Lighting Package
The lighting package comes in at $1900 and includes adaptive full LED lights along with automatic high beams.
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The adaptive full LED lights changes the front lights from xenon’s to LEDs. The LED lights are supposed to last longer and provide a better view of the road ahead by providing a brighter shine. The tail lights are LEDs as standard for the 2016 M3 models and will continue to be so for the future releases of the vehicle. The adaptive full LED lights also have an additional feature that allows the headlights to swivel to match the contour of the road. When the driver turns the steering wheel, the headlights will automatically swivel to match the amount of angle the steering wheel is turned. It helps give the driver a better view of the road ahead especially when engaging in corners. This feature will only be activated at speeds below 30mph. I personally haven’t noticed the LEDs actually turn, but I do believe that this is how the system is actually supposed to work. The LED lights don’t actually turn a whole lot but they do turn slightly so that the driver can see the road more clearly. I haven’t seen the xenon lights turned on at night so I cannot comment on how well they work.
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From my experience I truly do like LED headlights as they provide good coverage of the road ahead. I generally don’t have any trouble seeing while driving. One complaint that I do have is that the beam doesn’t go incredibly far. Don’t get me wrong, the beam travels far enough but my personal preference is that it would travel further. I don’t think it’s the LED headlights that are to blame but the fact that the M3 is a grand tourer and is simply closer to the ground. The light beams from the headlights arc forward not really upwards and with a car being lower, the beam won’t travel as far as say an SUV. The adaptive headlights cannot be turned off. This is a passive system for the driver and generally won’t be noticed anyways.
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The automatic high beams are a system that detects oncoming traffic to determine when the high beams can be turned on safely. It can be turned on via a button on the turn signal stalk. There are sensors that detect the amount of light coming from the front of the vehicle. If too much light is being aimed back at the vehicle or too much light is being reflected, the high beams will turn off automatically. They will then turn back on when the situation is suitable again. The downside of this system is that when there are road signs, the sensors will detect then reflects and assume that there is an oncoming vehicle. The automatic high beams do work as stated and they are nice to use when the road is particularly dark. I have used them a number of times and they do in fact turn off when another vehicle is approaching and turn back on when it has passed.
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I’m honestly not that convinced that this package is worth the cost. Most dealers will option out the vehicle with this option and I’m not quite sure why. Perhaps it might be very popular with customers? If there’s a place to cut back on I think this is it. The xenon lights may not be as bright but they will definitely work. I don’t think that it will be a major safety issue if LEDs are not installed for the headlights. I honestly cannot notice the adaptive headlights working. I’m sure they are working properly but I don’t feel like there is a big difference in helping me see while cornering. The automatic high beams are only suitable for empty roads. During normal highway and around town driving, there are almost no situations in which the high beams will turn on.