I don’t own sunglasses either.
Maybe I have superhuman eyes.
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On X3s with full adaptive lights (I guess that’s all trims now), you can code Anti Dazzle high beams. Bimmerpost forums are full of folks who have done this and have had positive things to say about it. My build specifically calls that out as “Decoding for anti dazzle lights” which means they disable it, like you said because of USDOT regulations.
As for all trims coming with LED headlamps, didn’t 5 series LCI get default adaptive headlamps? Wonder if they just decided to roll with adaptives because it’s not like they’re going to need the crappy non adaptives in future.
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That’s too bad, a pair of good polarized lenses does wonders.
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Have you driven a Wrangler/Gladiator with stock headlights? Hoo boy… I never really cared either way, I had halogens in most of my cars and never minded. The HID lamps drive me crazy on the road getting that bright blue shined in my eyes. I think the Volt was the first car I had with slightly better headlights that made me see the difference they made. Then the Bolts had similar headlights with intellibeam and I love having that now. Then I get in the Jeep at night… that thing might as well have no headlights, they are that bad. Even the high beams are useless. I can see why people pay through the nose for all the ridiculous light bars, etc.
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Man I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been amazed driving at night by the cars I’ve owned with great headlights ('11 Acura TL, S2000’s) and how many times I’ve been annoyed driving at night by the cars I’ve owned or rented with garbage headlights (pretty much everything else).
But then again, I wear sunglasses when it’s cloudy out and my uncorrected vision is garbage 
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Living in suburban NJ, (riddled with deer) you have no idea how important it is to have good headlights .
I don’t think I could ever buy/lease another car without HIDs. Halogens will just not cut it anymore.
I can understand living in NYC or any other major urban place where lighting might not make a difference , but HIDs are a must.
Thank the DOT and their regulations for giving us the crappier headlights than the folks across the pond.
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This headlight fetish is fascinating.
I can see some use cases where it would matter, but if you asked me to rank the headlights on every car I’ve ever driven, they’d all be tied for first place.
This is strange logic to me because I’ve owned cars with powerful LED headlights and halogen lights or even less powerful LEDs and just projectors and the difference in visibility in inclement weather and night is absolutely stunningly different.
If I could option the advanced lighting packages in all of my future cars, I one hundred percent will.
Maybe I’ve just driven more a variety of cars to see the difference and appreciate it… but there IS a difference that is quite noticeable.
You appreciate the difference because it matters to you. 
For my driving patterns, paying extra for “advanced lighting packages” makes as much sense as putting an elevator in a single-story home.
You keep saying that, but can you please elaborate where do you drive? If you drive mostly at 3pm to pick up kids from school and never after dark, I can totally see how you wouldn’t know where the headlight switch even is. At the same time I remember from my time living in NYC with street lighting, I can once again see not giving a shit about headlights either. But now I drive in suburbia and my in-laws live in the middle of nowhere with a ton of roads leading up to them having no illumination whatsoever, and something like that makes you appreciate good headlights.
These days it’s mostly errands during daylight hours.
I do make the occasional pre-dawn airport trip (suburban freeways), but I can’t say that I’ve noticed a difference in the headlights between our 2008 Lexus RX and our 2019 BMW 7 (maybe they’re the same technology).
Before that I commuted 20-60 minutes each way, also on suburban freeways, where part of the year it’s dark for the morning commute, evening commute, or both.
Before that was a mix of urban, suburban and small(ish) town driving, day/night.
I have literally never thought, “Wow, these headlights are great,” or “OMG, these lights suck! I can’t see a thing!”
To me, they’re either on or they’re off.
Our home is ~500 feet from a forest preserve. They’re everywhere.
We get frequent visitors, including this one (photographed from our breakfast table over the summer).
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I guess you never had really shitty headlights then. I remember the first time I got into a 2013 Pathfinder at night my reaction was, are my headlights broken or at half power or something? Is there another on switch I don’t know about. And the reverse was after that pathfinder getting into a 2015 mdx and the headlights were OMFG I love these things!
Didn’t you almost buy a 911 for canyon carving?
Frunk size insufficient.
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I strongly but briefly considered it, but I rejected the car (in full sunlight).
I’m all for any headlights that can provide illumination over LED streetlamps, wide and far beam on poorly lit roads/country ways, and of course dont blind oncoming drivers.
BMWs are fine, Acura/Honda Products suck, its like the person in charge of the light cutoff decided blinding oncoming drivers is the perfect cutoff.
Whatever it maybe, LED upgrades are not the one stop shop for illumination, they need to be designed and optimized well.
This is an aiming thing rather than a cutoff thing. Their cutoffs are basically identical.
As someone who drives and MDX, can confirm 100%. The number of times oncoming traffic would flash for me to turn high beams, only for me to flash mine back to show them that those are not high beams is insane.
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I used to agree with this, along with stereo upgrades, if it has lights and plays music, fine. Whatever. I’m not interested in paying to upgrade.
But then I got our '18 Highlander with the absolute worst lights of any car i’ve ever driven (and i’ve owned 3 Ford KA’s!) they’re so bad! If I’m driving anywhere that is out of LA, I have to use the front fog lamps just to actually see the road. I can’t believe the thing is legal. I will definitely be paying attention to lights with the next car.