MY11 XC60 or S60: LED fog lights

[Teejay1]

Official blurb from Volvo states “With the advancements of headlight technology and the unique day running lights which sit alongside the headlights, front fog lights are no longer a feature for XC60 MY11.”


I read from this that the LED lights on the XC60 and presumably the S60, are in Volvo’s opinion as good as fog lights?


Those that have an MY11 XC60 or S60 for that matter; would you care to comment on the actual usefulness of them?

Ignoring any aesthetic, do they work, can you tell the difference?

Discuss

[Waggatron]

IMO the LED lights are no brighter than the side lights. There's no way on Gods green earth that they are an adequate replacement for low down front fogs.

However, will reserve some judgement until winter kicks in and I can test properly (sometime mid August propably !!).

[mu71rd]

anyone got a piccie of these lights in action? am pretty sure that my headlights (xenons) come on during the day - is that something i'm doing wrong?

[wimorrison]

Originally Posted by Teejay1

Official blurb from Volvo states “With the advancements of headlight technology and the unique day running lights which sit alongside the headlights, front fog lights are no longer a feature for XC60 MY11.”


I read from this that the LED lights on the XC60 and presumably the S60, are in Volvo’s opinion as good as fog lights?


Those that have an MY11 XC60 or S60 for that matter; would you care to comment on the actual usefulness of them?

Ignoring any aesthetic, do they work, can you tell the difference?

Discuss

I cannot see any reference to the LED lights that are on the front (and centre) of the XC60. AFAIK the LED lights are parking lights, and nothing more.

What I see is a statement that the DRLs replace the foglights. This echoes the statements that I have made before on this forum where I have found the XC60 foglights to be of no use whatsoever, as they have not provided any better illumination in fog than the DRLs alone.

[Teejay1]

Originally Posted by wimorrison

I cannot see any reference to the LED lights that are on the front (and centre) of the XC60. AFAIK the LED lights are parking lights, and nothing more.

What I see is a statement that the DRLs replace the foglights. This echoes the statements that I have made before on this forum where I have found the XC60 foglights to be of no use whatsoever, as they have not provided any better illumination in fog than the DRLs alone.

Surely if you read "unique day running lights which sit alongside the headlights" it can only be pointing towards the LEDs. What else sits alongside the headlights!

The LEDs are only parking lights when you select the switch from the interior.

Otherwise the info I have and images I have taken suggest that both the LEDs and headlights are on all the time as DRLs.

[wimorrison]

Originally Posted by Teejay1

Surely if you read "unique day running lights which sit alongside the headlights" it can only be pointing towards the LEDs. What else sits alongside the headlights!

The LEDs are only parking lights when you select the switch from the interior.

Otherwise the info I have and images I have taken suggest that both the LEDs and headlights are on all the time as DRLs.

The headlights are the mainbeam lights that sit alongside the DRLs.

Parking lights (or side lights as they used to be called) are switched on in all cars when the headlights are switched on - Volvo is not doing anything different from other marques.

The power of the LEDs is very low, you cannot see anything with only them switched on, and no-one would consider that they can provide sufficient illumination when driving, let alone use them as fog lights. The LEDs do not have optical lenses on them either therefore there is no beam pattern, gain making them unacceptable for use in a moving vehicle.

[AppDawg]

The xenons are super bright so not sure the fogs would do anymore than the xenons. My daytime driving lights on my 2011 are the LEDs not the xenons. I like the look of the fogs but oh well. I would like to get my hands on the front bumper inserts from a R-design though. Mabey later in the aftermarket.

[StewartM]

With Projector type headlights, which is what you have if you specify Xenons, the beam pattern is so precise and sharply cut off, you don't need fog lights for foggy conditions, however, this is little consolation for those who have Halogens. It would be one thing if the Halogens were Projector type, but they are not, and that includes the new S60 as well as the XC60, so people buying one of these with Halogens may feel a wee bit hard done to.

Stewart.