[Quentin]

Based on this report, BMW seems to be dropping the ball on their standard headlights.

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/03/30/headlights-iihs-insurance-institute-highway-safety-car-led/

I chose to go with the standard headlights for durability/lower long term cost. We went with the standard lights on the R53 and, while the output is poor, they haven't cost me an arm and a leg to maintain. Of course, I'm second guessing that decision now.

Does anyone have the standard lights on their clubman? Thoughts? Any big future downfalls from the LEDs? Annoyingly, there is a pretty small difference between my build with the LEDs and the fully loaded package.


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[Desert Rat]

When I was building my MCS I test drove with both standard headlights and with the LED. I found the standard headlights adequate but the LED far superior. In the end I went with the LED with cornering lights and have never regretted the decision. Everyone's eyes are different, if you think you'll regret the standard lights see if you can change your build, or go test drive a car with the LED headlights and base your decision off of that.

 

[Steve07]

LED's every time.
Far superior lighting at night.

 

[Davyboy]

We had a Countryman with standard and a R55 with Xenons, I used to hate driving the Countryman at night, more so when wet!

So when spec'ing my F56 there was only one choice, LED and not regretted it.

 

[ajseymour]

We had a Countryman with standard and a R55 with Xenons, I used to hate driving the Countryman at night, more so when wet!

So when spec'ing my F56 there was only one choice, LED and not regretted it.

The dealer I am getting my F55 from put it this way - if you have driven a car with Xenons you won't go back to normal and the LEDs are better than Xenons from what I hear. I can't wait to find out as my Countryman has Xenons and my F55 has LEDs. I work nightshift so the majority of driving at night so I do like my brighter lights.

I think it all comes down to what you are used to and what sort of driving you do.

Hope that helps

 

[Davyboy]

The strange bit for me is I had a 1 series as a loan car and that didn't have Xenons so assume normal but were so much brighter than the Countrymans, I keep saying and meaning to get some different bulbs, like nightbreakers or similar!

 

[Quentin]

I had the LEDs on my Prius v (the one that earned the only "good" score from the test). I honestly didn't notice them being that much better than the halogen lights on my 4Runners/FR-S/RAV4 or the HIDs on my GTI.

I thought about it more today, and I don't think we will amend our order. My goal on the Clubman was to minimize gadgets that would break or be expensive to repair, so the steering headlights, auto folding mirrors, and adjustable suspension were all chopped for the sake of simplicity. I'm more annoyed at how dopey the reflector headlights will look. Hopefully the big housing and big reflectors result in decent light output. I also like the idea of the heat from the lamps keeping snow and ice from building up. Here is my old 4Runner after a drive back to my folks' place. You can see where the ice was chipped away on the high beam but never formed on the low beam. Those lights were basic reflectors but I was very happy with them.

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[KYDan]

The mini LED headlights and cornering lights are the bomb. By far the best factory automotive lighting I have ever had. Expensive, but worth it.

 

[vetsvette]

I concur with Dan.

 

[AarnMunro]

LED.
Much better!

 

[opal]

I drove a loan Mini with LED headlights admittedly only once at night and at the time didn't notice a big difference. My wife had just bought a BMW 2 series active tourer however which has adaptive LEDs and they are fantastic so I am a convert.

On the BMW they are well worth it especially as part of the technology pack which also includes keyless entry and reversing camera for £1095. On the Mini they aren't as good value at £820 on the Cooper D but I would definitely consider them now.

 

[Blat7Chris]

On the F55 they are £610 is you don't have adaptive, best bit is the LED DLR which is a signature of the F5x. I see a lot of R5x model driving around with dealer fix fogs/LED DLR, which cost £395, so in comparison the F5x LEDs are cheap.

 

[J89]

Led

 

[VolcanoOrangeF56s]

LED all day. My brother in law has the standard headlights and they are dismal in comparison

 

[TraceyC]

The LEDs on my Mini absolutely provide superior road lighting than the standard bulbs did on my old Accord. Last year, I had a Kia Soul as a rental that had standard bulbs, which seemed dim even compared to the Accord. The difference in not just the amount of road I could see ahead of my car but the clarity was very noticeable. The best way to decide for yourself is with a test drive

 

[Quentin]

The LEDs on my Mini absolutely provide superior road lighting than the standard bulbs did on my old Accord. Last year, I had a Kia Soul as a rental that had standard bulbs, which seemed dim even compared to the Accord. The difference in not just the amount of road I could see ahead of my car but the clarity was very noticeable. The best way to decide for yourself is with a test drive

Unfortunately the dealership is 3 hrs away and they don't do night time test drives. It is impractical. I guess I'll be the first to weigh in with the standard reflectors on the Clubman. The inability to replace bulbs in the LED lights gives me pause. I can just see being a year outside of the warranty and one of the lights fails resulting in a $800 repair to replace the whole unit. (I know LEDs should last for basically forever.... a radiator fan resistor shouldn't be a chronic failure in under 80k miles either, but every R50/R53 owner knows about that).

 

[jeremybingham]

You're not wrong there; they should last ...................BUT if a motor or the circuit fails-gulp; i had this in my golf r32 and vw would only sell the whole light unit-£400. WHAT REALLY MADE ME MAD was it was only the igniter that failed and it was a really easy unscrew plug in job-thank heavens for ebay! If this happens to our minis we are in for expensive bills BUT i did say i'd never have fancy lights again and am so glad i did; they are lovely to look at (and do light things up a bit better!).

 

[brandonbardsley]

LEDS! I can't scream it enough, I've had the halogens on my previous F56 and although they're not poor they just aren't anywhere near as good as LEDS, plus they look cool... & its definitely money well spent imo.

 

[daydotz]

Theirs no disputing they bright but i fear they are a nuisance to other road users

 

[jeremybingham]

I've driven towards minis with LEDs - you can tell - even before it gets to you in the dark as they look so pretty and have that violet top glow and no they don't annoy nearly so much as many other cars in my opinion-i felt they were fine!
I do get the occasional flash from people who dont notice i've dipped my lights-der-surely you can see the action but usually when acclerating really hard OR going over the crest of a hill-most lights get a bit dazzly at that point.