Instrument Clusters Are Now Paid Extras in Two Hyundai Models

• Hyundai is charging customers extra for a driver’s display in the new Elantra generation (a.k.a. the Avante in Korea), as well as in the new Ioniq 3.
• The two models feature Hyundai’s new Pleos Connect infotainment system, which is bound for the United States.
• Hyundai is charging customers $255 to add the 9.9-inch instrument cluster display to the Avante, while the base Ioniq 3 misses out on the option entirely.

Remember when iPhones used to come with free headphones and a phone charger (including the wall plug)? It didn’t feel so much like Apple giving you free goodies as it did that the company was providing you with the relevant hardware to use the device. Apple stopped including headphones and charging blocks in 2020. Now, Hyundai is pulling some of its standard hardware from the box, at least for two models.

Hyundai is charging customers extra for a driver’s display in the new Elantra generation (more specifically, the Korea-market Avante), as well as the Ioniq 3, Motor1 reported. Both models feature Pleos Connect, Hyundai’s new infotainment setup that pairs a center touchscreen with a slim 9.9-inch instrument cluster mounted above the dashboard—except where it doesn’t.

In its domestic market, the instrument cluster screen is offered as a 350,000 won ($255) option for the base trim. Not the most expensive optional extra in the world, but still kind of a slap in the face for a feature traditionally viewed as standard fare. Things are more expensive for the electric Ioniq 3. In the EV’s case, the base trim gives customers the full Tesla-screen experience, meaning if customers want the driver’s display, they’ll need to fork over the additional $5000 necessary to move up to the next-level trim.

The Pleos Connect setup initially launched on the more premium Grandeur sedan, though that model, with its higher base price, comes equipped with the additional screen in every trim. Based on Hyundai’s configurator, important functions like vehicle speed or any warning messages will be carried out via the central screen.

As things currently stand, no Hyundai, Kia, or Genesis products sold in the United States feature the Pleos Connect system, meaning customers don’t have to choose between saving a few bucks or seeing their speed directly in their sightlines. However, North American customers will have to make that decision soon, as Hyundai plans to have the setup equipped in 20 million cars globally by the end of the decade.

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Jack Fitzgerald’s love for cars stems from his as yet unshakable addiction to Formula 1.
After a brief stint as a detailer for a local dealership group in college, he knew he needed a more permanent way to drive all the new cars he couldn’t afford and decided to pursue a career in auto writing. By hounding his college professors at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he was able to travel Wisconsin seeking out stories in the auto world before landing his dream job at Car and Driver. His new goal is to delay the inevitable demise of his 2010 Volkswagen Golf.