2016 mkIII xenon's,somewhat underwhelmed...

[T5DKO]

Again though (genuinely curious, not being combative!) do you feel that the lamps don't actually light up everything in front of you within a more-than-suffiicent distance in order to let you drive safely and confidently through the dark (mine certainly do!) or is it just that as you paid extra, you were hoping for something a little more akin to a small sun strapped to the front of your car?

 

Given they are self adjusting, not sure the dealer would be able to do anything for you here...unless they are actually faulty or totally out of whack!

Hi,my main issue is that,on my particular car,the only difference between the halogen headlights on my previous 2014 Octavia,and the xenons on my 1 month old car,is that the light is slightly whiter. They don't seem to be any brighter or light up a bigger area,which in my previous experience of xenons over the years,they are a vast improvement over the equivalent halogen headlights. Having ordered and paid for them is not the issue,it's more a question of,is this normal,or do I need to get it checked out. If it's not right,I need to get it sorted,but if that's just how they are,then so be it,I'll just not bother with them as an extra next time.

[Item]

Hi,my main issue is that,on my particular car,the only difference between the halogen headlights on my previous 2014 Octavia,and the xenons on my 1 month old car,is that the light is slightly whiter. They don't seem to be any brighter or light up a bigger area,which in my previous experience of xenons over the years,they are a vast improvement over the equivalent halogen headlights. Having ordered and paid for them is not the issue,it's more a question of,is this normal,or do I need to get it checked out. If it's not right,I need to get it sorted,but if that's just how they are,then so be it,I'll just not bother with them as an extra next time.

 

Fair enough!

 

Did your halogens have the auto-adapting and corner function too? This feature is very noticeable for me in terms of the beam lighting up pedestrian and footpath areas really well during urban driving and then focusing more on the road ahead at faster speeds and non-urban roads, as well as the cornering function making things easier on the twisties at night.

[seanantenbring]

In my GTD there are small hex adjusters that can alter the throw of the lights, I take delivery of my vRS tomorrow so I'll have a look and see if I can see a similar set up.

 

Hope you got your VRS today and you love it! Were there hex adjusters on the VRS the same as your GTD?

 

Cheers

[susi]

whereas Skoda who are working to tighter margins have had to make cuts to their specification?

 

It's not just about margins, it's about brand positioning. They haven't "cut" their specification - each new product launch will have been specified with lower technology years before it hits production.

 

Companies like VAG would be foolish to offer the same feature level on all their brands. Instead they create a brand profile for each brand, so that each brand is clearly differentiated in the market. In this way they offer a product to suit every pocket and aspiration level.

 

The top level brands will get new technology first, get access to the best performing components (maybe including headlights), and will have exclusivity on those features for a couple of years. All the features created within VAG will be designed under a "module" structure, which becomes a sort of "menu" for vehicle design engineers. All modules are designed so that they're all compatible within a platform, but the each module isn't necessarily released for all brands from the start.

 

The main point is that the fact that Skoda or Leon headlamp performance is worse than Audi/VW is no accident and not a result of trimming a spec to meet tight margins. It is planned right from the start.

[Guest]

Take the example of the MkV Golf, when VW realised it cost far more to build than they had originally predicted, they brought forward the release of the MkVI by several years.

If they were prepared to go that far to save money, it's not that difficult to see them cutting back on the quality of components on the O3. Another thing to bear in mind, bi-xenons were a £650 option on the O2 (one which I wished I'd ticked!) yet on the O3 they cost £1100.

The O2 was seen as excellent VFM, and Škoda had an excellent reputation for going above and beyond in the pursuit of Customer Service. Not many people are saying that about the O3 or SUKCS now.

Draw the customer in....

The demographic of Škoda ownership has changed over the years, compare the number of threads in the O2 and S2 sections mentioning pcp deals and GFV against the vast numbers of such threads in the O3 and S3 sections. It is these people that VW are chasing and will determine the direction Škoda will take.

No blind spot mirrors on the O3, however, they sell a 'Blind Spot Detection System' for £800. Really??

You gotta love Service Station Top Trumps!

[FlyingGecko]

The Xenons on my vRS are a different class from the Toc H lamps on my previous SE.

[GoneToBeemer]

Take the example of the MkV Golf, when VW realised it cost far more to build than they had originally predicted, they brought forward the release of the MkVI by several years.

If they were prepared to go that far to save money, it's not that difficult to see them cutting back on the quality of components on the O3. Another thing to bear in mind, bi-xenons were a £650 option on the O2 (one which I wished I'd ticked!) yet on the O3 they cost £1100.

The O2 was seen as excellent VFM, and Škoda had an excellent reputation for going above and beyond in the pursuit of Customer Service. Not many people are saying that about the O3 or SUKCS now.

Draw the customer in....

The demographic of Škoda ownership has changed over the years, compare the number of threads in the O2 and S2 sections mentioning pcp deals and GFV against the vast numbers of such threads in the O3 and S3 sections. It is these people that VW are chasing and will determine the direction Škoda will take.

No blind spot mirrors on the O3, however, they sell a 'Blind Spot Detection System' for £800. Really??

You gotta love Service Station Top Trumps!

The O2 and O2 FL never had Bi-Xenons, just Xenon for the dipped headlights, and halogen for the main beam.

[silver1011]

It's not just about margins, it's about brand positioning. They haven't "cut" their specification - each new product launch will have been specified with lower technology years before it hits production.

 

Companies like VAG would be foolish to offer the same feature level on all their brands. Instead they create a brand profile for each brand, so that each brand is clearly differentiated in the market. In this way they offer a product to suit every pocket and aspiration level.

 

The top level brands will get new technology first, get access to the best performing components (maybe including headlights), and will have exclusivity on those features for a couple of years. All the features created within VAG will be designed under a "module" structure, which becomes a sort of "menu" for vehicle design engineers. All modules are designed so that they're all compatible within a platform, but the each module isn't necessarily released for all brands from the start.

 

The main point is that the fact that Skoda or Leon headlamp performance is worse than Audi/VW is no accident and not a result of trimming a spec to meet tight margins. It is planned right from the start.

 

My point was there are several people here suggesting the light output is less (or certainly no better) than the xenon's fitted to the MkII Octavia.

 

Technology has improved a lot since the MkII was introduced in 2005 so for the latest versions to fall short of customer expectations is worthy of note.

 

Xenon headlights are available across all VAG brands. I appreciate features such as cornering and range adjustment might vary across all VAG brands but are you suggesting that VAG would deliberately design a reduced output xenon headlight for use on a Skoda and then alter that same technology to offer increased output on an Audi? I don't think so.

 

I think this is more to do with the design of the headlight. Once it is determined that a particular Skoda model can have a xenon headlight option (i.e. VAG's brand Police allow it) then that is where the internal Skoda and Brand Police conversation ends.

 

Skoda approach Hella and the dialogue commences.

 

Skoda: We need a new xenon headlight. We have a cost target of €300.

Hella: Do you want xenon or bi-xenon?

Hella: Do you want opening price point, mid price point or high price point bulbs, ignitors, ballasts and modules? 

Hella: Do you want this €20 projector lens or the €50 lens we used in the last Audi headlight?

Skoda: What can you get us for €300?

 

Ultimately Skoda cannot always afford the best spec items.

 

VAG's branding is one element, there are many more.

 

There will be economies of scale to leverage too, there is no point Audi buying 100,000 type XYZ bulbs a year and Skoda buying 75,000 ABC bulbs. Use the XYZ bulb and get a lower cost by buying higher combined volumes.

 

Whatever the reality, a fairly complex procedure no doubt.

[Guest]

The O2 and O2 FL never had Bi-Xenons, just Xenon for the dipped headlights, and halogen for the main beam.

I sit corrected!

And I've just checked my brochure, and they would have cost £615 not £650 as I originally posted.

[susi]

There will be economies of scale to leverage too, there is no point Audi buying 100,000 type XYZ bulbs a year and Skoda buying 75,000 ABC bulbs. Use the XYZ bulb and get a lower cost by buying higher combined volumes.

 

It depends. It's quite possible that the individual volumes from each VAG brand are high enough to secure the best price possible from the supplier. If the lowest price is achieved with volumes of 100,000 units a year, buying 4 million doesn't secure a lower unit cost.

Pooling purchasing volume is only one part of the benefit of multi-brand platforms. The reduced complexity in the BOM (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_materials), subsequent reduction in work needed for strucutre maintenance, updates and bug fixes, common service parts, etc., all help.

 

 

 

Whatever the reality, a fairly complex procedure no doubt.

 

We can certainly agree on that!

[wlange]

More and more off-topics and theories here...guys c'mon those lights are really decent enough and get the job done well...at least imo.

It's not that they are malfunctioning, make noises, really shine weak, etc. Sure, there are better ones on market, and those better ones will have yet better competition in few months from now.

Enjoy your cars!

[Jaco2k]

This has been mentioned before - it is because of the adaptive lights that spread the beams and the focus, therefore making the output weaker. If you turn off the adaptive lights, the beam will be more focused and output brighter.

At highway speeds, they are plenty of bright enough.

[xpower]

I've looked inside on and there's nothing that changes the focus.

Inside there are 2 shields which can be independently moved to form the LHD / RHD pattern and can be used to cover / uncover the light output.

So the output and focus never change, only the direction they're are pointing and how much light is being let out.

Shame really,

Edited 19 May, 2016 by xpower

[London Les]

I think the total output of the MkII facelift was better because of the combination of a xenon dip and an H1 halogen main which was easy to upgrade with Osram Nightbreakers or whatever. Combined, plus the 35w H8 foglights, you got pretty mean coverage.

[ncarring]

jaco2k - how exactly does one turn on or off the adaptive lighting? I've only had my car a week and have only had one night drive in that time. The variety of options etc. is rather bewildering (I must be getting old) and I actually don't know what options my car has - it's just a bog standard VRS TDi, and I'm discovering new things all the time. So I may not have this "adaptive lighting" anyway, but I'm curious nonetheless.

[Gromle]

Adaptive lights are only Active when the switch is set to "auto".