I haven't been able to find any video or photographs of the XLE's headlights in action. Just how much of a difference do they make?
I don’t have a lot of experience with other cars but the adaptive headlights on my XLE awd are the best I have ever seen. The lights on the 2011 I traded were not bad but I could never go back, especially in snow or fog.
I’ve had this on my last few vehicles. The effect is noticeable, but how much it is of assistance I feel depends on where you drive at night. In areas well lit by street lamps, etc., it’s not as big a difference to me. But where the only luminance is provided by your headlights, I think it’s a useful safety feature.
Usually on on/off ramps or just curvy roads where a little more illumination of the road as you round the corner is nice to have. If your roads are well lit, you won’t notice a big difference.
Yeah, I went around this morning and it took a while to see the difference. I didn't really see anything until I pulled into the car wash this morning I was focused on the beam pattern to see it. It's pretty cool but I wouldn't really consider it a make it or break it feature. If it had gone deeper (90 degrees) it would've been much more helpful on the street but otherwise maybe dark wavy roads.
we had a Cadillac SRX a number of years ago that had a much more pronounced adaptive headlight effect. And it was disconcerting. Your eyes ended up being drawn to watching the beams change direction more than on what they were illuminating. I’m curious if more recent vintage Caddies have reduced the effect to something similar to the Prius. it’s a nice to have feature, but like you said, not make or break. I put the heads up display in the same category. The eco indicator on the HUD is gimmicky, and I’m stunned that adaptive cruise control info isn’t displayed on the HUD at all.
What specifically? The distance marker is available on the HUD. You have to cycle thru to “speed only” instead of “speed plus HSI”
doh. Ok, I just read the manual, and didn’t realize that was an option. I was expecting the HUD to automatically override the eco stuff when cruise was engaged... now I know!
Hybrid System Indicator. Yeah I found it by accident when I was cycling through the HUD on the highway to see what else is displayed.
