Just wondering if dealer pre-ordered cars with xenons are a rarity? I've been in contact with my 'local' dealer trying to decide between getting one of their remaining '09s, getting an existing '10, or ordering a '10. I really like xenon lamps but I swear the vast majority of the cars on my dealer's lot are equipped with halogens. In fact, unless something has changed since last weekend, I can only remember them having maybe 5 out of 30 cars with them. My MA told me that they didn't have any cars down the pipeline that would be equipped with xenons.

Is it atypical for dealers everywhere to order xenon equipped cars? Surely that extra $500 (vs like $2k later for post production dealer installed xenons!!) wouldn't be enough of a price deterrent to make people decide against getting a MINI. But maybe I'm missing something...

 

I love mine, ordered with sport package. Most dealer cars are Premium/Cold/Convenience or Prem/Conv. A lot of people like the moonroof, keyless entry, heated setas and stuff so dealers focus more on that. If you have the option go for the Xenons.

 

Yeah my current Clubman has halogens. They are ok but coming from my past two cars that had projectors/xenons....I really need it. My 2010 will have xenons part of the sport S package. If you can build/order one, get them.

 

They aren't a deal breaker for me really, I've just been very surprised that they seem so rare in already existing dealer inventories. I've spoken with a couple of other dealers and even there, halogens are by far the norm.

I do hear ya on the comfort accessories (although "comfort" is debatable when considering that piddly screen mesh on the moon roof). My ideal car would be an S equipped with xenons and CW pack. Finding an existing one of those on a dealer lot is not gonna happen. Makes perfect sense to me though!!

 

I have them and this is my 4th car in a row to have Xenon's. I have an Explorer with halogens and it's hard to see at night driving it. Also IMO the Xenon's should be moved to the Premium package and Sports Suspension should go back in the Sports package.

 

That would certainly make sense!

 

I would think that dealers would load as many options (including Xenons) as possible into their lot cars...big $$$ for them!

As a side note, I presonally can't stand Xenons. It's so annoying to have someone with Xenon headlights behind me on the highway. They're too friggin bright!

 

Love the xenons on my R53. My R55 has the standard halogen headlights and they are just fine but they ain't the self leveling xenons. If I was ordering a car Xenons would be at the top of my list but if you are getting an '09 off the lot it's not a deal breaker

 

Not in this economy when everyone is looking for a real deal on a car. there are more base models with out lots of options sold than those with lots of options and the dealers do not want to price themselves out of the market for less expensive cars.

Those must be the improperly installed or aftermarket ones then unless it is a truck or SUV. the beam cutters rae very distinct on the prorpelry aligned Xenon's and they will not blind you if they come up on you form the rear, in fact they will show less light into your car than halogen. Again this is only if they are aligned/aimed properly.

 

I have them and think they were a mistake (came in the 2007 Sport Package). The only place they are useful is on empty country roads. As soon as you have oncoming traffic, they are a disadvantage.

If there is oncoming traffic, you have to use the low beams, which suck. Xenons don't dim the light for low-beams, they just drop a mask over the top area. So, on low-beam, there is an overly bright area that has a very distinct cut-off. While the cut-off is necessary for other drivers, it is a problem for the driver. Your eyes adjust to bright light level. With very little scatter of light beyond the cutoff, your light-adapted eyes can't see into the unlit area. With low beams, halogens allow you to see further, IMO.

 

Yeah, I've driven cars with xenons, and currently drive a car that has xenons. There definitely is a sharp cut off and I have on more than one occasion wondered, when driving on a lonely country road and meeting another vehicle, if a deer would materialize from the void before I had time to correct or break.

I'm not going to turn down a great deal on a car because it doesn't have xenons, though I would prefer them despite their shortcomings. Honestly though, I have to ask myself if I want them so badly because of their utility or because of the way they look to other cars. I know that sounds about as shallow as it can but in being honest with myself I truly do wonder.

Right now my local dealer has an S that is great in every aspect but the xenons. I have a strong feeling I'll be driving that car the 3 hrs home tomorrow.

 

The other disadvantage of Xenons is that they are a little slow to fire up, and firing them up does put a strain on the igniters. So, when your lights are off, flashing them is not a very usable option.

 

I love the Xenons! Here in Minnesota the light output is nice for all of the nasty weather and dark days. And the addition of the headlight washer, that's not available on the halogens, is ESSENTIAL for the winter here.

 

I have 'em in a package but I am not sure I'd go $500 for them standalone. How bad can the halogens be anyway? Lights is lights.

 

Then apparently every single set of them, factory installed or not, are improperly aligned/aimed. I have to agree with SnappleLlama - I find them to be too bright whether coming from behind or in front of me.

 

You're getting cataracts dude

 

Xenons are one of the only options that have dropped in price over the past few years. They were $550 when I ordered my 05 in 04.

count me in the pro-xenon crowd. I dont know what Casady and others are talking about, but I love them. my pickup has halogens, and let's just say I'd prefer not to drive that thing at night. Xenons, working with the fogs (which spread more light down and out to the sides), allow me to see deer and other big car-crunching critters long before the halogens would allow.

SO: Xenons yay, halogens nay.

 

Illusions. You think you have good visibility because the area right in front of you is very very bright. However, it is working against you. The area you really want to see on a country road (45 mph +) is beyond the reach of your low beams. That deer will suddenly appear out of the black, and there will be little you can do about it.

Fogs are no use to you with deer unless it is foggy and/or you are driving very very slowly. By the time they would illuminate the deer, you are too close to avoid it. Running fogs when there is no fog serves only to annoy other drivers.

However, if you are talking about high-beam Xenons. I don't have much argument with you. They put out lots of light and spread it wide. It is when you drop the low-beam shutter on them that you are in trouble.

 

Are xenons the same as HIDs? My s2000 has HIDs and I love them.

 

Xenons are a must for me. Other than I like the light they throw out, I like the looks over the acual lighting assembly over the halogens. I also agree that they should be removed from the sport package.

 

Actualy this is an illusion initself. While you do have a cut off point it's actualy farther than what you can distinctly see with Halogens. Also Xenon's have a much wider light spectrum (along with being closer to 6500 Kelvin (and not 6500º Kelvin)) including more ultraviolet. The ultraviolet will reflect much more off a deer's coat and eyes than limited spectrum Halogens will. This also make reading road signs a snap and from a long distance. *Plus the wider more natural light helps the brain in more quickly identifying unexpected objects

*Xenon arc lamps (slightly different technology) are used in almost all theater protectors for accurate color reproduction.

 

Yes, Xenon's is the inert gas that glows (discharges) white in an arc that are more correctly called High Intensity Discharge.

 

I don't know about you but when I'm driving at speed on a dark road "accurate color reproduction" isn't what I'm after. I just wanna light stuff up dtr. I've got no problem with my xenons at all, but the blanket statement that they're far superior to halogens isn't accurate either. I'll tell you that my wife's Mazda 3 lowbeam headlights are just as good as mine, and they're the standard ones whatever that is.

 

I love those rare occasions where I can flip on the high beams...
Then they are look those WWII searchlights that would light the sky looking for enemy planes.

Also great for flashing those jerks coming at you with their high beams on.

I never want to go back to halogens.

 

Do you have a reference for this claim? I'd like to understand what it is based on. It goes against my experience.

You've got some strange info here. Ultraviolet is beyond the visible spectrum for the vast majority of people. The main effect UV light has on your eyes is to cause damage.

Violet and blue lightwaves are the least useful for distinguishing objects (such as deer in foliage). Here is why:

From http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu...n/rodcone.html