I recently drove the new 2026 Audi Q3 and was amazed by how well-put-together it was, especially for an entry-level crossover from a German luxury automaker. One of the features that stood out was the new Digital Matrix LED headlights. Under most circumstances, I would’ve received the full PowerPoint presentation but never experienced the tech, as media test drives never happen at night. However, this time, Audi organized a night drive to make sure we understood exactly how they work—and well, they’re pretty darn awesome.
Like previous versions of the headlight tech, the new system can illuminate the road ahead of you, distribute light where it is most needed, and avoid blinding cars driving in front or approaching you. Now, there’s a new additional layer of tech called Light Guidance, and it uses micro LED technology to project various images or graphics, per se, on the road ahead of you in order to keep you safer.
Each headlight has two projectors, one for high beam and one for low beam. Each one contains 25,000 micro LEDs—and in case you’re wondering about the size of a micro LED, Audi’s Head Light Guy (that’s a pun) Stephan Berlitz, explained that each one is half the thickness of a human hair. Also, Berlitz’s actual title is Head of Development Exterior Lighting, but Head Light Guy is so much better.
These headlights not only offer completely glare-free high beams, but they also play an active role while you’re driving in dark or wet conditions. For example, one of the new party tricks involve guiding you through country roads that may be foreign to you. As you approach a bend, the camera-based system will read the lane markers way ahead of you and translate that information into a graphic projected on the road directly ahead of you. If the road bends to the right, one of two bars “pictured” on the ground will form an arrow that points to the right.
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A similar feature is called Lane Light, which is a sort of visual lane-keeping assist. If you’re distracted or perhaps feeling a bit drowsy and keep ping-ponging between lane markers, the car will alert you via the on-road projections that you’re getting to close to the edge of the road. If you’re too close to the right lane, the right bar will get squiggly, and the same goes if you’re constantly hovering on the left lane marker.
There’s also a blind-spot assist feature that I experienced on a rainy Scottish night. While driving down the highway, I activated my turn signal to switch lanes. Another participating vehicle was speeding down the lane I wanted to merge into, so the Matrix lights activated a graphic warning me of another car approaching (or in my blind spot).
Experiencing this and other features of these adaptive headlights was super cool, and you can definitely see how beneficial they can be in the real world. Even if you think these additional features are gimmicks—which they’re not—the fact that they reduce glare for the surrounding cars is an enormous benefit. Because, frankly, I’m tired of being blinded by every goddamn car out there just because I drive a basic Honda Civic and not a brodozer.
I even tried to purposefully tailgate the Q3 in front of me to see if I could shine my headlights in their rearview mirror a la BMW, and it was flat-out impossible. The closer I got to the car in front, the smaller the “box” of light that the headlights project onto the road would become, meaning the beams would lower themselves to the point that they never projected light above the license plate of the car in front.
I also spoke with Berlitz about the current U.S. regulations and how, despite a recent update, Audi (and essentially every other automaker except Rivian which has tailored its hardware to fit U.S. regulations and nowhere else) still can’t bring its system to the U.S. because the law is too strict and applies the same light distribution parameters to high beams and low beams. Also, it apparently is too strict about glare, which is ironic considering every Jeep Wrangler out there can take an X-ray of my chest every time it drives behind me. And in case you’re wondering, the U.S. is the only country in the world with such wording in its headlights laws.
Enjoy the video above.
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As deputy editor, Jerry draws on a decade of industry experience and a lifelong passion for motorsports to guide The Drive’s short- and long-term coverage.