Half of Small SUVs Fail New IIHS Headlight Tests

None of the 21 small crossover/SUVs tested with their best headlight packages by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety received the group’s highest “good” rating, and 12 received the worst grade of “poor.”

Five crossovers were rated “marginal” and four earned “acceptable” designations, including the 2017 Ford Escape and three 2016 models—the Hyundai Tucson, Honda CR-V and Mazda CX-3. IIHS tested 47 headlight configurations among the vehicles, and gave “poor” ratings to more than two-thirds.

All vehicles meet U.S. standards for headlights. But IIHS says government rules allow for significant variation in the amount of illumination during real-world driving. Noting that about half of all traffic deaths occur at night, dusk or dawn, the Arlington, Va.-based insurance industry group hopes its new headlight ratings spur carmakers to make improvements.

Small crossover/SUVs is the second vehicle segment to be evaluated for headlight performance by IIHS. In March the institute tested 31 midsize sedans, many of which also fared poorly. The group will test pickup trucks next.

Starting next year, vehicles must earn a "good" or "acceptable" headlight rating to qualify for IIHS’s Top Safety Pick+ award.

The tests evaluate a vehicle’s headlight distance on five approach angles: traveling straight and gradual and sharp left and right curves with both low and high beams. Vehicles equipped with high-beam assist, which automatically switches between high and low beams depending on the presence of other vehicles, can earn back some points taken off for inadequate low beam visibility.

IIHS says 17 of the 47 SUV headlight combinations—including those with advanced HID and LED lights—generated excessive glare, thereby relegating them to a rating no better than “marginal.” The institute notes that many SUV/crossovers are assembled with their lights pointed higher than car headlights instead of lower as they should be.