Hyundai has an all-new generation of interiors, introduced first on the Grandeur in Korea and since carried over to the Ioniq 3, Avante/Elantra, and Tucson. Every one of them is built around Pleos Connect, a large central infotainment screen that borrows its layout and its logic from Tesla, and there is no shortage of processing power behind the glass. On the cheaper trims, though, one piece of hardware got left off the list.

It has now emerged that the new 2027 Avante/Elantra, which just launched in Korea, and the global-market Ioniq 3 go without a digital instrument cluster in front of the driver in base trims, an item which has been standard-fit on most of Hyundai’s current-generation cars.

A Cluster You Have To Pay For

According to Motor1, Korean buyers can add a slim 9.9-inch cluster to the Avante, though it costs 350,000 won (US$255). No such option box appears to exist for base Ioniq 3 models, leaving owners to read everything off the central touchscreen. The Ioniq 3 also goes without a head-up display, exactly like a Tesla Model 3 or Model Y. In the UK, the entry-level £22,245 (about $30,000) Ioniq 3 Advanced arrives without the cluster, while the £25,595 (roughly $34,500) Premium trim and above include it.

Read: Hyundai’s Radical New Tucson Makes The RAV4 Look Half-Asleep

It’s hardly a secret that screens are the cheaper option for manufacturers. A panel of glass and the software behind it costs less than the gauges, bezels, wiring, and physical switchgear it replaces, which explains why the industry has moved this way with so little resistance. Cost is not the whole story, though. Buyers have been asking for this kind of interface, the tablet-style layout with app menus and over-the-air updates, and Hyundai’s new setup answers that request.

Hyundai Should Know Better

Even so, it’s pretty poor form from Hyundai to make such a small screen an optional extra, rather than fitting it as standard equipment. The display includes important functions like speed, speed-limit signs, range figures, and efficiency details. We’ve yet to try out the new Pleos system, but having to glance over to the infotainment display to check your speed is a bit of a nuisance.  

The new Elantra and Tucson will be the first Hyundai models sold in the US with the Pleos Connect system next year. Here’s hoping we get slightly more well-equipped versions that include the cluster screen as standard equipment.

Curious to see what we’re missing after Polestar’s controversial American exit? Here’s the answer, and it arrived early. Polestar is about to widen its lineup with a 4 SUV that works some practicality into a range that has been short on it. The September 2 premiere was supposed to be our first look, but someone along the transport chain had other plans, or at least forgot to bring a cover, and the car’s design is now public property.

The single spy photo posted on Autospy was reportedly taken in South Korea, where the Polestar 4 SUV is built, so the leak happened more or less at the source. Three examples sit exposed on the deck of an open car transporter, and the angle gives an unobstructed view of the reworked tail that the brand had been rationing out in official teasers until now.

Review: We Drove The Polestar 4 And It Wants To Change Your Mind On EVs

Autospy

The Polestar 4 SUV cleans up the most argued-over trait of the existing fastback coupe, namely the complete absence of rear glass window. The sloped hatch gives way to a more conventional roofline and a squarer tailgate, with more rear headroom and cargo room promised as a result.

The SUV appears to retain the full-width LED taillights and rear bumper of the coupe, as with the pop-up door handles and the entire front end up to the B-pillars. Besides the different silhouette, the profile changes come down to reshaped rear side windows and a new wheel design.

Underneath the revised sheet metal, the Polestar 4 SUV shares its Geely-sourced Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) with its coupe sibling, although the company has confirmed it will adopt retuned chassis components.

Power And Range

Autospy

On the spec sheet, the entry-level RWD version makes 268 hp (200 kW / 272 PS), while the dual-motor AWD powertrain is rated at 536 hp (400 kW / 544 PS). The 94 kWh battery is good for up to 630 km (392 miles) on the WLTP cycle, or 10 km (6 miles) more than the coupe manages.

More: America Won’t Get This Practical New Version Of The Polestar 4

Unlike the Polestar 4 Coupe that is also manufactured in China, the SUV will be exclusively produced in South Korea. The new model will be sold across most global markets with the exception of the United States after the forced exit of the Geely-owned brand once the 2027 model year opens. The rest of the details on this latest Tesla Model Y rival land September 2.

Polestar