GM SUVs Score Low On IIHS Headlight Testing

[Gorehamj]

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
6-14-2017

General Motors crossovers and SUVs have scored relatively low in a new round of testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Institute started to test and evaluate headlights this past year in a new indoor facility that it built from scratch. One model year since the new testing began, IIHS now includes headlight scores on its overall evaluation. To earn the top score a vehicle must have a trim with headlights that score Acceptable or Good. None of the four GM models IIHS tested earned a score that high.

This news is particularly bad for GM with regard to the all-new 2018 Chevy Equinox. Because it scores only Marginal, it will not earn the top safety rating that its peers, the RAV4, CR-V, Forester, Rogue, and other models do. Cadillac's XT5 also has few excuses for not being able to score as high as affordable models like the Hyundai Santa Fe and Toyota Highlander which earned scores of Good and Acceptable respectively.

 

[aseibel]

Thank-you, IIHS, for paying attention to "how much glare is created for oncoming drivers".

 

You can throw 1,000,000 candlepower spotlights on the front of a vehicle and see for a mile, but if you are blinding other drivers, you are creating a dangerous situation. Just adding more and more light to your vehicle doesn't equal safety. I think a lot of SUV and truck drivers are oblivious to this fact.

 

And if your excuse is, "I can't see deer that are 1/4 mile in front of me", then you just need to slow down so you can avoid the deer or whatever you are afraid of hitting.

[j-ten-ner]

They strive for the best ratings and fail with the head lights?

 

It's not like that head lights are a new invention. They're part of a car since when, 100 years?

 

Has IIHS taken into account that the head lights are "working as designed"?

Probably not.

 

so long

j-ten-ner

[Super 8]

 

equinox 18 headlights.jpg

John Goreham

Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com

6-14-2017

General Motors crossovers and SUVs have scored relatively low in a new round of testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Institute started to test and evaluate headlights this past year in a new indoor facility that it built from scratch. One model year since the new testing began, IIHS now includes headlight scores on its overall evaluation. To earn the top score a vehicle must have a trim with headlights that score Acceptable or Good. None of the four GM models IIHS tested earned a score that high.

 

This news is particularly bad for GM with regard to the all-new 2018 Chevy Equinox. Because it scores only Marginal, it will not earn the top safety rating that its peers, the RAV4, CR-V, Forester, Rogue, and other models do. Cadillac's XT5 also has few excuses for not being able to score as high as affordable models like the Hyundai Santa Fe and Toyota Highlander which earned scores of Good and Acceptable respectively.

 

I do not see the Forester on the list???

[Gorehamj]

Super8, good eyes. I should have mentioned that IIHS did a previous test of "small SUVs." In that test, the Forester rated "Poor." A model year has since passed though. Now, the Forester earns an "Acceptable" on some trims. It gets a bit confusing. IIHS tests all the trims that they have available and there are multiple headlight options on each model (not just on Forester, but almost all vehicles.) You can look at the list of the years and trims here. I drive a Forester, and my trim seems to be rated Marginal. I can't argue with that. They are not impressive headlights.

[revrnd]

I wonder how much of these issues are related to blinding oncoming drivers rather the poor amount of light they project down the highway? Look @ the complaints about the Chev version of the K2XX trucks. When I was getting ready to order my '17, my nephew said I'd hate the headlights on the Chev. He drives both Chevs & GMCs for work & hated the Chev lighting. I've upgraded to HIDs, so @ least reflective objects are lit down the road.

 

This may be anecdotal, but I think the low beams on my '11 Silverado HD projected more light down the road.