[escape]

Those of you lucky enough to already own one, how is the LED headlight performance (low beam) at night? How does it compare to headlights on other modern vehicles?
How does it compare to Fusions with normal headlights? i think IIHS ranked the normal Fusion 'marginal' for headlight performance. But then again, they ranked most other cars marginal as well.

 

[Franti]

I drove mine about 90 miles home through a bad rain storm and visibility was great. I only drive with low beams + fogs.

Ps. Rain sending wipers are amazing.

Eric

 

[yellingdog]

The IIHS ratings were based on the 2016 models which have different projector lights than those in the 2017 Sport.

I've found the headlights very capable. Much more so than the '08 & '12 I had been driving previously.

 

[dubie7006]

Low + fogs here...no issues whatsoever.

 

[elronino]

Fogs provide a nice immediate and wide illumination... They don't stretch too far, but are good. Headlights seem to have some intense hot spots down the middle. They aren't quite as good as the HID setup that was on our 14' Impala LTZ (light spread was very uniform).

With that said, these lights are LIGHT years (no pun intended) ahead of the 13' to 16' projectshit housings. Depending on what you are coming from, these will be a great upgrade or a mediocre alternative.

 

[don]

My benchmark is my BMW 330 with excellent Xenon (HID) low beams that I've been driving for past 12 years. I took my Sport on some twisty dark roads tonight and here are my observations:

• The LEDs are bright and white, similar to my Xenons. Low Beam cutoff is very sharp and straight across. They don't angle upward to the right to illuminate signs, etc.
• When used with the headlights, the fog lights add only illumination of the curbs on both sides.
• The high beams are good and you'll want to use them as often as you can. Especially if, like me, you live in an area infested with deer.
• The automatic dimming feature works OK, though it sometimes responds to other lights and in some cases reflectors.
• Lane keeping didn't recognize even very clear lane markings when illuminated by the headlights. It works OK in sunlight.

 

[im4seven]

The high beams are awesome

 

[metroplex]

Absolute garbage headlights and fogs on my 2017 Fusion Sport. The white color of the lights makes it seem they are brighter, but parked next to the girlfriend's 2015 Malibu with halogen projector (H11), the H11s are brighter with a noticeable hotspot in the beam pattern and better cutoff. The fogs on the Fusion are worthless other than lighting 2 inches in front of the car and at the extreme sides. The high beams are OK but the low beams are terrible. In the rain or wet roads, I can't see if it is a puddle or a 5 inch pothole.

Good LED headlights seem to be on the high end Lincolns and Hyundai/Kia, but the 2016-2019 Explorer LED lowbeams are really good. The 2019-up Edge ST and 2020 Escape Titanium also have good LED headlights. The F-150 Lariat 502A and higher trims have terrible headlights, as does the 2020-up Explorer.

If you think the Fusion Sport LED headlights are very good, then I'd encourage you to keep looking further because they are quantitatively lackluster. IIHS now publishes headlight data for a lot of the newer models and it reveals a lot of what I had originally thought... Like the 2013-2019 SHO HIDs are garbage.

 

[Vidmo]

During my first road trip with my Fusion (which was the first day I bought it out of state) I had to eventfully disable the automatic dimming feature. Not because it was doing the wrong thing with oncoming traffic, it seemed fine there. But because when passing big rigs they would go to high beams and end up blinding the big rig driver via his side mirrors. I had at least four big rigs get very pissed off due to those high beams turning on while beside them.

 

[metroplex]

My auto high beams are super sensitive and only turn on when there is almost no light in the area. street lights would turn them off.

 

[Fusion2881]

I'd rate them OK to above average. Nothing spectacular, but they do their job.

 

[Engineer]

I'm with @Fusion2881 on this, I don't think they're incredible or anything but they seem to do just fine. I leave mine on auto-high beam all the time, and I never have to think about my headlights. They just do the right thing, and I can always see just fine. I mean, if there was a reasonable solution to get even better lighting in something that wouldn't wear out or have problems with my leaving it on auto (like HIDs would) then I'd consider it I guess, but I really don't see the need because it gets the job done just fine for me. And I've driven on busy highways, in traffic, out of traffic, on deserted back roads at night, you name it.

 

[metroplex]

I'm with @Fusion2881 on this, I don't think they're incredible or anything but they seem to do just fine. I leave mine on auto-high beam all the time, and I never have to think about my headlights. They just do the right thing, and I can always see just fine. I mean, if there was a reasonable solution to get even better lighting in something that wouldn't wear out or have problems with my leaving it on auto (like HIDs would) then I'd consider it I guess, but I really don't see the need because it gets the job done just fine for me. And I've driven on busy highways, in traffic, out of traffic, on deserted back roads at night, you name it.

I do almost all of my driving in the dark and when the road is soaked,it is a real test of Headlights and I will reiterate again that the Fusion Sports LED headlights are mediocre. They look snazzy in dry conditions but I don't feel safe with them at all in the worst driving conditions. I lost 2 tires because of winter puddles that turned out to be massive potholes that I couldnt identify because of the lousy headlights. My 2018 Explorer factory LED lowbeams blow them away. Night and day difference.

 

[Engineer]

I do almost all of my driving in the dark and when the road is soaked,it is a real test of Headlights and I will reiterate again that the Fusion Sports LED headlights are mediocre. They look snazzy in dry conditions but I don't feel safe with them at all in the worst driving conditions. I lost 2 tires because of winter puddles that turned out to be massive potholes that I couldnt identify because of the lousy headlights. My 2018 Explorer factory LED lowbeams blow them away. Night and day difference.

My thing is I see a lot of people putting things like HIDs on and while those light up the road well, one thing I love about LEDs is they aren't likely to burn out. So I'm reluctant to consider anything that's not LED, personally. Although I certainly understand others doing so.

 

[Engineer]

I do almost all of my driving in the dark and when the road is soaked,it is a real test of Headlights and I will reiterate again that the Fusion Sports LED headlights are mediocre. They look snazzy in dry conditions but I don't feel safe with them at all in the worst driving conditions. I lost 2 tires because of winter puddles that turned out to be massive potholes that I couldnt identify because of the lousy headlights. My 2018 Explorer factory LED lowbeams blow them away. Night and day difference.

Hi @metroplex

Just noticed this today on the IIHS site as well; our cars get good safety ratings all around, it seems, except for the headlights. So it seems they agree with you.

2018 Ford Fusion 4-door sedan

2018 Ford Fusion 4-door sedan - midsize car

www.iihs.org

 

[LeVeL]

It comes down to your basis for comparison. Our LEDs are infinitely better than the projectors on my old 99 Miata, for example, but comparable to the HIDs I had in my 06 TL.

Overall I like our headlights even though they're not perfect. I adjusted the fog lights a little higher so they help illuminate the sides of the road better, which helps me see wildlife. I also enabled Bambi mode so now I can light up the sidelines but also basically have a spot light shining straight out. It all works reasonably well. My only real gripe with the low and high beams is that they're too centered, as has been mentioned. I wish they spread more light to the sides but I don't find it to be a big issue.

 

[WhiteGhost]

There ok for led but compared to a high performance hid projector they look like a Amazon led bulb😏

 

[metroplex]

Hi @metroplex

Just noticed this today on the IIHS site as well; our cars get good safety ratings all around, it seems, except for the headlights. So it seems they agree with you.

2018 Ford Fusion 4-door sedan

2018 Ford Fusion 4-door sedan - midsize car

www.iihs.org

I didn't know about the IIHS test data when I got the Fusion Sport and Explorer in 2018. Right off the bat, I noticed the Fusion Sport LEDs were brighter than the SHO's factory HIDs, but the Explorer's LED low beams were SO GOOD that it made the Fusion Sport high beams look "meh". My 2018 Explorer XLT did not have fog lights, but you know what? I never needed them. The low beams did everything right. Later on when I learned about IIHS headlight testing, I got curious and started doing research on cars I've owned/driven and cars I was considering. The HID projectors on the SHO tested like junk, so like what I felt all those years. I also learned the F-150's LEDs were garbage as well (Lariat 502A and higher trims) which was concerning. The 2020 Explorer LEDs were also not as good as the 2016-2019 Explorer LEDs.

I worked on vehicular white LED headlights about 13+ years ago and did extensive photometrics testing, and it was amazing how bad our FMVSS Section 108 standards were. A sealed beam incandescent would pass the minimum standards. I am happy that LEDs have progressed so much in the past 13 years and you can grab a pair of 7" round or H6054 rectangular LED assemblies for under $100. I ordered my dad's 2003 E-250 with the rectangular sealed beams and that was the best decision I ever made (in lieu of the 9007 halogens) because I installed H4s for him in 2003 and only recently swapped in a pair of LED rectangular assemblies. They are like miniature suns lighting up the road with a very sharp cutoff.

A lot of the Asian imports have very good headlights on the higher trim levels (Kia, Hyundai, etc...) almost comparable to Lincoln and Cadillac. I think it is great that IIHS is holding OEMs somewhat accountable for headlight performance. More needs to be done to ensure the cars have proper headlight performance because it is a critical safety item.

 

[MFGL]

Coming from a 19 Legacy sport, and 6 months before an Outback, the Ford lights are far superior to both Subarus.

 

[ColoradoGuy]

Those of you lucky enough to already own one, how is the LED headlight performance (low beam) at night? How does it compare to headlights on other modern vehicles?
How does it compare to Fusions with normal headlights? i think IIHS ranked the normal Fusion 'marginal' for headlight performance. But then again, they ranked most other cars marginal as well.

I LOVE my 2017 FuysSpo LED's, I guess it is all a matter of perception and what you are used too. My last really good lights were OEM Xenon projector's in a 2000 Mercedes E320. BTW, I like the Fusion better than that car in every respect. The tech has gotten so much better!