So this is the first vehicle I've owned that has the standard Bi-Led headlights. I drive a stretch of road down the coast, through a canyon and out into the infamous 101 SoCal fwy 5 times a week. And I've noticed that while my LED beam pattern is bright it's not always the brightest or evenly distributed lights out there. Sometimes while passing say a 3-series BMW with halogen low beams and halogen fog lights they appear to be brighter especially on the darker fwy pavement. I have found that the LED's are brighter than a standard 3000k HID and superior. But next to Xenon low beams with halogen fog lights they are not much brighter. In the prius they give good downward visibility or distance I mean and really make the reflective, signs and surfaces stand out. But again in terms of useful visible light they sometimes seem to fade in comparison to a good pair of halogens. Maybe the yellow is more useful. Anyways just some thoughts after a few months of ownership. I love my Prius and am enjoying the new technology. What are your thoughts? On the actual functionality of the lights?? Do you find they very effective or would prefer that they put they money elsewhere in to the vehicle. Many thanks!!!
Don't know what other cars see as they pass by but the illumination of the road for the driver is perfect.
Xenon lights are extremely expensive and break after a certain lifetime. In comparison LEDs are comparable if not more energy efficient and essentially they never break during the lifetime of the vehicle. And cost a fraction (their hardware is much simpler than Xenon). I am pretty sure that LED lights of Toyota make exactly enough light if not more than any Halogen out there. At a fraction of the current consumption. And you never need to change a light bulb.
What you're noticing is the increased foreground lighting from the halogen foglights--which is exactly what the beam pattern of fogs is designed to do, and why it's not the best idea to use them all the time. Increased foreground lighting can reduce distance visibility by exacerbating the contrast between foreground and distance. (As a side note, this is the same problem with drop-in LEDs in halogen projectors--too much foreground light which ends up impairing vision overall). The Koito LED units Toyota uses have very good distance lighting, and good distance is what you want, especially for high-speed (highway) driving. At least one other manufacturer (Nissan) uses the same projectors as Toyota, and a few of us have retrofitted them into older cars.
