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-   -   Modern car trends headed in the right direction? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/236219-modern-car-trends-headed-right-direction-2.html)

Unfortunately I have to disagree with both. Firstly with the switch to LEDs, the difference varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and model. White light by itself isnt bad, but when we have things like potholes and especially when the potholes are filled with water, its impossible to spot them. I love the headlights of our Crysta though intensity is nowhere compared to the mother of setups in my SX4, I still like how well certain road features are differentiated, except potholes. Hence, we need to demand better infra and not yellow headlights. The latter is the one having issues while LEDs are heading in the right direction.

Also, you cannot compare overhead lighting from a street light to forward lighting from a car. The optics are different. In that case, even if the overhead street lights had cool white 6500K LEDs, the illumination would be better than any LED headlight on a car. When you have stationary overhead lighting on a long stretch of road like you mention on Kunigal Bypass, it increases your confidence since you are able to see a longer stretch of the road that your eyes can see at once, rather than any car headlight which will have limited range and field of illumination.

Second coming to DRLs, after driving for years in early morning or gloomy Bengaluru conditions with cloudy weather, I can tell you it makes driving far safer in general. Vehicles with DRLs are far easier to notice in the RVM, on the opposite side and grabs your attention quicker. Thats exactly the reason everyone are introducing it and is nowhere a fancy add on. Indian conditions are not much different from any other country where DRLs are made mandatory. At least if not conditions, the use case is the same. The LED headlights of the activa which might be an annoyance in the night, is extremely useful in the day especially with our heavy vehicle drivers with puny mirrors which are so small, they will hardly notice things in detail, but can always notice the sharp light and avoid changing lanes when there is a vehicle approaching from behind.

Same reason why, over the last few years, the headlights of my Dio are never switched off irrespective of day or night. I would prefer them to be ON and luckily, so far have never had people cutting into my lane when I am approaching them at a speed or stuff. I hope it grabs attention.

Got Night Drive Glass attachment for my spectacles (the ones which have multiple magnetic ones including Polaroid glasses and the like). Fixed the problem to a great extent for me.

Now I drive at night with Coldplay's song playing on the stereo..."And now the lights are all Yellow!" :D

Disagree. I think it's a great decision especially in a country when people don't turn on their lights around dusk.

When I drive on 2 lane roads, especially close to dusk, DRLs from oncoming cars are so useful to judge what's coming. This is all the more useful on village B roads with sparse traffic and highway intersections. Also, when driving around corners in hills, day/dusk, DRLs get my instant attention. For me, DRL is a must-have when buying a new car.

Being a bicycle rider, with a small convex RV mirror on my handlebar, spotting vehicles coming from the rear is MUCH easier with their drls. Imo they positively contribute to visibility on the roads

If you need good, powerful headlights, you must have atleast HID projector headlamps. Pound for pound, the HID offer better throw, lesser blind spots, a uniform glow and even in low beams a far better lighting than the best LED. The other big benifit is that almost zero scatter in heavy rains or fog, when compared to how useless led lights are in similar conditions.

I think you should get them checked or replaced because on a clear night, I see otherwise. Most factory LED setups are pretty competent (unlike aftermarket stuff). My eyes are being hurt constantly by Fortuners, Mercs and Balenos. And when they stop next to me in traffic, the throw is magnificent.

I own a factory LED setup at the moment (Vento) and have used both HID (Superb) and Halogen (Swift/M800) before. The LED experience is far superior to the latter (albeit a little low beam adjustment). It is phenomenal and even works in rain.

P.S. Some pictures for reference lol:

OT but I have a question. When you have these driving glasses on, does it affect visibility when you suddenly enter an unlit stretch or a tunnel?

When you put a piece of glass between you and what you are looking at - there is always some loss of light, glass is not 100% transparent. When you add one more piece of glass (spectacles) and then one more - you get the picture.

The floating roof trend.
The Land Rover Range Rover is the first car to have this as far as I know.


And now every other car on road has it.




And the list goes on…
(pic credit : google)

The brochure and showroom staff boasts- haha, look at the floating roof. Trendy, modern, stylish, yaaay!
And the real reason behind it is to save manufacturing costs. The whole panel is supposed to start from A pillar, to the roof, extending to the Rear quarter panel going down to the door sill, till the front wheels.
I am actually fed up of seeing floating roof on every car. To be honest , only the Range Rover looks classy.

I haven't driven through tunnels since I bought them but have driven 90% through completely unlit stretches and there it didn't affect my visibility.

The white LED headlamps appear like the lanterns with yellow translucent paper, which can feel awkward for first few minutes. That's it. The sudden blinding due to oncoming LED headlights and the temporary blindness post that also is greatly reduced.

These are factory LEDs ???? I think my aftermarket LED Projectors do much better. I swapped my car’s halogen projector with aftermarket bi-led projectors (iLens) myself on my Verna. Never going back to Halogens ever. They perform brilliantly in adverse weather too.

Some pictures:-

Low beams:-


High beams:-

Well, good for you. I'd prefer not going aftermarket as long as warranty remains and I've had zero issues so far. Here's a better picture in case they look dim. Believe me, they're not. Puny phone camera doesn't do justice, plus I don't really have dark alleys to take pictures inside the colony (thanks virus):

I disagree with almost everything on the opening post.
I love the LEDs, at least on my Vento. They not only look good but offer excellent illumination though I have heard complaints about the likes of Kia.
I am absolutely in love with turbo petrols - they are best of both world to me offering the refinement of petrol and surge of torque from the turbo. A gentle tap on the accelerator and you zoom past the traffic.
Some other trends -
Digital cockpit - I think this is debatable. If traditional cockpits are done well, we don't need a fully digital cockpit and I wouldn't pay extra for it.
Standard safety features - many cars are coming with up to 6 airbags, ESC/ESP, TC, ABS, TPMS, all round cameras. A very welcome trend indeed but I hope manufacturers pay attention to the structural integrity (Hyundai/Kia/Maruti)
Sunroof - Personally, don't care for it but people love it, mainly to show off.
Start/stop button - I don't have this feature in my cars and believe me, I don't miss this at all. There are many features I would have liked to have in my Vento but start/stop button is at the bottom of the list.
Dual-tone variants - Along with the craze of crossovers, almost every manufacturer is offering dual tone variants. I think some of the dual tone variants do look good on some cars but again, absolutely unnecessary in my opinion.

Do I agree with modern trends or not is a Million Dollar question. I do like some of them and some I do not. Here is a list of trends I feel that were started by the popular marquees, now not so significant ones have to adopt them -
• Electrification of cars
• Hybridization of cars
• Rising sales in SUVs and dying interest in Sedans.
• Increase in in-car technology and connectivity through 5G.
• Autonomous and self-driving
• Subscription service offered instead of ownership.
• The decrease in affordability – the rising cost of owning a new car.
• Increase in reliability – owners are keeping their cars for a longer time.
• 3D printing of car components
• Vegan leather and other ethically sourced components; use of recycled components.
• Direct delivery and Touchless delivery
• Promotion of zero accidents
• Reliance on domestic manufacturing to decrease the effects of disruption in supply chain
• Absence of spare tire to reduce overall weight, and provision of a fix a flat kit
• Active grill shutters to increase fuel efficiency
• Maintenance minder to remind owners about their car maintenance schedule
• Wireless mobile charging pads
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Smartphone App to control the car (remote start / remote lock-unlock)
• The decrease in popularity of V10s and V8s
• Small displacement engines with Turbos
• Virtual maps on the dashboard
• The resurrection of extinct marquees (Ford Bronco, Hummer, Jeep Wagoneer)
• Push-button shifter instead of a gear lever

Not true. Tesla model 3's all around sentry cams can be used as dashcam. I even once used it for an insurance claim when I my car was rear ended in a traffic light.