Study finds many small SUVs have poor-performing headlights

A new test out Tuesday morning showed headlights in small SUVs may not work as well as you think.

All 21 of the small SUVs did poorly on a new headlight test, even some luxury brands.

It was done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and measured the amount of usable light by your low beams and high beams.

They tested the cars on both straight and curved roads.

The best news is for drivers of the Ford Escape, Honda CRV and Hyundai Tucson - they performed the best.

But more than half of the cars tested received the lowest ranking.

"Government standards for headlights allow a large amount of variation in the amount of light that they output, so some manufacturers may be designing for styling rather than for actually lighting up the road," engineer Matthew Brumbelow said.

Among the SUVs that got the worst ranking are the Suburu Forester and the Audi Q3.

You can expect automakers to upgrade soon.

The Insurance Institute says next year they won't give out their highest rating to cars with bad headlights.

Click here for the list of all the cars tested.