Am I the only one who prefers the older Genesis dash over the new 27" screen?

[Michael Mahon]

I’ve been looking at upgrading my older G80 to a 2026 model, and while I love almost everything about the refresh, I’m really torn on the new interior layout.

Specifically, the huge 27" OLED screen that runs across the entire dashboard.

I know the reviews are raving about it looking futuristic, but to me, it feels like Genesis is falling into the same trap as everyone else by just slapping a giant screen on the dash. I always loved how the older models had the infotainment screen beautifully recessed into the dashboard. It felt classy, minimalist, and very integrated.

This new one feels like it just sits on top of the dash like an afterthought. It doesn't feel right to me. Plus, for those who already have it, how bad is the glare on sunny days? Do you find yourself constantly wiping fingerprints off the passenger side of the glass?

Curious to hear if anyone else actually prefers the older, more traditional luxury look, or if I'm just being old fashioned.

 

[SirJangle]

I'm 100% with you. Main reason I won't upgrade to the new GV70. IMO, the huge screen destroys the beautiful layout of the GV70 interior.

 

[mikec]

I had a 2026 loaner while my 2021 was getting warranty work done. I also found the new style display less appealing. Besides not being a fan of screens sprouting upwards from the dash top, nor of screens looking like tablet computers Velcro'ed to the dash face, I found the display of the speedometer and tachometer more difficult to read. The 2026 integrated display face is perfectly vertical unlike the podded primary displays in the earlier models. The earlier displays are angled back a few degrees so your line-of-sight is perpendicular to the display face: the top and bottom of the displays are pretty much at the same distance from your eye. With the dead-vertical face on the 2026 panel the speedometer and tachometer were further away at their bottoms compared to their tops. That distorted them somewhat. Imagine holding a book or tablet angled relative to your line-of-sight... it's not the most comfortable way to read. I'll bet your laptop screen or desktop computer monitor(s) is/are not perfectly vertical either. Your wall mounted flat-screen TV might be dead-vertical but it's several feet from your eyes, nowhere near as close as the speedometer & tachometer, so the angle is less important.

A portion of the 2026 integrated display is blocked by the right side of the steering wheel. So that bit of display area is partitioned off to hold one of a few options picked via the SETUP menus. "We have an area of screen that is not readily visible. What silly and rather useless item would you like to put there?" So the "high tech" looking single-screen actually has a reason to not be a single screen anyway.

On a similar note, I was looking at G70s - older models with separate displays. They don't have as many center console buttons for the Nav/Infotainment display nor the rotary controller as G80s and GV80s do. I rarely use the touch screen itself as it as a bit of a reach for me and takes my eyes off the road for too long. The rotary knob is less distracting... for me at least. I can count the clicks to know I've moved the screen cursor to whatever I want; a quick glance at the screen is enough to confirm that. I've given up on getting a G70 for that reason. Zooming in/out on the map, using the rotary knob, is also far safer in my opinion compared to trying a pinching operation on the screen.

One thing the 2026 didn't have that my 2021 does have: the silver bezel around the 2021's pod often reflects to the upper left corner of my windshield. It creates an odd wavy line up there that reminds me of the mystery distortion crack in some Doctor Who episodes.

mike c.

 

[Jlapaglia]

@mikec for the navigation part, using the native navigation in the g70 you can set it so the tuning knob would zoom in or out (at least in my 2019 you can). Regarding the large infotainment screen…I had a GV70 with one and the brightness of it at night was a little too much (even with it dimmed).

 

[Joshua Exins]

I’ve been looking at upgrading my older G80 to a 2026 model, and while I love almost everything about the refresh, I’m really torn on the new interior layout.

Specifically, the huge 27" OLED screen that runs across the entire dashboard.

I know the reviews are raving about it looking futuristic, but to me, it feels like Genesis is falling into the same trap as everyone else by just slapping a giant screen on the dash. I always loved how the older models had the infotainment screen beautifully recessed into the dashboard. It felt classy, minimalist, and very integrated.

This new one feels like it just sits on top of the dash like an afterthought. It doesn't feel right to me. Plus, for those who already have it, how bad is the glare on sunny days? Do you find yourself constantly wiping fingerprints off the passenger side of the glass?

Curious to hear if anyone else actually prefers the older, more traditional luxury look, or if I'm just being old fashioned.

Respectfully, I think you have to see it and live with it in person. I felt exactly the same way until I took delivery of my '26 GV80.

The screen doesn't feel like an "iPad slapped on the dash" at all because it’s one seamless piece of glass all the way across. There’s no ugly black plastic seam dividing the gauges from the navigation map. The OLED resolution is incredibly crisp, and the way the native navigation stretches across the panoramic display is gorgeous.

As far as glare goes, it’s a total non-issue. The anti-reflective coating they put on it is actually better than what’s on my iPhone. And since you still have the physical click wheel on the center console and redundant buttons for the climate control, you rarely ever have to reach out and smudge the actual screen anyway.

Don't let the photos fool you. It completely modernized the cabin and made the pre-refresh interiors look dated overnight.

 

[PMCErnie]

Respectfully, I think you have to see it and live with it in person. I felt exactly the same way until I took delivery of my '26 GV80.

The screen doesn't feel like an "iPad slapped on the dash" at all because it’s one seamless piece of glass all the way across. There’s no ugly black plastic seam dividing the gauges from the navigation map. The OLED resolution is incredibly crisp, and the way the native navigation stretches across the panoramic display is gorgeous.

As far as glare goes, it’s a total non-issue. The anti-reflective coating they put on it is actually better than what’s on my iPhone. And since you still have the physical click wheel on the center console and redundant buttons for the climate control, you rarely ever have to reach out and smudge the actual screen anyway.

Don't let the photos fool you. It completely modernized the cabin and made the pre-refresh interiors look dated overnight.

Precisely.

 

[JBauer]

I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with you guys here. I felt exactly the same way until I actually lived with the new 27" setup in person.

The screen doesn't feel like an "iPad slapped on the dash" at all because it’s one seamless piece of curved glass - there’s no ugly black plastic seam dividing the cluster from the map. The OLED resolution is incredibly crisp, and the way the navigation stretches across the panoramic display looks amazing at night.

As far as glare goes, the anti-reflective coating is excellent. Plus, since you still have the physical click wheel on the console and dedicated buttons for the climate control, you rarely ever have to reach out and smudge the glass anyway.

Don't let the photos fool you. It completely modernizes the cabin and, honestly, makes the pre-refresh interiors look ten years old right away.

 

[mikec]

I agree the resolution of the 2026 one-piece display is amazingly high. I do remember being impressed at how clear the speedometer and tach were. I just had trouble reading them at a glance sometimes due to the angle issue I mentioned in my prior post. It may have something to do with wearing glasses and/or my age. When I got my 2021 back I noticed checking speed seemed easier. The electronic tach display on my 2021 isn't as sharp/as high in resolution as the 2026 loaner was; that difference was mostly visible when a turn signal was on and the tach switched to the rear-view camera view. I had that loaner for roughly 2 weeks so my opinions are based on a bit more than brochure/Internet pictures but not long-term experience. As we all know, there isn't one design that is awesome to everybody; folks have individual preferences. Would I "never buy a 2026 because of one big screen?" Probably not but it does register as a negative to me personally. My bigger concern is with the failure rate of the earlier single-screen panels. I'm sure the older separate screens don't have a perfect record either but I don't recall seeing many posts on the speedometer or tach going bad or the nav screen failing on the earlier cars compared to the number of folks experiencing delaminations on the single screen. I haven't seen many delamination posts recently so maybe that problem has been fixed.

As for the "iPad slapped on the dash" - the Genesis single-screen isn't one of these. Something like the early (and maybe current, I haven't looked at them in a while) Teslas, some Volvos, and a few other makes/models had touchscreens that looked Velcro'ed on - to me. I never liked that look; I never tried one to see how functional it was either. A friend has something like that and loves the functionality. The 2026 Genesis screens are better integrated than that. The nav screen on my 2021 sprouts upwards from the dash top and has some dash-colored material on the "backside" of the screen so it is somewhat integrated. My prior car was a 2009 Hyundai Genesis sedan - before "Genesis" was a model instead of a brand - that had a non-touch screen blended into the dash face, not attached to the dash top. That looked nice in my opinion; everything was done through the "DIS" knob on the center console which worked somewhat like a mouse. It had 8 direction motions; my 2021 only has 4 (up/down, left/right) so moving the cursor diagonally across the map is tougher on the 2021. The 2009's display was more square as well which I think is nicer for the map mode - you can see more of what's ahead rather than what you are passing on the left and right.

mike c.

 

[SirJangle]

I’m going to have to respectfully disagree with you guys here. I felt exactly the same way until I actually lived with the new 27" setup in person.

The screen doesn't feel like an "iPad slapped on the dash" at all because it’s one seamless piece of curved glass - there’s no ugly black plastic seam dividing the cluster from the map. The OLED resolution is incredibly crisp, and the way the navigation stretches across the panoramic display looks amazing at night.

As far as glare goes, the anti-reflective coating is excellent. Plus, since you still have the physical click wheel on the console and dedicated buttons for the climate control, you rarely ever have to reach out and smudge the glass anyway.

Don't let the photos fool you. It completely modernizes the cabin and, honestly, makes the pre-refresh interiors look ten years old right away.

As with anything else in life, to each their own. The biggest negative and deal breaker for me is what it did to the flow of the interior. For example, instead of the vents being hidden in the metal trim, they're now dropped down to the oval, which drops buttons onto the center console. The problem, for me, isn't function. It's aesthetics.

 

[SuperKing]

I prefer the integrated screen in the dash like in my 2015 Genesis and my 2020 G90. Seems like more thought was put into the design. Let's face it, screens are a cost saving measure. Saves on a lot of materials by replacing buttons, gauges, wiring with a screen. At least some manufacturers are getting the message and putting the most commonly used buttons back in their new cars...

While we're at it, bring back analog gauge clusters on higher end cars. Doesn't look like they belong. It's like looking at a digital Rolex... it's not right... lol

 

[MrMegadeth]

I went with an older G70 just to stay away from some the digital controls.

My mom wanted a GV70 or GV80 but refused to buy one with the screen.

If this digital cockpit trend continues there probably won't be a used car market at some point....We all know that screen will suck in 5-7 years.

 

[Fred Mancini]

@SuperKing is hitting the nail right on the head here. These big 27" panoramic displays are a cost saving measure masquerading as cutting edge luxury.

It's way cheaper for a manufacturer to source one big glass panel from an electronics supplier than it is to design, wire, and fit a beautifully integrated dashboard with physical analog clusters, custom bezels, and hidden vents.

But to @MrMegadeth’s point about the used market... what choice do we actually have moving forward? If you don't like the big screens, where do you go? BMW has the giant curved iDrive display, Mercedes has the massive Hyperscreen, and Audi is doing the triple screen setup.

At least Genesis had the decency to leave us a physical rotary wheel and dedicated knobs for the climate control so we aren't crashing into a ditch trying to adjust the AC. It might look a bit like a digital Rolex, but compared to what Tesla or Rivian are doing by stripping every single button out of the cabin, the Genesis setup feels like a reasonable compromise between 2026 tech and traditional usability.