talking about. Honda VFR800 for example has a better light then a GS1200. Corsa C 2001 is better then the face lifted 2005 My old Tiger 800 had a better light then the LED Honda NC750X light from my wife. Its mostly better not to light trough a lens. Just the design of the cars makes it necessary to use lenses to get the housing smaller. And the others use them just because they are cheaper to produce --> no high quality --> no good light. Just look at the aftermarket for streetlegal bulbs.. It depends mostly on the car if the light is good or not.

[@filanfyretracker]

lots of reflector lamps are still in new vehicles, At least in the USA. The feds here move at a pace slower than a glacier before global warming melted them all when it comes to new automotive technology in lighting. I think matrix LED is actually still illegal here.

[@dcr33313]

@@filanfyretracker You're right, it is. Matrix LEDs and Laser lights are used here, but the non-dazzling features have to be disabled, meaning they have to operate like regular auto-highbeams (all or nothing). Certain cars can be reprogramed to really take advantage of the beam pattern tech, like BMWs, but it has to be done aftermarket. The DOT really is a joke.

[@MrBeto2020]

Great video! You should also add halogen reflector headlights to see how well the technology has evolved. Also, add a car with HID to see the difference between HID and LED. And for the laser lights you could have jacked up the BMW and put it on jack stands and just put it in drive untill it reached the desired speed. Kinda dangerous but effective 😂

[@brightbaah8659]

Wow!. I never thought of such a review. Thank you Paul. Indeed car expert is one of a kind.

[@miloslogic]

gotta live up to the name

[@CarExpertAus]

Glad you liked it!

[@HammerRocks]

Great video. Very informative. I've always been impressed by the LED headlights on my G05 X5, and thought "If the LEDs were this good, imagine how much better the BMW Laser headlights would be?", and I've always regretted not getting them. Now, thanks to your video, I'm extremely glad I didn't go for the optional extra "BMW Laserlights".

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks for watching!

[@AndrewMcJannettSmith]

Great video, it made me aware of newer technology that I had no idea existed in headlights yet, like the Matrix LED and the Laser headlamps. I know that some TV manufacturers use the Matrix LED lighting to light up the only part of the screen that need light, making the background darker , but this is a way smarter use of that technology. I would love to see a video like this on the different types of Lane Keep Assist used in cars, as my old 2016 Honda Pilot used a system that bounced me between the lines making it look like i was a drunk driver, but when I changed vehicles and purchased a 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe the system was so much better at keeping you centered in the lane with no bouncing like a ping pong ball ;o).. I am sure some manufacturers are better than others but I have not found anyone that has done a comparison, after all this new tech is what we use all the time in our vehicles, like our headlights...

[@icenberg6658]

Finally someone reviewing the lights on new cars! The lights on a car totally decides if I'll buy it or not!

[@vinniedaniels3521]

Very informative - loved the video. You are correct that the Laser is expensive to replace. I have a 2020 X5 here in the US and hit a deer that damaged my laser lights, cost almost $5k to replace. Also, I can’t honestly say they are worth the extra money since they only work with high beams because of US regulations.

[@servissop151]

In Europe lighting regulations are less strict so there's many technologies here like adaptive lights which adjust to the road much better

[@1GTASANANDREASCJ]

@@servissop151 That's not true. It's far stricter but we changed the rules in the last years several times to allow matrix LED, sequential blinkers...

[@mattsson265]

​@@1GTASANANDREASCJ Nah i wouldn't say far stricter... I would say different if so then, but the guy above is kind of right, all we need for a headlight or a bulb to be road legal is that the product has to be CE-marked. If it's CE-marked, it's all good to use. It's individual responsibility to have ur lights display the correct light beam. That's why EDM cars usually has a few more features compared to US.

[@1GTASANANDREASCJ]

@@mattsson265 This is also not true. The whole headlight need to be compliant with many tests like EMV, light distribution, materials used,.... A CE mark is useless and has no meaning. There must be atleast 3 or 4 "E" markings with a special number on the housing.

[@mattsson265]

@@1GTASANANDREASCJ Lmao. U wont get any fine as long as the product has the "correct" CE-marking. TÜV marked in germany. Thats it. Point still stands, US market has stricter rules. Thats why like adaptive cruise control didnt exist in US just a few years ago but EU had it for years. Matrix/Laser feature are still forbidden. The ONLY time it has to go through several quality controls are when u introduce a NEW technology. Once its approved for factory cars, ure free to swap out ur old or retrofit new parts as long as it has the correct CE mark. Otherwise non of my previous cars would go through any MOT. And the laws in Sweden are very strict, on top of the laws from EU. Look, ure not wrong but what u are talking about is quality control and thats correct, they are very strict and thats good for us, it ensures that the product is safe in several different situations. But the laws of what features we can have in our cars here are less strict than in US. It doesnt take a genius to see that USDM cars can feel sort of "limited" compared EDM in some aspects.

[@mikecarnot9473]

While I normally hate RMS/RTA imposing rules I would like them to review the standards. Some of the new BMW and Tesla oncoming traffic is so bright it could bbq a chicken in my car. Well my retina anyway. Not sure if others agree

[@CarExpertAus]

😅

[@gulyasgergo7342]

That awkward moment when you are hesitating whether it's coming with a high beam or a low beam and you turn on your high beam and he also and your eyes are burning out...

[@apocrypth]

well, in europe at least, i think for some years now, it is included in crash tests, as part of that, to have properly projected light onto the road, and must not blind oncoming traffic, otherwise no 5 star rating... and as probably almost everybody know now, design of headlights is still for manufacturers more important than the function. BMW is not exception too. Nor other germans...

[@SlickR12345]

Agreed, its not just BMW's, seems all cars with LED's are way too bright and blind you. I literally can't see anything when I have oncoming car with LED's. They shine way too bright and way too high!

[@owenanderson9395]

The ADRs need to get real with headlight output quality rather than just quantity. The current rule is that any headlight emitting more than 900 lumen (total light) must be self-leveling with cleaning function. Halogen bulbs are below this lumen threshold, but performance heavily depends on the car's reflector/projector beam quality. An example of ADR compliant poor quality headlights are the blinding spill light emitted from the low beams of Ford Festivas. To get real about not blinding oncoming drivers, it's the amount of spill light above the low-beam pattern that needs capping. My Seltos' projector-optimised LEDs emit 3,700 lumens each, correctly aimed without dazzling any oncoming drivers from excessive spill light. These are ideal for busy freeways and country roads where constant oncoming traffic keeps you on low beam.

[@nujjigram]

My first headlight review video... I can't believe I never bothered about the differences before This guy is so charming, with the way he talks

[@jiikoo2000]

Just drove today my Škoda Superb and those matrix led head lights keep amazing me every time. It’s not often that you can drive in complete solitude and matrix leds are best when there is oncoming traffic or car in front of you. Sides of the road are full of light when normal led light has changed to low beam. Means lots of more safety when driving normal highway speeds. Nice to see that also in this test Superb matrix leds are simply superb. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@franciscopaci7807]

You missed the HID’s I wanted to see that in the comparison

[@raunak21m]

This is brilliant! I have always wondered about stuff like this which is mentioned in every car review but never explained in detail. I would absolutely love to see a comparison of adaptive cruise control across manufacturers. I have been looking into this feature for my next car and I realised every manufacturer does it very differently but there's no way to compare them.

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks! It's something we're looking into at the moment.

[@jackhalligan4896]

Put it on a rolling road?

[@JennyPenny707]

Perhaps laser is more focused, going further but not brighter?

[@CarExpertAus]

That's what we thought as well Jenny - you could see reflections from posts ages down the road.

[@srinitaaigaura]

@@CarExpertAus I think the only way to get it to work was to keep the meter directly in front of the car. Or maybe take a reading from another car in front of the BMW.

[@srinitaaigaura]

I think this is the American version with much less powerful lamps? I saw a video of a BMW on European roads and it went to the horizon.

[@JakePulliam]

@@CarExpertAus the light distribution from a headlight is not uniform like in an office projector. There's a hotspot towards the center so when you're measuring with the lux meter it's actually more important to move it around to find the peak brightness rather than to try to keep it in the same spot. The peak might not be in the exact same location and it would be very difficult to assure that you're lined up in the same location from vehicle to vehicle. I would rerun those measurements but moving the lux meter around for the vehicles that you can. I don't know how you capture the BMW measurement but my understanding is the laser spot is really limited in field of view. Maybe just 2 or 3 degrees from center. So that's going to be super difficult to measure with the vehicle moving.

[@tippy35075]

my thought was perhaps the faster you go above 60km/h the brighter they get?

[@gordogmc13]

Back in 03 was my first time behind the wheel with HID. Ever since, lighting has always been at the top of the option list when shopping for a new car

[@CarExpertAus]

👏

[@Murph_82]

Just stumbled upon this.. Brilliant vid mate explaining the variations in head lights. Never really see anyone go into detail regarding headlights 👏🏼

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks mate!

[@pastorofmuppets8834]

Thanks for this review! Mind you, I was disappointed we didn't get a hardness rating on the lights...

[@CarExpertAus]

😅

[@dimi699]

Lol

[@pdoubleproductionsuk]

This explains why I'm nearly being blinded in recent years by car headlights whilst walking on the side of the road in the evening. 👍

[@CarExpertAus]

Very true!

[@pdoubleproductionsuk]

@@CarExpertAus Thanks for the reply and great video by the way very informative.

[@LawrenceMarkFearon]

I think you handicapped your video eliminating HID and Bi-Xenon technology as a reference point. Many of us driving for decades have more experience with HID than the now new LED designs. Much more than ancient halogens. HID covers 20 years of headlight technology with more raw lumen output than many LED's. 5 generations of 7 Series contrasting each headlight would be very comprehensive. I did however love the Laser light explanation. BMW seems to restrict them too much from maximum effectiveness.

[@MrMxm13]

bi-xenon IS hid right?, bi-xenon is just a projector that has a low/high capability. i'm pretty sure led hasn't fully caught up to HID (lumen-wise), but led is way ahead with efficiency

[@LawrenceMarkFearon]

@@MrMxm13 Yes Bi-Xenon has a single Xenon bulb utilizing a shutter projector to project half or total light output from the bulb to create hi and low beam functionality. We all love to generalize for an easy conclusion. But lighting technology is highly dependent on exactly who is doing the engineering when projector and reflector housings matter as much as bulb design. Mercedes old physically steerable Bi-Xenon projectors are actually able to out perform new LED's because of their ingenious engineering extending projector performance past lesser craftsmen. For proper realtime onscreen comparisons between state of the art MB's Bi-Xenon; [armed with proprietary steerable hi-low beam xenon projectors] and state of the art Volvo multi-diode switchable LED matrix, see this virtuoso headlight test: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rH7Jd2Btn85mhKc

[@MrMxm13]

@@LawrenceMarkFearon well I'm all for Mercedes hid. But BMW as far as I know is only one with laser. But I believe laser is the future. Mercedes switched to led as well. Ask any engineer/designer about led headlight and they'll say it could be better but cost/space/heat is the issue

[@LawrenceMarkFearon]

@@MrMxm13 Watch the test. LED may be a superior bulb but Mercedes 4 axis steerable Bi-xenon projectors are the exception. Especially when upgraded from stock 35watt to 55watt Xenon bulbs. But engineers are correct in that LED's are cheaper, simpler, run cooler and are more space efficient than Xenon's. Those MB Bi-Xenons were complex projectors with their shutters and electric motors driven by the steering wheel, traffic sensors and suspension. Obviously LED's make more overall sense for most applications.

[@paulgarcia6257]

My wife’s 2020 Honda with factory led light out shine my 2010 Audi A4 with new oem osram d3s. And a bit brighter tha Phillips xtreme visions 2... I own both and live in rural areas and I can tell the difference between the 2 cars light and color output

[@deansmits006]

Headlight design also has a large degree of influence in how good the lighting is. Some cars with upgraded headlight packages can be no better than base headlights. My '09 RAV4 halogen headlights light up as much of the road as some HID, though more dim.

[@jesperdybdahl]

On my X5 with laser, it only activates when the high beam is set to auto. And then after about 5 seconds after it has activated the high LED, as if another set of high beams are activated. It is not as apparent as going from low to high LED, but it does gets another punch. The laser is not activated by turning on high beam manually, regardless of the speed. I can't say if it is brighter than other modern matrix LEDs, but is definitely brighter than the adaptive LED I had on my Mercedes. Thanks for a great video.

[@eddiifuentes9298]

Thanks Paul! Good way to test these new techs. Very detailed indeed! I’m looking forward for more of these types of reviews. This will give us some ideas on extra options in buying a car. Sometimes it’s hard to decide whether to tick an option unless you see it in action. It would also be good to see a comparison with 360 degree cameras, radar cruise controls, lane keep assist, auto brake functionality especially around car parks when reversing out of a parked spot 👍. The more you do reviews like this the more it encourages people to accept new techs in cars 😊

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks, Eddii, great point. We will try and get some of this stuff included. There's plenty of great car tech out there!

[@jimcameron2511]

@@CarExpertAushe has s point with rear and 360 cameras. My F150 camera was horrible (as were the headlights)

[@Ak3rf3ldt]

In my opinion Bi-Led is more than enough for safe driving.

[@CarExpertAus]

That's right, it just lacks the ability of matrix LED lights.

[@conversiiled]

There are Bi Led projectors that can be retrofitted in halogen headlights kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZSlY5-ehLx_q7M

[@AlcatrazCrylake]

I just have Bi Xenon and well. I can see far neough for my taste but its important which bulbs you use.

[@CarExpertAus]

@@Brian-jv8iy Nah that's wrong. Bi-xenon can't do active shadowing, it also uses far more power. It's older technology that has been almost entirely phased out.

[@malcolmar]

FANTASTIC job! My old car I got 20 years ago had halogens and my new 2019 car has halogen projector lights. I did not think there was such a big difference between halogen technology and LED technology but your tests did a very good job of showing how much more effective LEDs are over halogens. WOW! Laser is a cool technology but I don't think I will be getting a car anytime soon with that expensive lighting system. It is interesting though that my new car with the halogen projector lights has LED fog lights and I often thought the LED fog lights were brighter than my main lights and now I am thinking they probably are. Again, job well done. Subscribed!

[@CarExpertAus]

Thank you!

[@teasipper6106]

Great video. The laser headlights are probably just focused in a narrow spot far down the road. Unless you have the light meter in the right spot, it won't show as bright. When you think about it, the point of using a laser over an LED is that you can get an intensely bright hot spot in your lighting array. As light from this spot travels through the projector lens, it creates a narrow beam of extra bright light in the center of the beam that can project further down the road to fill in distant areas that would normally have a drop off in illumination. From the driver's perspective, you should not perceive any part of the road near you lighting up brighter (that would be counter productive). Instead, you should just see even illumination going out further. For your lighting meter to catch the spot, it would have to be directly in the upper-center portion of the beam at your normal test distance of 50M, or, you could try to measure whether there is a difference in brightness further down the road, say at 100M.

[@SuperUndying]

I came to this video ready to skip ahead to the light measurements, but I was captivated by how well and thoroughly you explained the different lights (especially the laser light :). So much so, in fact, that I subbed despite this being the first video of yours that i've seen! Thank you for being great :)

[@SDav21]

Nice one this. No one is doing this kind of review. Really cool. If only there was one with many more car from different manufacturers to see how they each tackle it differently.

[@CarExpertAus]

True! Would love to do this, it would just take ages to film 😅

[@jonpav6224]

That's true, especially now there's so much similar tech (on paper) but different in practical terms.

[@liamjames-hendriks4895]

I appreciate that LED is brighter and thus more useful for country driving, however in the majority of cases, driving is done in suburban locations and I can say I absolutely detest the LED lights, they're way too bright in any situation and honestly it seems like they pose a safety threat. If they're oncoming it's just hard to see in general, and if they're in my rear or side vision mirror it's so very distracting. Not to mention the human eye adapts to brightness, so a stupidly high brightness (such as LED lights in suburban environments) mean the eye adapts to that brightness, once that car has left the view, the eye takes some time to re-adapt to the darker environment, potentially making it unsafe. LED tech is simply too eye-piercing for me and night driving is my favorite time to drive but LED headlights on other vehicles really cause unpleasant experiences and even downright dangerous ones when I cannot see appropriately due to their blinding effect. How they have made it this far without some kind of intervention is beyond me. Every person who designs and allows them obviously don't see them in their nighttime driving (woo 9-5 jobs).

[@Dan.Burcea]

To be honest, I flashed my highbeam to the oncoming driver, me thinking they had their highbeam on but they we're just dipped lol. Thats how blinding the LEDs bad are!

[@CarExpertAus]

That's right - poorly installed aftermarket LEDs are bad news!

[@scrampker]

@@CarExpertAus I'm seeing blinding LEDs installed on Jeeps from the factory. It's really bad out here in the US. Almost all the matrix-style Acuras are blinding as well. Far worse than Xenon projectors, which I am surprised were not including in this test, given how common they are.

[@Combatpzman]

CarExpert And OME headlights on American cars/trucks (RAMs are terrible).

[@TomMurto]

The LED lights on Porsche Panameras are goddamn awful too, really a hazard to have lights blinding oncoming traffic.

[@dominykasstankevicius90]

@@CarExpertAus Not only aftermarket ones. Look at Seat Arona FR with Full LED packet installed. You can read by Yourself that they're blinding others. And recently (~1 month) I bought brand new Arona FR model, and I can assure that the info was true - I get flashes at night a lot. Also, keep in mind, even at daylight, if You turn on low beam --> You won't be able to look directly into it.

[@TheFatboyslim61]

I really enjoyed the car headlight review. I have to say after watching a test of a Skoda Superb in Europe with full matrix headlamps, I am not surprised that it came out on top, they are immensely impressive !!!!!

[@shahansha3589]

No one ever do a detailed video like this , 👍 great job Ajju from india

[@Vinay_Kumar_Koru]

In india here drivers use aftermarket LED units set into a Halogen Reflector Housing and the light spread is just blinding.. 😭

[@CarExpertAus]

I can imagine! It's a nice and easy solution, but without proper alignment it can affect everybody else on the road.

[@511dydy]

Indian drivers are so inconsiderate to other road users too... So i cant imagine the horror.

[@Sacto1654]

Here's the problem: they don't use LED "bulbs" where the location of the LED light elements exactly match that of the location of the filament of the original halogen bulb.

[@JamesyMusial14]

Lol a lot of people do that here in Australia too (including myself) the key is to manually adjust the headlights down so your not blinding anyone, most people can’t be bothered doing this

[@gouthamkumar1750]

lol....I just ordered one for my bike but I'll adjust the reflector towards ground....I can loose a bit of visibility for other's safety and comfort specifically cause it's illegal to swap spare's in India

[@ajx4771]

Thanks for shining some light on the topic... couldn’t resist.

[@CarExpertAus]

😅😅

[@offtherunway1949]

I always wanted to know wtf the differences were.Thanks mate🏆

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks for watching!

[@rahulvarkala]

Awesome review......comparison which i am waiting for a long time......thanks for the detailed comparison..............

[@CarExpertAus]

Thank you!

[@MLife1972]

Thanks for a superb video. I only had the basics of this technology but your explanation made it very easy to follow and show the value in stepping up from halogen. To my eyes (on the video), the swift actually looked the sharpest. It seemed like it projected just the right distance for a high beam. What really annoys me are car manufactures that force you to buy a 'pack' just to get LED lights that should be standard. For example, I want the Polo GTI but to get the LED lights, I have to forego the tartan seats and buy a load of stuff I don't need. It's total bull for a car that is in the mid-30's price point.

[@eusebioescelante1659]

Waiting for someone to explain headlight details for so long. Can you also please explain the comparison between Halogen, Xenon and LED?

[@Cammer]

More important is how much an oncoming driver is blinded by the LED headlights. These really hurt my eyes when I am driving in the night.

[@CarExpertAus]

I think it's more aftermarket lights that affect drivers this way. Most regular OEM beams are generally well behaved.

[@PedroAngelo29]

Yeah those are not stock. New cars even use the camera to avoid blinding oncoming traffic

[@Cammer]

@@CarExpertAus Not really. I see brand new cars coming towards me which have stock LED headlights.

[@Cammer]

@@PedroAngelo29 Most are stock. Of course you have those "criminals" who replace the H4/H7 lamp with illegal lamps, but I see new cars with stock LED headlights fully blinding me.

[@Cammer]

@@stbrian1861 I have tried to sign it but the site doesn't accept my "signature". Is it only for the US?

[@mikenickg4751]

Great review! Also there are bi xenon lights to, which I think sit under LEDs as they aren't as bright but still better then halogen. Not sure about the bmw laser, I thought they came on when your doing 80km/hr? Though could be wrong.

[@CarExpertAus]

We deliberately excluded bi-xenon headlights simply because it's not commonly used technology in new cars today. Most new cars are either halogen or LED (or laser). With regards to BMW, the laser headlights enable from 60km/h in the M8 Competition and X5 M - we tested also at 85km/h just in case it wasn't right, and it didn't make any difference to the beam. Audi vehicles with lasers have an indicator showing the light is active, but we couldn't see anything similar with the BMW.

[@dna1238]

Thanks for taking the time to do this lights review. All the Best.

[@gevinduxrs2]

OMG, Thank You so much for this!!! Literally!! I'm like a die hard huge fan, an utter nerd when it comes to vehicle lights! Seriously Exterior lights & Interior reading lights are like crazy love for me... And so far this is the only video I found out & uve done another lot of other stuff too. I wish u get 1Mn soon...! no other utuber have done this, I'm dying to find time to watch ur all reviews very detailed as well & since I'm an SUV guy no doubt u n ur channel is the place for me!. Thanks for the effort u put!!!... And thank you!.

[@DarrenKrusi]

It would be good to see how it looks coming from the opposite side, sometimes these cars are just blinding when driving towards you.

[@NomadicJulien]

That's the purpose of Matrix light. It's like driving on low beam

[@rikardandersson7288]

@@NomadicJulienthat's how they should work in theory yes, but in reality they're just blinding

[@krisswolf2011]

Also depends on alignment. A properly aimed headlight with a crisp and correct cutoff line, should not blind other drivers. Highbeams will blind others regardless. It’s up to the drivers to not blind people if they have a manual highbeam

[@rikardandersson7288]

@@krisswolf2011 in my opinion it works better with manual high beam, it's when you leave it to the car to decide it starts going downhill. The car simply doesn't turn off the high beams soon enough or put them back on again. This usually happens when i meet them in a truck/lorry. They fail to recognize the lights on the roof of the cab when meeting on a crest and if there happens to be a guard rail in between they loose visual of my headlights and then they're back on highbeams again. Somethings should just be manual in my opinion, this is one of those things.

[@Furious321]

A camera's sensor is not a substitute for the human eye.

[@ark2380]

Should test HID in projector housings as well! They're as bright as led with wide coverage along with impressively long throw of beam.

[@boontarin]

Please do test with Xenon light, I always have feeling that Xenon feels better for me than LEDs.

[@palmviewlobos15]

They are being phased out due to the time it takes to heat up the bulb. They are almost as bright as an LED but an LED turns on instantly at any running temperature. Making it safer for highway use.

[@scrampker]

@@palmviewlobos15 I feel like the turn-on delay only impacts older vehicle designs. My cars made after 2007 with HID seem to be instant. Used to be when an HID bulb turned on, it would take like 15 seconds to get bright, but I absolutely do not see that on my 2012 and 2016 Chevrolet models. I can easily flash drivers in the daytime, and it's not using some auxiliary halogen high-beam to accomplish this, like it did in the earlier years of Xenon.

[@palmviewlobos15]

@@scrampker on a 2015 Acadia a relative of mine had. They were told since it is using the same housing and the same light bulb that it could be used in that case. However if you have a separate high beam and low beam, that is when the problem arises.

[@ravenheart369]

I haven't seen any car with FOUR Xenon bulbs All of them are two bulbs and the high beam is nothing but a servo motor behind the bulb which lets the light to travel through the whole lens diameter instead of radius

[@SpikeMikki]

When I’ve used the laser lights in multiple cars, going over 60km/h felt like putting on high beam once again... huge difference. Whilst matrix is great tech for split the beams per say. Laser seemed to respond quicker and more accurately too. Great review though. Easy to watch.

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks for watching!

[@videostreamin5066]

This is the best video ever made on youtube on night lights with proof...bcz lights are the eyes of the cars in night black road without white lines..🇮🇳(india)

[@CarExpertAus]

Thank you!!

[@videostreamin5066]

@@CarExpertAus ur wlcm sir i mean namsate in india🙂

[@ohkay8939]

Brighter is better if you're _in_ the car, but can be awful when it's the car you're meeting, especially on country roads. I hope headlights get more closely regulated, especially as it pertains to the colour space because it can take a few seconds to recover from being blinded and that's long enough to bury your car in a ditch. I think that's also why the BMW's lights are not as bright as the Skoda. I've definitely noticed BMWs being not as bad at blinding you than other cars with similar colour headlights (it helps that their headlight shapes stand out), and I think good on BMW. Either way, that might be an idea for another video? How much do oncoming headlights blind you - because that's also part of road safety after all.

[@ACGator03]

Great evaluation. I have an x7 m50 w/ laser light. I have noticed the limitation with light output as well. However, I am in the states and laserlight is limited.

[@bbbt8090]

Wow, i thought my LEDs on my Acura were good man the Matrix setup is crazy good

[@CarExpertAus]

Definitely :-D

[@arunhr]

I have seen lot of channel covering Reviews/Impressions of Cars, but they haven't spoken about the difference in Headlight! That's a really Good content to watch😇.

[@CarExpertAus]

Glad it was helpful!

[@erichahn8970]

Paul and team. Greetings from Austria! A video like this was long overdue especially when you are faced as a car buyer to chose from the extensive and expensive options list and always wonder if its worth the money. Some good food for thought!

[@shubhamhirve3]

Really good video 👍🏻, Skoda & swift results are damn good for the price we pay.

[@shaktis6877]

absolutely👍

[@UProductions457]

Thanks for this! This is one of the most interesting videos (in a good way ofc) I’ve seen in a while. I would have though the laser light on the BMW would’ve been better. Thanks for this comparison!

[@CarExpertAus]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@CK-297]

That was very interesting and clearly demonstrated. Good job. Like others Bi-Xenon are still available and it would have been interesting to add. Nevertheless, good informative video, thanks 👍

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks! Yes there are a small number of cars on the market with HIDs, but we excluded them from testing because they're all likely to be phased out within the next year.

[@andrewstav3398]

The only Aussie car journalist I enjoy watching... keep it up. :)

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks mate! Appreciate it.

[@rajeshchhonkar5130]

The skoda's matrix led lights APPEARED much brighter and well spread out than the laser lights of the BMW X5 . Your test was spot on. Thanks

[@6BRENO6]

Finally a channel explains this!

[@CarExpertAus]

😄

[@uvwuvw-ol3fg]

Not so sure about that. How can 100 CRI halogen headlights can be bad for seeing details? 3200k is also known to reduce glare while being more percievable by yellowing eyes due to aging while providing better depth perception.

[@matthewgaines10]

CarExpert: Laser v LED v Halogen Xenon: Do I not exist Me: I agree. This not a scientific test. It does what you intended. It provides a sampling.

[@willcox2073]

and xenons would have probably beat all except the top led's

[@aaronjaggan]

@@willcox2073 but what about in the rain?

[@RaulNorris]

Very good comparison and i think it would be even better if had 1 more test, that is at which distance you can have a minimum amount of light for example the minimum distance to have 10 lux. I think one of the purposes of upgrading your headlights is to see how earlier you could detect something on the road or its side that can cause an accident

[@juanduran8173]

This video just saved me $1,000 on my BMW order. Thank you!

[@iFlyA320]

So much of information, always wondered how laser lights worked. Thank you for the explanation!

[@CarExpertAus]

Our pleasure!

[@Bmwfan2000]

Carwow is getting boring, your Vids are amazing keep up with that great content espescially with that mixture of drag races, tech infos and reviews 👍🏽

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks for the feedback and glad you're enjoying them!

[@PaulMaric]

👏😁

[@LERobbo]

Great video! Could the wavelength of the laser light be affecting your meter readings which is suit for a different spectrum?

[@andrewho2680]

Any chance we'll get a headlight review section in the usual car reviews? That and general interior lighting at night, like is the infotainment screen too bright, etc.

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks! We will try and call this out more often in our regular reviews.

[@BelallNeemuth]

Think the test was amazingly well executed. Drive both matrix Led car and laser one too. Always thought the laser was a bit lower than the led. Your test completely proved my theory. Great review ❤️

[@carissadellen8550]

Great test! Should've included Xenon lights as well to complete the test!

[@Jack_Hoffe]

I still have a car with halogen headlights. Nope not the projector type but the reflector type😩 Hoping that i will get a chance to upgrade soon.

[@CarExpertAus]

Good idea, the light is so much better!

[@timotcho01]

@@CarExpertAus you will need to address the led positioning and halogen filament need to be at the same distance from the centre concave shape as well as the shield, example h4 globe, to optimise the output / pattern

[@Mogsy28uk]

you can easily upgrade the bulbs, highly recommend Osram Nightbreakers, very bright, but only short lifespan of about 2 years, depending on use.

[@rockraphlegal]

Amazon has some pretty good LEDs for reflector housing. There's a KZbin channel and webpage called bulbfacts (seriously, look it up) that test and compares LEDs to halogen's to xenon headlights on both reflectors and projectors. I actually bought my Hikari Ultras thank to him. But it has a chart with cheaper and probably better options

[@mikeykeyes]

70% cars sold today still use halogen especially lower specs. As always car companies save $10 per car or something to force people yearn for better which doesn't really cost that extra to make but a huge profit for them. Ford, Toyota Holden, Kia are prime examples. I have also found Euro cars have the poorest halogen headlights- they do not have wide expanse like Australia so never need to design lights to light up wider areas.

[@jackelectric7075]

Halogen light: botom of the line Buggati veyron: hold my 1.1 million dollar car price with halogen lights

[@ethanm3923]

Jack for fun I think it has xenon tho

[@cjeam9199]

LED headlights were basically not a thing when the Veyron was being developed. It is a 20 year old design.

[@rahuldogra]

They must be 4300k HID! Cause will be literally blind going 400+km/ht

[@thepurdychannel8866]

They are xenons

[@Carlos-lg8jz]

It has Xenón headlights...

[@jagjeetsinghchawla]

Absolutely great and informative video. Looking forward for more such videos, headlights are often ignored when talking about car safety. Hope manufacturers take note of this and improve it. Good Days 👍🏻.

[@mrblc882]

I'm reading the comments and nobody mentioned your shirt!? Nice shirt bro, nice time machine. Also, great review...

[@kabiroscope]

Hello I am Kabir from Kabiroscope car reviewing channel, this video was extremely informative, great details and brilliant explanation. Thank you.

[@heather_dubois]

This was so interesting! Thank you for such an informative video 😊

[@CarExpertAus]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@eljayy91]

Halogens really should not be used anymore for vehicles they can actually be dangerous being so dull. Thankfully I have Matrix LEDs which is great for living rurally

[@CarExpertAus]

Agreed!

[@srinitaaigaura]

@@CarExpertAus Just see how 100 W halogens compare. They are really bright, but they need a relay to handle the power and glare is a huge problem. Not only that, they damage your reflector and burn out the housing and don't last long either. Even for street legal halogens, using a relay to bypass all the extra circuitry that saps power results in a significantly brighter stock bulb. Not sure how legal they are elsewhere, but I couldn't drive without it. Of course, they don't match the latest led or lasers. But we could compare how they perform in rain and fog.

[@justaleksithings6002]

Halogen keeps the light warm and keeps the snow away. Pretty important if you drive in here

[@CarExpertAus]

Good point!

[@karituovinen3387]

@@CarExpertAus I have driven all last winter with a led matrix on my Skoda Superb in Sweden's northernmost municipality. I can not report any problems with icing and then the winter was unusually snowy. However, I have chosen halogen as an extra light for safety's sake if it should freeze. Led matrix is absolutely fantastic, you do not want to use the halogen extra lights because the yellow light destroys the clear white light. Rarely has a new technology impressed me as much as the matrix. Do need to mention that we have polar night here

[@mariolukman5919]

Subscribed not just because im a headlight nerd but also because of the effort that you made making this video...good job mate

[@CarExpertAus]

Thanks, mate! Appreciate it.

[@dominodoce]

repeatedly states it's not a scientific test yet: 1-Make an observation. 2-Ask a question. 3-Form a hypothesis or testable explanation. 4-Make a prediction based on the hypothesis. 5-Test the prediction. all jokes aside this is objectively good content, thank you for great content so far as I can tell it's completely unbias and objective which is all anyone can ask for.

[@slugger7440]

Absolutely first class review

[@CarExpertAus]

Much appreciated!

[@iluvbeezify]

Never knew Skodia had such a great technology! I would love it if I could get your input on the difference between Skodia (Matrix LEDS) and Mazda (Adaptive Lights)

[@CarExpertAus]

It's impressive! I think the Skoda has the superior technology - the Mazda lights are good, but from memory they fire from a bank of LEDs inside a projector.

[@tippy35075]

the trickle down of tech from Audi because they are all owned by the same company

[@karituovinen3387]

A swedish carmagazin did compare Mazda Led agaist Skoda and found out that skoda had superior lights. Complains that light are not god enogh. Cars rewievd was Peugeot 508 Mazda 6 Passat & Superb. Superb had the best lights

[@Cheeseypoofs85]

youtuber: how did you do the laser light test? carexpert: oh, we taped a guy to the hood while holding the lux meter on a 10 foot pole in front of the car.

[@CarExpertAus]

😅

[@tafl-9198]

I had a 2020 Skoda Superb for 3 years. Those Matrix LEDs were amazing !!