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: