2014 Kia Cadenza Limited Long-Term Road Test

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2014 Kia Cadenza Limited Long-Term Road Test

The 2014 Kia Cadenza has Adaptive Front Lighting System. I think I prefer fixed lights. Am I living in the past, or do adaptive headlights simply take getting used to?

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banhugh

Both

fordson1

banhugh is right - it's both - they can be distracting at first, and you are living in the past if you don't realize they do a better job of pointing where the car is going than regular headlights. If you have bad ADHD, you might keep being distracted by them, but for most people, after a couple of days, they're second nature.

mieden

My ex actually had difficulty driving when she would use my (older) cars at night, she had become so accustomed to the adaptive lights on her M35. Theres a stat somewhere that sais AFL and rear parking cameras are the most welcome new technologies on cars over the past decade.

agentorange

First world problem largely caused by the US DoT. A properly designed headlight system properly aimed does not need to be adaptive. It will have sufficient range and spread without waving lights around. This is best done with a four headlamp system, two for low beam with all four active on high beam. Trouble is the DoT get huffy about maximum lumens per acre or some such when it comes to 4-light headlamp systems.

s197gt

we have non-adaptive HID headlights in our CX-9 and adaptive HID headlights in our e90. much prefer the adaptive.

there is also an automatic vertical adjustment, at least in bmw's (and the CX-9 has a manual vertical adjustment).

from bmw's site:

"Headlight beam throw control (a model-specific function) means the front headlights are raised at high speeds and lowered at slower speeds, which results in a wider beam for inner-city driving.

The adaptive headlight range control (a model-specific function) takes into consideration the vertical curve of the road. The headlight beam throw control is lowered when driving over a knoll and raised when the vehicle is in a dip."

allthingshonda

What I miss is a throwback from the past, dedicated cornering lights. The high beams are sufficient for driving on a two lane curvy road, I don't really need adaptive lights. But I miss cornering lights for turning down narrow dark narrow streets and driveways. My Mom had a Buick Park Avenue that had great cornering lights. Maybe I miss them because that is the car I learned to drive in and got very used to having them. My uncle had a Saab that had cornering lights that came on when shifted into reverse, great idea. The old C4 Corvette had front and rear cornering lights. The rears were for when in reverse. Wonder why they got rid of these? Seems like they could now combine front and rear side marker lights with cornering lights by using LEDs. Front side marker lights could turn off and switch to cornering lights when turn signal activated. And the front and rear could switch to cornering lights when shifted to reverse. 360 illumination for backing up.

gloss

I quite like the auto-leveling adaptive headlights on our CX-5. It does take a touch of getting used to, but it undeniably helps visibility when cornering.

bimmerjay

allthingshonda, most new German cars do have secondary cornering lights. In a sharp bend where the adaptive headlight can no longer reach or when you activate a turn signal, what appears to be a fog light turns on but it's actually a cornering light. Also, both sides often turn on in reverse as well as external lights under the mirrors and/or door handles to aid the parking cameras and provide the 360 degree lighting you speak of.

quadricycle

@agentorange: I don't quite agree that a properly designed headlamp doesn't need adaptive headlights. For example, while European headlamps tend to have a wider, flatter beam with horizontal uptics for good pedestrian detection at the cost of seeing dista

bigzzz

I love my Cadenza and I really like the adaptive headlights. However, the headlights have no horizontal adjustment. Mine are pointed toward the right curb and are annoying. KIA says that since they are adaptive, they are not adjustable. A really stupid and unsafe design.

nitelite23

Whether or not these headlights are useful to the person driving the car, I cannot say, as I've never driven a car with these headlights. However, as another driver on the road, noticing an increasing number if headlights changing directions and getting darker and dimmer all around me, I can definitely say that I think these are a HUGE distraction to everyone else on the road. They look as if they are high-beams being flashed in my direction, and I wind up paying attention to the flashing lights in my rear-view, instead of on the road (wondering why I'm getting flashed by someone). I know I'm not alone, I've spoken to many people about this -- and wasn't even aware that this was an AUTOMATIC technology, until tonight when I got so frustrated that I finally looked up why it seemed like so many people are somehow controlling their headlights and flashing people.
I could see the potential for this to be very useful and safe in a more suburban-to-rural area; however, within New York City, with so many cars on the road and more than enough lights already coming at you, this constant flashing is a safety hazard that should be able to be disabled -- and SHOULD be disabled within the city. Pay attention to the road, and you won't need fancy lights.

carboy21

nitelite23 said:

Whether or not these headlights are useful to the person driving the car, I cannot say, as I've never driven a car with these headlights. However, as another driver on the road, noticing an increasing number if headlights changing directions and getting darker and dimmer all around me, I can definitely say that I think these are a HUGE distraction to everyone else on the road. They look as if they are high-beams being flashed in my direction, and I wind up paying attention to the flashing lights in my rear-view, instead of on the road (wondering why I'm getting flashed by someone). I know I'm not alone, I've spoken to many people about this -- and wasn't even aware that this was an AUTOMATIC technology, until tonight when I got so frustrated that I finally looked up why it seemed like so many people are somehow controlling their headlights and flashing people.
I could see the potential for this to be very useful and safe in a more suburban-to-rural area; however, within New York City, with so many cars on the road and more than enough lights already coming at you, this constant flashing is a safety hazard that should be able to be disabled -- and SHOULD be disabled within the city. Pay attention to the road, and you won't need fancy lights.

I agree with you completely. Many of these modern lights appear as if on full beam and along with the extreme white Xenons, they are dangerous to other oncoming cars. They should be BANNED.