Kia Prepares Cabin Overhaul with Bigger Display and Hyundai's Pleos Software

Kia is getting ready to roll out a fresh interior layout across upcoming models, pairing a larger central touchscreen with the Hyundai Motor Group’s Pleos Connect infotainment platform. The Korean brand would follow Hyundai and Genesis in adopting the group’s newest software stack.

Hyundai Motor Group has set an ambitious target for Pleos Connect: roughly 20 million vehicles across Hyundai, Genesis and Kia are meant to carry the system by 2030. The software made its debut on the new Grandeur in South Korea and has since reached models such as the IONIQ 3 in Europe, while the Genesis GV90 is lined up as the first Genesis flagship to get it.

Spy shots from California show a camouflaged K5 prototype testing the revised cabin. The interior mirrors what Hyundai brand cars already offer, with a wider center screen and a restyled steering wheel, though the driver’s instrument panel sits somewhat lower behind the wheel. The display was running Pleos during the test, and the software itself runs on Android Automotive OS with customizable apps and multi-view windows that behave more like a phone than a traditional car head unit.

Hyundai pairs Pleos with either a 12.9-inch or 14.6-inch center display on the IONIQ 3, alongside an in-car AI companion called Gleo AI. Kia’s current lineup still relies on its ccNC setup with twin 12.3-inch screens. What stands out is Kia’s choice of test mule: the refreshed K5 rather than a flagship like the K9 or EV9. More details should surface as Kia’s first software-defined vehicle approaches its 2027 debut.