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Funny you should ask! I'm just back from my first night drive.Originally Posted by Wynnston
I borrowed a 140TDI Highline over a weekend before we ordered, so I had the opportunity to drive it at night as well. When I returned it, I only had two complaints with it (so much so, given the price difference, we briefly contemplated getting the TDI)... the audio (see one of my previous forum posts about it... which as you'll have read in this thread earlier, seems to no longer be an issue!) and the lights. They are bright, sharp and the active system is good. It also has the static cornering lights which light your corners almost 90 degrees... a fantastic feature.
The problem with the lights was they were set too low. As with the old Bi-Xenon lights, there is a distinct point where the lights stop (as opposed to the older style halogen lights, which just start to dim away from the main beam). That cut off point seemed to be a bit low (I measured it between 50-80m, depending on if you were accelerating (as the car's nose would rise up during accelerating). I was reading somewhere they were speed dependant... but in this case, they didn't seem to be. Even at 80km/hr, you're traveling at 22m/sec. It gives you about 3 seconds view down the road. Not much reaction time on a dark night. Animals, pot holes etc...
I did a quick google search prior to returning it, I was so worried... which seemed to show I wasn't the only one with the issue (mostly UK drivers).
I spoke with the dealership service team, who said they can fix it. There's apparently a 'grub screw' which allows a small amount of manual adjustment. it would only need a small number of degrees up to be fixed.
So... this is the long way around to say yes, my car also seems to be a bit short... but I will just drop it in and get it adjusted.
I should also probably mention, the high beams are great!!!
Ohhh - completely off topic, but I'd recommend anyone with the pano. roof... get it tinted. I did and it's great! I'm planning to use some of the ultra-thin insulation i used on our house (it's called Kingspan air-cell) to fit between the glass and the blind if it's really too hot over summer. I imagine it will fit (it's less than 8mm thick from memory) and has an R-Value around R1.5 from memory. Coupled with the tint, it should see off the heat on the 40 degree days!
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