Have ordered SE 4x4 with hot seats and off road thingy button. Am aware of fact that the older I get the worse my nightsight is supposed to be and whilst no problem at all re night driving I do a lot of it on unlit roads in North Yorks. Various points on here about how the standard Yeti lights are poor- but I have always moaned about Xenons as some of them are bloody appalling for other road users- was once followed by some twonk in his daft Range Rover Sport when in my Seven and I thought my eyes would melt. But...I am tempted to order them. And of course that means I start to think about an Elegance instead and that is more money for some toys I don't really need but etc...Any thoughts on how good the Xenons are? And should I stick with SE - who else has been in same dilemma?

Have ordered SE 4x4 with hot seats and off road thingy button. Am aware of fact that the older I get the worse my nightsight is supposed to be and whilst no problem at all re night driving I do a lot of it on unlit roads in North Yorks. Various points on here about how the standard Yeti lights are poor- but I have always moaned about Xenons as some of them are bloody appalling for other road users- was once followed by some twonk in his daft Range Rover Sport when in my Seven and I thought my eyes would melt. But...I am tempted to order them. And of course that means I start to think about an Elegance instead and that is more money for some toys I don't really need but etc...Any thoughts on how good the Xenons are? And should I stick with SE - who else has been in same dilemma?

That sounds familiar! I started off with speccing up an SE and it there was more value in me speccing the Elegance in the end!

As ive said before in posts - the bi xenon AFS lights are stunningly good imo. The cornering fogs are a bonus and overall the lights are by far the most impressive of any of the new cars Ive owned (including all the other xenon ones!)

There are two camps in Yetiland, one for the Xenons and the other who prefer halogens. I am of the latter!!

The halogen heads respond well to being upgraded using, for example, Osram Nightbreaker Plus H4 bulbs. the replacement is relatively easy and much cheaper than an upgrade to Xenons.

I have always moaned about Xenons as some of them are bloody appalling for other road users- was once followed by some twonk in his daft Range Rover Sport when in my Seven and I thought my eyes would melt

My feelings exactly and this is why I would remain with the halogen option. I have upgraded using a +50% bulb (not the +90% of the Osram - they wern't available when I upgraded) and the result is impressive.

If you can't beat them, join them!

The lamps are bi xenon so offer excellent hi beam output, they also swivel left to right with the steering wheel which is great.

Xenons are bad in the fog however thanks to the shorter wavelength of the 'hotter' lamp colour. This means the light tends to bounce back rather than penetrate the fog.

Despite that, i wouldn't be without my xenons and the AFSII system on my Superb is bloody brilliant.

Get the auto dimming mirror and dazzle becomes a thing of the past as the drivers door mirror dims too.

The Elegance spec is really worth going for if you can run to it.

Just driven home in our new elegance today in the dark. The xenons are superb.My wife followed me back in the Yeti for the last 40 miles. Those new xenons behind me never bothered me once, though a xenon equiped Rangerover that overtook us certainly did.

Edited 25 November, 201015 yr by bilun777

Hi,

having been out on the moors around Goathland at night in my previous Yeti SE I would probably advise corner fogs and if your doing a lot of night driving as suggested then the Xenon as well; both standard on the Elegance.

Currently awaiting a Yeti Elegance 110 4x4 as it cost about the same as optioned up 140 SE which I had before (options accounted for most of my P/X depreciation :S ).

Regards,

TP

Hi,

having been out on the moors around Goathland at night in my previous Yeti SE I would probably advise corner fogs and if your doing a lot of night driving as suggested then the Xenon as well; both standard on the Elegance.

Currently awaiting a Yeti Elegance 110 4x4 as it cost about the same as optioned up 140 SE which I had before (options accounted for most of my P/X depreciation :S ).

Regards,

TP

As the bi-xenons 'corner' surely you don't need to use both? - the xenons will obliterate the corner fogs won't they?

Mike

Those new xenons behind me never bothered me once, though a xenon equiped Rangerover that overtook us certainly did.

RR lights are mounted higher....I think.

Mike

As the bi-xenons 'corner' surely you don't need to use both? - the xenons will obliterate the corner fogs won't they?

Mike

Hi Mike,

not driven a xenon Yeti at night only a Superb I; however I found the corner fog very useful on the SE, for those narrow country lanes at night when you have to slow right down for a tight bend.

Anyway you should be able to tell me shortly :yes:

Regards,

TP

Hi Mike,

not driven a xenon Yeti at night only a Superb I; however I found the corner fog very useful on the SE, for those narrow country lanes at night when you have to slow right down for a tight bend.

Anyway you should be able to tell me shortly :yes:

Regards,

TP

I certainly will let you know. I do quite a lot of driving at night, which is why I wanted the xenons and the auto dipping mirrors.

I had a 535d M Sport a while back and that had the cornering xenons. I loved them. It was so cool seeing them move when you were driving.

I wonder if they move at all speeds, or just at lower speeds.

Mike

Hi

Without question, from the point of view of the driver, the bi-xenon headlights are brilliant. Erm- in EVERY sense of the word.

I would never, ever, wish to go ack to halogens or candles again in the dark.

Also, I have never been flashed by other drivers because of my lights blinding them.

And finally, the dance they do when you turn on in the dark is a laugh a minute, too!

And of course that means I start to think about an Elegance instead and that is more money for some toys I don't really need but etc...

I'm sure a lot of the Elegance owners (us included) started out on the SE plus a couple of options route. Only by the time you've added a few options you're getting dangerously close to an Elegance and then once you've crossed that scenerio you then have the 170 diesel option dangled temptingly close (or possibly the 140 DSG).

I'd say either rip out the options pages from you're brochure and stick with a standard spec SE or go for the full fat Elegance (you'll not look back)

Bad drivers give xenons a bum rap.

Aftermarket xenon lights are illegal, as they do not level autromatically and do not have headlight washers. Ditto for xenon type replacements for Halogen bulbs. A lot of the bliding from supposedly xenon lights is from poorly adjusted halogen lights and people driving with dirty headlights. the dirt diffuses the light and spoils the sharp cut-off of the dimmed beam.

I might as well add that people driving with just one headlight really tick me off. Granted, some bulbs are difficult to replace - on French cars in particular - but they must be replaced for the safety of everyone.

The factory bi-xenons fitted to the Yeti are excellent. very good light on the road and a super sharp cut-off on the dipped beam. in a year of driving with these, I have not been flashed from oncoming drivers and the cut-off clearly stays below the rear window when you follow cars at a reasonable distance. The washing system ensures that the lenses are always clean, so no diffusing.

Stepping down off the box now.........

As the bi-xenons 'corner' surely you don't need to use both? - the xenons will obliterate the corner fogs won't they?

Mike

I've not driven my Yeti in total darkness and to be honest thought I won't notice the Xenons or the cornering fogs whilst driving in London. But boy do you notice it! What an AMAZING super white spread of light that lights up everything ahead of you.

And Mike to answer you statement above: the fogs only fill in the near ground up to 24mph - so when you are indicating and going slow they light up exactly where you want them to. The Xenons might also have turned but they light up things much further ahead so they compliment each other.

I often wondered how far the Xenons in fact turn. Well when you watch the start up Xenon dance they go up and down to find the level and then also both go outwards (at the same time!!!) like a chameleon! It is then that you can see how far (I presume) they turn. And to be honest it is only about 3 or 4 degrees to each side.

I also need to add not a single other person has thus far flashed me for hurting their eyes. As per halogens that will only happen to a car with badly adjusted lights.

Originally wanted the 140 diesel SE 4x4 but once we started picking our options it soon became apparent that it was a no brainer to pick the 170 4x4 Elegance. The xenons are absolutely great lights and the cornering function is excellent.

I too live in N Yorks and do a lot of driving on unlit winding roads, as well as been a shift worker driving to and from work in the dark at this time of year and the xenons are the best lights I've had on a car. The other option is to get standard lights on a lower spec car and upgrade the bulbs as mentioned on another post. Just done this with my sons Renaultsport Twingo because the lights were very poor driving to/from Newby Wiske in the dark. The upgraded bulbs have done a good job but no match for the xenons. It comes down once again to "you pay your money etc etc"

The other option is to get standard lights on a lower spec car and upgrade the bulbs as mentioned on another post. Just done this with my sons Renaultsport Twingo because the lights were very poor driving to/from Newby Wiske in the dark. The upgraded bulbs have done a good job but no match for the xenons. It comes down once again to "you pay your money etc etc"

Agreed - they arent a patch on true xenons and In the past ive just become sick of having to replace them every year due to them blowing.

I have the standard lights and they are okay but not fantastic. If you drive a lot on unlit roads then I would say it is worth upgrading. If you were mainly city and town driving then save your money.

Also I find that the full beam switches off the dipped, that or is it the dipped that rises, and so you get a blank spot for around 10m in front of the car which is not great. I have not heard xenon people complain about that so maybe theirs work better on full beam as well.

Agreed - they arent a patch on true xenons and In the past ive just become sick of having to replace them every year due to them blowing.

+1

I've had all sorts of Autoexpress "best in test" bulbs in my A2. They were lovely for a while and then they blow at the most inopportune moment. Their life expectancy is very, very, very short. Stick to standard Halogen candle bulbs or just get an Elegance.

I'm using Philips extreme vision +100% in my Polo at the moment They are brilliant. Literally. Nowhere near as good as xenons, but better than the standard bulbs that were fitted.

Mike

I'm using Philips extreme vision +100% in my Polo at the moment They are brilliant. Literally. Nowhere near as good as xenons, but better than the standard bulbs that were fitted.

Mike

Mike, id agree they are far better than the standard bulbs but I only used to get 16 months from the +30% brighter bulbs and 10 months from the +50% osram and philips ones! And I didn't actually do much night driving with them! Also, they always seemed to go in the coldest months - not a fun job to do so regularly imo.

Mike, id agree they are far better than the standard bulbs but I only used to get 16 months from the +30% brighter bulbs and 10 months from the +50% osram and philips ones! And I didn't actually do much night driving with them! Also, they always seemed to go in the coldest months - not a fun job to do so regularly imo.

I had the 'old' Philips extreme 90% versions in my octavia for 2 years and 40,000 miles before one blew. I kept the lights on auto so they were on-off all the time. I would also say that about 2/3rds of that mileage was at night.

I'm not complaining at that. The Octavia ones take about 2-3 minutes to change. easy peasy. (not so the Yeti)

Mike

I had the 'old' Philips extreme 90% versions in my octavia for 2 years and 40,000 miles before one blew. I kept the lights on auto so they were on-off all the time. I would also say that about 2/3rds of that mileage was at night.

I'm not complaining at that. The Octavia ones take about 2-3 minutes to change. easy peasy. (not so the Yeti)

Mike

I wouldnt be complaining if I got anything like that from them tbh! I must have just been very unlucky with all of mine... four sets in total iirc :(

Purely in order to educate me, what do the Xenons do when you start up? I've never had them - also never had cornering lights!..But I did see a BMW, I think it was, start up the other day and saw the beam move up and /or down in a manner never seen before :wonder:

So, to summarise....I've never had...Leather seats, heated seats, electric seats, lumbar support, xenon or cornering headlights, automatic wipers or lights that come on in tunnels, bluetooth radio/phone, ESP, TPM, (Ihave got electric FOLDING MIRRORS though ), How the hell did I get by?

You won't believe it but the Maestro I had right up till recently never had any of that.....but it was one of the few that had central locking AND a sunroof! There... knew that would impress you lot! One thing it did have though, was this special type of headlining that automatically detached itself and draped itself round your ears. You could de-activate the facility by stopping and glueing it back, but it was pre-programmed to repeat the function quite regularly.

Re. lights. Why is it that the brighter replacements for the (halogens? is it?) ...don't last long in the experience of some of you?

Not a soul has mentioned that it's illegal to use fogs when it's not foggy, b----y glad I didn't mention it either

PS... when you dip / main beam with xenons are there seperate filaments or does it swivel up and down... or what?

Edited 26 November, 201015 yr by oldstan

Hi Oldstan

Yes!

Oh - what was the question?