In my quest for a new car, I have run across a issue I was hoping someone out there can help me answer.
I have been looking as a car w/ a autodimming mirror, which senses light from behind and darkens the mirror depending on the amount of light.
Driving home today, I noticed how people following me at night really bother me because of their headlights, and if I pull far enough ahead their brights go on. This is litterally almost a pain issue for me.
The standard day/night mirror have helped out considerably, but now the car and features I want (Outback w/ compass and autodimming mirrors) has me in a bind. Is it as ‘dark’ as the day/night mirrors, does a autodimming mirror still have a day night mode?
What I really want is that little compass reading, I think the day/night setting is easy enough to use that I don’t need it automatically done for me.
So how does the autodim compair to the day/night mirror?
I just recently got a Subaru with the auto-dimming mirror feature. When the mirror is fully dimmed, it’s about as good as the day/night manual mirror. One thing you might have problems with is that the dimming isn’t instantaneous (it takes maybe 1 to 5 seconds to dim), so if you’re driving on a twisty road or someone pulls out onto the road behind you, you get a few seconds of full brightness. On the other hand, if no one is behind you, you can actually see things in your rear view mirror. Could you possibly take a test drive at night time to give the dimmer a whirl?
I personally have no complaints with the auto-dimmer (now, when they get that for the side mirrors, that’s when I’ll be dancing for joy).
Another thing: if you are getting a fancy-type Subaru, you might have a hard time getting one without the dimmer (according to the dealer I talked to, they’d have to special order a car without the dimmer).
Oh, and the 2005 Subaru Legacy is a most excellent car (and I would guess that the Outback is just as good).