Better headlight-'09 USA model

[Armen]

The G/F just bought a 2009 Mini. Quite a great car in many ways. Truly dismal in the headlight department.
Wondering what the plug-n-play options are out there to brighten up the lights.
Prefer to have something in the stock reflector, rather than aux driving lights.
HID, brighter bulbs, the like.
Experience, part #s, suppliers, etc.
Really appreciate the leads. I did a bit of internet research and it seemed there were too many ads and choices to make a quick but good choice.
New to the forum, so I hope this was the correct page to use.
thanks muchly,
-Armen

[Angib]

If you want the headlights to work better so you can see the road, then the only practical option appears to be a better bulb - the problem here is that it's unlikely you can buy the same model of bulb in the US. Most of us forum members are in Britain, so knowing that an Osram bulb seems the pick of the crop doesn't help you much.

I swapped bulbs on my last Mini and it can raise the headlamps from truly dismal to just bad, though not any better than that. But definitely worth doing for the modest cost of a pair of bulbs.

HID conversions seem to have caused owners plenty of problems with the car's electrics, plus most seem to involve spraying more light in all directions, so not necessarily lighting up the road any better. But everyone will admire the whiteness of the glare, if that's what you're after.

You have to wonder if Mini don't want the halogen lights to be any better, to make sure we all cough up for the expensive xenon option.