Philips X-tremeVision

Best price: £89.95 Beam: 307

Philips claims its performance bulb delivers ‘only’ 50 per cent more light than standard versions. To the naked eye it had the same even spread of light, with the horizon dark spot smaller and brighter than with standard bulbs. It matched the Night Breaker at the key 75-metre point, but was a touch behind at 50 metres in the centre of the road. Fraud can be a problem on pricey HID bulbs, so the pack has a handy unique code to ensure authenticity. Osram is working on a similar system.