Ultra Vision Nitro 140 Maxx driving lights: Product test

The lighting market is flooded with cheap gear slathered with marketing jargon. It makes it hard to decipher if something is at the front of the field or if it’s just another dodgy product in a shiny box.

One thing that’s hard to fake is ‘Made in Australia’. It’s this tag on the box of the Ultra Vision Nitro 140 Maxx (140W) that immediately told me they’re not only going to be built well, but have serious R&D put into making sure they work effectively.

Wiring up the LED driving lights was a simple affair. When bought in a pair, Ultra Vision includes a full wiring harness with everything you need to get the lights up and running. There’s plenty of length on all the cabling, as well as quality insulation, conduits and even Deutsch connectors on every plug. From start to finish it took me less than an hour to get them on and running, and most of that time was spent figuring out the high-beam switching. There’s no H4 adaptor so you’ll need to do a little thinking, but it’s relatively basic stuff.

That same attention to detail has extended through to the construction of the lights themselves. Ultra Vision has made them as shallow as possible to allow easier fitment inside bullbars. However, the overall diameter is still a typical 230mm. They come standard with polycarbonate lenses to protect against stone chips and wayward rocks, while the 4mm-thick stainless-steel brackets lock the lights off rock steady.

We noticed some bounce in the lights along corrugations, but we were able to track it down to the factory nudge bar and not the lights themselves. The brackets also include multiple mounting holes, so you can lock them off with a few extra bolts if you have any issues.

There are 19 individual LEDs fitted in each light, sucking a maximum of 8.8amp in current draw, and the result is simply astonishing. We ticked the box for the “WiDr” pattern, which pushes out 10,600 effective Lumens per lamp, with a reach of 1 Lux at 1000m (“Combo” pattern pushes this to 1 Lux at 1200m) but greatly increases usable light in the sub-100m reach.

There are no noticeable hotspots, with an even and usable light until the light gradually fades off at the 1000m mark. At 100km/h it’ll give you 37 seconds to spot animals ahead, so it’s more than enough for just about any situation.

At $695 a piece these lights are no doubt pricier than entry-level items, but they are toe-to-toe with the biggest names in the industry in terms of performance. The outer ring can also be custom colour-matched to your 4x4 for those extra style points.

RRP: $695 each
We say: Top quality, comfortable light temp, sturdy construction.
Available from: Ultra Vision