This is a lot of headlight for a car that cost $25,520. But it's not as good as the superb headlights in our long-term Camry.
The 3, by virtue of being equipped with the Technology Package, includes Bi-Xenon headlights with an auto-leveling feature and an adaptive (self aiming) feature, which points the lights into a turn.
I'm yet to capture an acceptable image of these lights' capabilities, but I have driven them on the same road and at the same time of night that I drove the Camry and Quest. I'll get an image the next time I drive the car, but here's my subjective report (as if a photo isn't subjective).
Adequate reach and coverage. No hot spots. No distracting hard cut lines. But the adaptive feature doesn't really do much for me. And, more importantly, it doesn't make these lights any better than the Camry's more conventional set up.
Josh Jacquot, Senior editor
jstandefer says:
01:39 PM, 02/ 2/12
Try driving them back to back on an unlit twisty mountain road at night. They make a huge difference. In the city, you'll hardly notice them at all. We have a '10 Mazda3 Grand Touring hatch with these lights and a '10 Mazdaspeed3 with the normal headlights. The difference on a dark twisty road is like night and day... so much so that we can drive the regular 3 faster than the Mazdaspeed.
brooksbell says:
08:10 PM, 02/ 2/12
Exactly - adaptive lights are wonderful if you are on a twisty mountain road at night. Especially since that's a very likely place to suddenly find a deer.
blueguydotcom says:
08:24 PM, 02/ 2/12
I love the AFs/Xenon combo I had on my BMWs and my current Mazda3. I really couldn't opt for the lower level SkyActiv manual as it lacks xenons. No xenons = no sale.
hank39 says:
10:16 PM, 02/ 2/12
How about getting some beam pattern shots against a wall (i.e in the edmunds parking garage)?
perrito says:
07:16 AM, 02/ 3/12
"I've yet to capture..." not "I'm yet to capture." Just sayin' - sorry, I'm married to a copy-editor.
duck87 says:
07:36 AM, 02/ 3/12
The base 3 has nice headlights too, because they're projector halogens.
h2omojo says:
08:43 AM, 02/ 3/12
Coming from my 95 Maxima, there is no comparison. It was shocking at first just how much brighter the lights are.