[lurker]

As ive mentioned in another post, i dont own one of these cars currently but id like owners' input on how good the headlights are (specifically high beam and hot spot). It appears the 17 and 18 are a bixenon type (correct me if im wrong) where the 19 is a jewel eyed type. How good are either on dark country roads and what can you compare them to?

 

[Feared#87]

As ive mentioned in another post, i dont own one of these cars currently but id like owners' input on how good the headlights are (specifically high beam and hot spot). It appears the 17 and 18 are a bixenon type (correct me if im wrong) where the 19 is a jewel eyed type. How good are either on dark country roads and what can you compare them to?

I have an 18! The lights are really bright!

 

[8777]

I purchased a 2019 yesterday. It has LED headlights, and they are BRIGHT. I came out of an '18 Elantra which had halogens - difference is night and day (no pun intended).

 

[lurker]

How is the long-range light output of the 19? I live out in the country and deer are a real problem.

 

[8777]

At this point I can only compare against my 2018s halogen units. These new LEDs are phenomonal IMO. The highbeams throw light out hard. I have coyotes in my neck of the woods, and I too live in the country.

 

[lurker]

Good to know, thanks for the reply! Honestly the headlight performance would be the sole selling point for the new body style for me. I really wish they had left the body style alone for another 2 years.

 

[8777]

I tend to agree as regards exterior styling. But it's growing on me. Beyond that, Hyundai has made some fine tuning adjustments to bits and pieces. i.e., cruise control - more refined and accurate. Drive modes - the new "Smart" selection is really nice; it splits operation between eco and sport driven by gas pedal position and use. Auto high beams - a nice feature, but in this car it WORKS. These I things I've discovered just during my brief two day ownership. And mine is black in total, and with the tinting, it gives an impression (almost) of mystery and "class" (somewhat). It drives amazingly. The biggest negative to me - the tires. Hancook, ugh. Soon as they're gone I will invest in some quality slippers.


Almost forgot - the wheels are gorgeous IMO... I love 'em.

 

[lurker]

It is sharp. So i did a little crude work in paint and i discovered that if you black out the inside corners of the headlights (drawing the line at what should be the grille opening) and black out the tie bar grille, it looks 100 times better. Id imagine you could buy some automotive vinyl for the headlight corners.

 

[lurker]

Looks good on other colors too.

 

[8777]

Looks very good, Lurker...

 

[Soft99ES]

As ive mentioned in another post, i dont own one of these cars currently but id like owners' input on how good the headlights are (specifically high beam and hot spot). It appears the 17 and 18 are a bixenon type (correct me if im wrong) where the 19 is a jewel eyed type. How good are either on dark country roads and what can you compare them to?

Headlights so bright people are constantly high beaming me because they think mine are on.

 

[GsiTurbo]

KDM Elantras as well as every vehicle sold within the EU have mandatory automatic or manual levelling system for this very reason. Hopefully these laws will catch up to Canada / US some time this century.

https://www.hella.com/techworld/uk/Technical/Automotive-lighting/Headlamp-levelling-system-838/#


It would seem that the Australian SR Turbo does have manual headlamp levelling system on 2917/18 as well as on 2019 models.

 

[lurker]

I'm alright with the auto-high beams in the 19 model for the US market, but im not ready for the kind of failures associated with an auto-level light in any of my personal vehicles. I live in an area where its humid in the summer and we kill our vehicles with road salt in the winter so thats on my mind. The less to fail, the better.

 

[GsiTurbo]

The auto and manual levelling headlights are in use in western Europe since the early 90s. The system are now very much trouble-free. Cars there do as well deal with cold temperatures (northern Europe) as well as hot and humid climate of the Mediterranean basin. I don't feel these designs would have any issues dealing with the US/Canada climate. Also, headlight washers are mandatory on any headlight system with light output higher than 2000 lumens. Reasoning is due to dirty lens causing glare and blinding of the incoming traffic. Makes sense to me.

 

[lurker]

Thats under the assumption that hyundai hasnt priced themselves out of using the same quality pieces that the germans have been using. Even with a company like Hella, if the automaker demands a lower price, the part supplier will cut a corner somewhere. And as far as headlight washers. I figured it was more of a luxury, not a safety issue for other motorists. Learn something new every day

 

[GsiTurbo]

@lurker - yes, I understand your point. I cannot comment on quality of auto levelling systems used in Hyundai vehicles in other markets.


There was an interesting article in a polish automotive magazine "Auto World". It states, that in some vehicle models (particularly VW subsidiaries Skoda and Seat), the LED headlights were no better in terms of illumination than standard halogen bulbs (everyone wants LEDs now + cost cutting). The magazine strongly recommends doing a low-light (winter) test drive, if possible, to avoid future disappointments.

 

[lurker]

Ill go back to the point of the reflector bowl being equally crucial to light output as the chip itself. It is more difficult to reflect and project light from a flat chip thats essentially emitting light in a hemispheric shape, over a filament or hid chamber that emits in a full sphere from the source. So if the lighting manufacturer spent some resources on development (think: Streamlight flashlights) then LED can be a longer-life upgrade to HID. But yes, i agree with you. Ultimately id have to see for myself. Im just hoping that one of the owners of a 2019 can take some long- exposure photos on a backroad of the low beam and high beam light output for me.

 

[lurker]

Now that we have a few more 19 owners on here, anyone care to take a few long exposure shots of low and high beam output down a dark road?

 

[slowstig]

Now that we have a few more 19 owners on here, anyone care to take a few long exposure shots of low and high beam output down a dark road?

I don't have a proper camera to do such a thing, but i can comment that the LED's are what i would describe as f***ing bright!! Just picked up my 19 and the first drive in the dark i went down a backroad and was quite impressed with how bright and how far the highbeams went. Compared too the halogen highs of my 17 Santa Fe (separate high beam bulb from the low) which are already plenty IMO, the Elantra blows them away.

If i were to complain, they almost light up road signs too much, but i would say picking up a deer or something in the road far enough ahead to react you are more than covered.

 

[n0thing]

I had a 2017 ES and now I own a 2019 ES. I think the 2019 lights up the road better. Instead of have the drivers side headlight lower to prevent blinding, the 2019 is aimed just as high and the light pattern has a notch right where oncoming traffic would be so that it doesn't blind them but still lights up everything else. It allows better coverage of the left hand side of the road.

Both cars have VERY impressive night lighting performance but I would give the 2019 a slight edge.