Two benefits.

1) people can see you if you are coming from the west in the afternoon. I've been in locations where the direction the sun set made it difficult to see a car with their lights on. I'm assuming that they were DRL's.

2) The way some DRL's are designed (placement & brightness), they make distance perception more difficult.

 

I'll be having the change made at the 5K service and will report back the results...

 

Smilin' Jack — I believe that what Mikieboyblue says is correct. However, the Wiring Diagram (attached) doesn't absolutely confirm this, since we don't know exactly what's programmed into the ECU. Look at page 6, which shows the headlight switch for both the US and Canadian versions. The 'DRL-OFF' and 'OFF' positions are identical in the two models, it seems, and so this switch by itself can't control the different DRL behaviors. [The line between the terminals labelled 'A' on the switch and the Main Body ECU is presumably the one that controls the AUTO function.] But just what is done regarding the DRLs is hidden inside the ECU! And, the ECU program presumably must be different in the two models. Page 5 shows the solid-state "DRL Relay" controlled by the "Light Control Circuit" which is itself controlled by the terminal 'DRL' on the ECU.

Stan