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Premium have LED or Halo headlights?

16476 Views 17 Replies 15 Participants Last post by  Kevin Williams
I've been hearing mixed responses and curious if anyone actually knows regarding the premium.

I know the limited has Steering responsive LEDS

Looking at the premium picture, it still looks like LEDS to me


Thanks guys!
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I've been hearing mixed responses and curious if anyone actually knows regarding the premium.

I know the limited has Steering responsive LEDS

Looking at the premium picture, it still looks like LEDS to me


Thanks guys!
The fact that they list LED headlights as a benefit in the limited edition leads me to believe there is no LED headlights in the premium edition.
I checked with my dealer today and he told me the standard and premium editions have halogen headlights. You won’t get the LED ones unless you move up to the limited or Touring models.
The fact that they list LED headlights as a benefit in the limited edition leads me to believe there is no LED headlights in the premium edition.
I checked with my dealer today and he told me the standard and premium editions have halogen headlights. You won’t get the LED ones unless you move up to the limited or Touring models.
Thanks guys

Man, I'm kind of disappointed with Subaru on this one. I feel like I'm being forced to go with the Limited just to get foglights and led headlights and take the MPG and $$$ hit. I mean...it's a 2019 model and still has halogen headlights? Even the base model Atlas has LEDs.

I'm disappointed because even the Premium Forester has foglights. The reason I want them is for Seattle weather/dense fog and they definitely help. I'd rather have a smoother ride on the 18s and leather isn't that important to me and then I could save some $$$ with the premium
I'm interested to see what these headlights are like... in the sense of - projector? or reflective housing?
Halogen is most commonly going to be a reflective housing (although not always).
LED in a reflective housing is maybe marginally better than a halogen reflector, although I think a good portion of that is more related to the color of the light output being more whitish as opposed to yellowish for the halogen.

If these are projector LEDs, then that's a bit different cause I've seen well designed projectors put out a good amount of useful light to the road.

edit: All of the pics I've seen so far are projectors... but I believe all / most of the pics are also of the limited/touring edition.
If the base model gets halogen projectors, then it's a relatively straightforward swap to stick LEDs (or HIDs) in there. Furthermore, the only way they can really do a steering responsive headlight is to put it into a projector housing...

Also, Halo to my knowledge refers to a lighted "ring" surrounding the projector or reflector bulb / housing... technically, most current Subarus have U- / C-shaped Daytime Running LEDs running along the outside perimeter of both headlights

That all said, my personal preference is for projector HIDs :grin::tango_face_wink:
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Thanks guys

Man, I'm kind of disappointed with Subaru on this one. I feel like I'm being forced to go with the Limited just to get foglights and led headlights and take the MPG and $$$ hit. I mean...it's a 2019 model and still has halogen headlights? Even the base model Atlas has LEDs.

I'm disappointed because even the Premium Forester has foglights. The reason I want them is for Seattle weather/dense fog and they definitely help. I'd rather have a smoother ride on the 18s and leather isn't that important to me and then I could save some $$$ with the premium
I'm interested to see what these headlights are like... in the sense of - projector? or reflective housing?
Halogen is most commonly going to be a reflective housing (although not always).
LED in a reflective housing is maybe marginally better than a halogen reflector, although I think a good portion of that is more related to the color of the light output being more whitish as opposed to yellowish for the halogen.

If these are projector LEDs, then that's a bit different cause I've seen well designed projectors put out a good amount of useful light to the road.

edit: All of the pics I've seen so far are projectors... but I believe all / most of the pics are also of the limited/touring edition.
If the base model gets halogen projectors, then it's a relatively straightforward swap to stick LEDs (or HIDs) in there. Furthermore, the only way they can really do a steering responsive headlight is to put it into a projector housing...

Also, Halo to my knowledge refers to a lighted "ring" surrounding the projector or reflector bulb / housing... technically, most current Subarus have U- / C-shaped Daytime Running LEDs running along the outside perimeter of both headlights

That all said, my personal preference is for projector HIDs :grin::tango_face_wink:

I would agree with this. And Trashfo, you may not be missing much if you stick with your premium choice. And I could almost guarantee you that if you just wait a little bit after the Ascent is finally out and on the road that you'll be able to order the fog lights, as a service part, and have them added to your premium.

Just about every car I've come across these days, you can do this. Most are pre-wired anyway even if they didn't come with fogs. Some are simple plug ins and you're good to go, and some are a little more involved (computer software flash). But I can't imagine this won't be an available part from Subaru later.

And as for the LED headlights, we ordered the limited, but I'm still worried the LED headlights may not perform as well as Subaru hopes. Some current cars with this technology seem to have poor output with their factory LEDs, according to some owners. And from what I keep seeing and reading online, a lot of people agree.

Hopefully the technology is getting there and hopefully Subaru got this one right. But yes, I hear a lot of people prefer HIDs over LEDs right now. And until these manufacturers perfect this LED (headlight) technology, I guess I'm in the HID > LED boat too. Ascent, don't let us down!!! :smile:
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I think the new Forester has led highlights from premium on with limited and touring having the SRH option
I was also concerned about this before we preordered due to the fog we get along the Lake Michigan, and my dealer confirmed with us that fog lights are standard on all trim models, but only the leds come with the limited and touring levels. I have this in writing from our dealer. But we'll see...
I would agree with this. And Trashfo, you may not be missing much if you stick with your premium choice. And I could almost guarantee you that if you just wait a little bit after the Ascent is finally out and on the road that you'll be able to order the fog lights, as a service part, and have them added to your premium.

Hopefully the technology is getting there and hopefully Subaru got this one right. But yes, I hear a lot of people prefer HIDs over LEDs right now. And until these manufacturers perfect this LED (headlight) technology, I guess I'm in the HID > LED boat too. Ascent, don't let us down!!! :smile:
Ended up going with the limited. Thanks for the message though!

I was also concerned about this before we preordered due to the fog we get along the Lake Michigan, and my dealer confirmed with us that fog lights are standard on all trim models, but only the leds come with the limited and touring levels. I have this in writing from our dealer. But we'll see...
Have them triple check. I emailed Subaru directly and they also confirmed foglights are standard on Limited and above. If you use the costco configurator you'll see they've added foglights as an add on. You'll need that for the premium.
Hopefully, the Base and Premium models will have projectors. I would be very happy to swap the bulbs out for HID setup (OEM ballasts and aftermarket bulbs).

I've never used LED for car headlights but I know it's a good and reliable technology. I'm surprised Ascent LED on their Limited; Pathfinder only offer them on the Platinum trim package.
My dealership took some time to look into it and told me that fog lights are not standard on the premium trim
I was also concerned about this before we preordered due to the fog we get along the Lake Michigan, and my dealer confirmed with us that fog lights are standard on all trim models, but only the leds come with the limited and touring levels. I have this in writing from our dealer. But we'll see...
LED fog lights are standard on the Limited and Touring models. The base and premium have Fog Light Inset Covers with Chrome Accent Trim.

This is straight from SubieNet.

Now - that does NOT mean that you can't put fog lights in as a dealer installed accessory (or a you're handy with a wrench accessory) on a base or premium. But it does mean that fog lights are NOT standard on those trim levels.

I had that discussion come up with a customer who ordered a premium model from me.
Are the fog lights automatically turn on in the direction of the turn (just like on '16 Forester)? I know that main lights move with the steering, but it's different.
The LED headlights also have auto-leveling. The halogen's do not. Basically, instead of HID's, they went the LED route.
Are the fog lights automatically turn on in the direction of the turn (just like on '16 Forester)? I know that main lights move with the steering, but it's different.
The SRF's were replaced by the SRH's at least in the LED models. Not sure if the fogs still turn on with the halogen models though.
The SRF's simply turn on the light when you turn the steering wheel (at least that's how it worked on my former '16 Legacy). The SRH actually turn, and it's really cool and I can see the difference, along with the LED headlights.
I have a premium, but I just replaced the halogens with LEDs from Amazon. Work great and puts out twice the light!


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CNMF7MB/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


2 Sets, 1 for low beams and 1 for high beams. $80 for both sets.


Also I'm sure you can get fog lights installed aftermarket too.
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