PDLS +??

[Deleted User 4752]

I’ve had my Gen 3 S for nearly 2 weeks and I can honestly say the PDLS headlights are mediocre at best. I have been back to the dealership to have the dipped headlights raised to the maximum allowed.

Still don’t feel comfortable at night on a dark road or even relatively empty motorway. The furthest the, admittedly, bright light cone reaches is only about 4 car lengths in the centre of the road and less on the right hand side.

Anyone else feel the headlights, irrespective of tint, are not up to the job? Main Beam….no problem. PDLS+ having ‘assisted high beam’ are mostly useless.
Although I’ve come from a BMW with matrix lights. I am underwhelmed with PDLS, almost to the point of reconsidering keeping the car. Such a let down.

P.S. My sight is still good.

Totally agree, and have stated this in my review of my S after 6 weeks of ownership. I am still massively disappointed with the headlights. Unfortunately a test drive at night isn’t really possible ( definitely not in July when I ordered the car ). It’s important that people know this about the lights, even if it upsets some, because I genuinely think if you drive a lot at night the PDLS lights border on dangerous.

[Deleted User 4752]

Merc matrix headlights melt rabbits at a hundred yards.

[jharrower]

So I’m probably going to illicit some negative responses with this but…
Porsche are not very good at peripheral tech. What I mean is, they are literally miles behind BM and Merc when it comes to infotainment, driving aids and generally clever gadgetry.
Plenty on here have highlighted deficiencies in electronics, usability, missing tech etc etc. and even the second rate stuff they do offer costs an arm and a leg, whether it’s an average sound system right down to lights that work or safety kit that should be standard!
But here’s the thing. What they are unsurpassed at is mechanical wizardry and the build quality of the bits we touch and see, albeit with the very odd exception of a dodgy panel gap here and there.
This is why I don’t really care if the lights aren’t the best, or a gesture tailgate is missing or there’s no android car play (insert your emission of choice here). I love the way it “feels” and the way it “looks” and ultimately the way it drives, and for this I can (grudgingly) forgive much. And all this from less than three days in total actually driving a Macan!
Other opinions available.

I do not think VW group as a whole are behind BMW and Mercedes on peripheral tech. Porsche being relatively small within the group are slow in transferring tech within the group to individual models and the Macan being a version coming to the need of its sales availability is the last within Porsche to get features. Due to the limited life of the Current model adding some of the features not worthwhile to Porsche

I wholly concur with the feel and drive of my Macan is exceptional. Lights, though, are a safety consideration and the best lights available are sub-par on dipped beam, to the point of being unfit for purpose, certainly on my 2-week old car. That’s my gripe. I can, as has been said, forgive a lot, but I’m close to considering rejecting my car on grounds of safety. Not sure what joy I’d get, but I am that miffed.

I’ve lusted after a Porsche all my life. I expected too much, maybe? It is a stunning drive, though.

[Alfanut]

PDLS+ in the twisties is good on a pitch black night but not vastly so.

Auto main beam dip is poor.

If I lived off the beaten track then yes I would include it, if not then for the occasional use it is questionable.

Age comes in as well, as an old guy I want every bit of help I can get.

Totally agree with the above. I live off the beaten track & spec’d PDLS+, it’s ok but ain’t a patch on Audi judging by the number of times other cars flash me.
One thing to note is a lot of the ‘trickery’ of modern lights not only hardware but better software controlling it. I recently picked up a new GT4 and was very impressed with the lights on a dark and snowy drive home - ironically much better than the Macan. Maybe the Gen 3 Macan lights are improved over the gen 2?

[Zadkiel]

Oh dear, I’m coming from an Audi with excellent Matrix headlights and I do drive a fair bit on A and B roads at night.
Really hope I find the PDLS lights up to the job.
Surely they must meet some EU safety standard regarding projected lumen value at x distance? and if so, are considered fit for purpose?

BTW, for those who already have their Gen3…. does the Macan have a headlight washer? (I find that very helpful in my Q5).

[Nuclear Nick]

It's complete nonsense to suggest that the Gen3 LED lights are somehow sub standard, unsafe, unfit for purpose, etc, and they are most certainly not grounds for rejecting a car. Good luck to anyone wanting to try that one.

This bias comes from comparing other cars' light patterns and it is natural to feel a change from one car to another. Some cars are better than others at different things but that doesn't mean any are unfit for purpose. Modern LED headlights are more than capable of lighting up the road at speeds well in excess of legal or safe driving speeds, but different patterns in different cars just need getting used to. We all need to adjust our speed to the conditions and the limit of our vision, and that includes understanding the affect of ageing on one's eyesight, particularly at night, and on reaction times.

[pmg]

It's complete nonsense to suggest that the Gen3 LED lights are somehow sub standard, unsafe, unfit for purpose, etc, and they are most certainly not grounds for rejecting a car. Good luck to anyone wanting to try that one.

This bias comes from comparing other cars' light patterns and it is natural to feel a change from one car to another. Some cars are better than others at different things but that doesn't mean any are unfit for purpose. Modern LED headlights are more than capable of lighting up the road at speeds well in excess of legal or safe driving speeds, but different patterns in different cars just need getting used to. We all need to adjust our speed to the conditions and the limit of our vision, and that includes understanding the affect of ageing on one's eyesight, particularly at night, and on reaction times.

+1 I agree with Nick

PDLS + lengthens the light pattern as speed increases, spreading the available lumens over a longer distance but not to near infinity as that is well past the braking distance of the car and hence necessary and the lumens are best used for a brighter light over the area lit.

[jharrower]

It's complete nonsense to suggest that the Gen3 LED lights are somehow sub standard, unsafe, unfit for purpose, etc, and they are most certainly not grounds for rejecting a car. Good luck to anyone wanting to try that one.

This bias comes from comparing other cars' light patterns and it is natural to feel a change from one car to another. Some cars are better than others at different things but that doesn't mean any are unfit for purpose. Modern LED headlights are more than capable of lighting up the road at speeds well in excess of legal or safe driving speeds, but different patterns in different cars just need getting used to. We all need to adjust our speed to the conditions and the limit of our vision, and that includes understanding the affect of ageing on one's eyesight, particularly at night, and on reaction times.

I’ll grant you there is a degree of comparison, but not bias. Lights have gone through several improvements in the last 10 years. In my experience, and having driven cars with and without all manner of tech, the light cone, not just that they are LEDs, in my Gen 3, on dipped headlights, is well defined, just not with enough range to cope with travelling comfortably in the outside lane of a motorway at anything faster than legal limits when not following another car. My vision is still uncorrected (tested about 3 months ago) and my driving style is not aggressive enough to require pin sharp reaction times. It is a very subjective issue, I’ll grant you, but it has skewed my overall experience of driving a Porsche, which, in the daylight is second to none.

[Nuclear Nick]

It's complete nonsense to suggest that the Gen3 LED lights are somehow sub standard, unsafe, unfit for purpose, etc, and they are most certainly not grounds for rejecting a car. Good luck to anyone wanting to try that one.

This bias comes from comparing other cars' light patterns and it is natural to feel a change from one car to another. Some cars are better than others at different things but that doesn't mean any are unfit for purpose. Modern LED headlights are more than capable of lighting up the road at speeds well in excess of legal or safe driving speeds, but different patterns in different cars just need getting used to. We all need to adjust our speed to the conditions and the limit of our vision, and that includes understanding the affect of ageing on one's eyesight, particularly at night, and on reaction times.

I’ll grant you there is a degree of comparison, but not bias. Lights have gone through several improvements in the last 10 years. In my experience, and having driven cars with and without all manner of tech, the light cone, not just that they are LEDs, in my Gen 3, on dipped headlights, is well defined, just not with enough range to cope with travelling comfortably in the outside lane of a motorway at anything faster than legal limits when not following another car. My vision is still uncorrected (tested about 3 months ago) and my driving style is not aggressive enough to require pin sharp reaction times. It is a very subjective issue, I’ll grant you, but it has skewed my overall experience of driving a Porsche, which, in the daylight is second to none.

Yes, lighting has improved a great deal, to the point where we are now comparing outstanding with excellent! I once had a 520 beemer with xenons, which were very good indeed, probably better than my Macan, and in turn the Macan is better than our Yeti, all with xenons. But all three hugely better than halogens.

I think in part some of these differences may be down to the fact that the light manufacturers have to conform to the design of the car rather than having a free hand to use the best reflector design etc. It's interesting that in Scandinavia quite a lot of cars are fitted with large, long range spot lamps, presumably to see roaming Elk in the far distance!

But, with respect, may I say that dipped beams of any car are not designed for 'anything faster than legal limits' on motorways, or even below the legal limit. Having driven a demonstrator Defender with matrix lights I can see why they might be popular since they allow full beam to be used while cutting off dazzle to other vehicles, thus overcoming the limitation of dipped lights at higher speeds.

[Rarecolour]

Never driven a vehicle with Matrix headlights, but I think the PDLS+ are pretty good headlights, no complaints here.

You lot should try driving a new Sprinter, normal headlights are awful.