WHICH CAR HAS THE BEST HEADLIGHTS?

QI do about 25,000 business miles per year, mostly in the dark. Which cars, new or used, have the best headlights for night driving? I have £25,000 to spend and prefer an SUV but safety is more important than style. Any ideas?

– JH

A

Modern light-emitting diode (LED) beams probably offer the clearest view of the road ahead, so that’s where I’d look first. However, they tend to feature only on top-end versions or on premium makes, which might make it difficult to find a brand new car within your budget, especially given how much new car prices have risen over the past couple of years.

That said, some new SUVs costing less than £25,000 have LED headlights as standard. Most are quite small, however – the Vauxhall Mokka, Renault Captur and Seat Arona, for example – although you could also look at the Mazda CX-30 and Citroën C4, both of which are within your budget.

If, as you say, you’re prepared to look at a car that’s a couple of years old, the options open up significantly. If reliability is your highest priority, for example, you could seek out a Toyota C-HR. When it was facelifted in 2019, LED headlights became standard, while Excel versions even got a cornering function that swivelled the headlights with the steering, allowing you to better see around corners.

Or go for the Mazda CX-30’s big brother, the CX-5. It has a beautifully finished interior, with LED headlights standard across the range, and it drives brilliantly, too.

If you need something roomy, the Seat Tarraco is great value. Even the most basic SE version has adaptive cruise control, which should be useful if you get stuck in traffic on longer motorway journeys. There’s even a seven-seat version – or if you don’t need to carry that many people, the cheaper five-seater has a massive boot.

Having said that, my choice would probably be the brilliant Volvo XC40. Go for the Momentum model, with its sensibly sized wheels, and you’ll get a cracking car with a comfortable ride quality and an upmarket interior that should be a delight to spend time in – and, of course, that all-important LED lighting set-up.