Rick,

I believe the headlamp covers on the '03-'04 is plastic. The cost difference is partly due to the size, and also that the turn signals and markers are built in to it. In terms of toughness, the plastic lenses are typically less prone to crack, but a sturdy impact will obviously "do one in". The bulbs are different as well, but I don't personally think there is any major performance difference. Land Rover changed to the new style headlamp as a marketing ploy. They were going for "brand identity" and wanted all Land Rover's to resemble each other believing this approach would help them sell more and and make the brand more recognizable. Thus, the same front end style change to the Freelander in '04, and now the clear resemblance in LR3, and Range Rover.

Thanks, Scott. I think the lenses are made of polycarbonate, which is a plastic, but I don't know how tough they are. I had a salesman at the Honda dealership recently smack a headlight and say "Lexan, you won't break that", but I'm still interested in how it holds up compared to my current headlamps. I've gone through two headlamps in the past and have one now that is leaky. It would have truly sucked to have a $300 dollar bill each time I've had to replace one.

I think it uses H7 bulbs, unless you do a HID upgrade, and they technically have a better light output but I can't say for sure since I've never driven an '03.

Rick

In the time I worked around them under warranty, I never saw a crack from regular driving, and I did see plenty of glass lenses crack. I did however see several of them develop moisture inside the lenses. Haven driven both, I don't think there is any performance difference, worth the money anyway.

Rick, I'd guess that the plastic headlights are made out of polycarbonate, at least the clear portion. They are extremely durable compared to glass for normal, everyday kind of abuse such as small rocks, etc. The downside is that they will scratch much easier than glass.

Thanks for the input guys. I was mostly just curious because it seemed particularly expensive. If they hold up long-term, I guess that is OK. If you have to replace them very often, it would be a pain.

Rick