From bolt-on spotlights to sleek pop-up headlights, huge oblong lights to rows of tiny round ones, a car’s headlights have always done far more than illuminate the road ahead, defining not only its technology but a good part of its design character. But today automotive lighting is changing so fast that cars are having to be redesigned to accommodate the latest advances – such is the case with the latest Vauxhall.
The saloon’s refreshed looks centre on the front end where in place of the chunky old lights are Vauxhall’s IntelliLux LED headlights. They instantly give the car a more contemporary look, plus the all-important new daytime running lights signature, while offering the advantages of “next generation” lighting tech. So important are they Vauxhall says the Insignia’s front end has literally been reshaped to accommodate them.
Why so special? The super-slim new headlights contain 84 LEDs aside, arranged in three rows within each unit, that constantly react to different light, weather, road and traffic conditions. The control unit behind it is a camera-based system that scans the road ahead and then makes precise adjustments to beam brightness and direction within milliseconds.