Even if your new 2017 pickup truck has the fancy, high-cost headlights, you may not be seeing as much as you should.
In a recent test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that almost every new, 2017 pickup truck features headlights that deliver poor light coverage. In fact, only two trims (which are different levels of a particular model) of the Honda Ridgeline (the RTL-E and Black Edition) received the top "Good" rating, while only three other trucks were rated better than "Poor." Those models were the:
- Nissan Titan, which was rated "Marginal."
- GMC Sierra, which was rated "Acceptable" and "Marginal" for some models.
- Ram 1500, which was rated “Marginal” only for models with base halogen reflector headlights.
Even the best-selling vehicle in the United States, the Ford F-150, is rated as "Poor" for all trim levels!
So how do they measure headlight performance?
The IIHS looks both at how much light the high and low beam settings shine in corners and on straightaways. The agency also looks at how much glare the lights produce to ensure that they aren't blinding oncoming traffic.
All-in-all, here's how the 2017 models performed:
- Honda Ridgeline: Good (only in 2 trims)
- Nissan Titan: Marginal
- GMC Sierra: Marginal (only with optional LED headlights and without automatic high beams)
- Ram 1500: Marginal (only with base halogen reflector headlights)
- Ford F-150: Poor
- GMC Canyon: Poor
- Chevrolet Colorado: Poor
- Chevrolet Silverado: Poor
- Nissan Frontier: Poor
- Toyota Tacoma: Poor
- Toyota Tundra: Poor
