Hyundai is treating the 2027 Tucson as something closer to a software platform than a car. Announced today, the all-new Tucson becomes the first Hyundai sold in the United States to run Pleos Connect, the automaker’s new infotainment architecture built on Android Automotive OS and developed by 42dot, Hyundai Motor Group’s in-house software division. The hardware is new, but the bigger story is what Hyundai is trying to do with it over time.
Pleos Connect centers on a choice of two displays: a 17-inch or 12.9-inch center screen, both running at QHD resolution (2,560 by 1,440 pixels) in a 16:9 aspect ratio. A 9.9-inch Slim Information Display above the steering column is standard on the Tucson regardless of which screen a buyer chooses. That secondary strip keeps speed, posted speed limits, ADAS status, media information, estimated arrival time, and remaining range in the driver’s sightline without requiring them to look away from the road. Physical buttons remain for key functions, which should spare the Tucson from the increasingly common complaint that fully touch-based cabins are dangerous at highway speeds.
At the center of Pleos Connect is Gleo AI, a large-language-model-powered voice assistant that answers to either “Hey Gleo” or “Hey Hyundai.” The distinction from older command-based systems matters: Gleo is designed to parse conversational language and context rather than requiring exact phrasing. A driver can ask for “somewhere to grab coffee before I get on the highway” and the system should be able to handle the navigation chain that follows, including integrating route guidance with compatible vehicle controls and real-time traffic. The system retains conversational history within a session, which removes the need to re-state context after each request. Hyundai says Gleo will continue to improve via over-the-air software updates, though the pace and scope of those updates hasn’t been spelled out.
Navigation runs on an embedded hybrid system using HERE Maps data combined with Google Places search, meaning buyers get the benefit of both onboard map storage (for coverage gaps) and live connected routing. Floating information cards provide route details without obscuring the map. The interface supports portrait and landscape layouts, with portrait mode enabling split-screen operation of two applications simultaneously.
The third pillar of Pleos Connect is the Pleos App Market, a native application store where third-party developers can submit vehicle-optimized software for distribution. Applications run directly on the Android Automotive OS platform rather than mirroring from a connected phone, which theoretically gives them deeper access to vehicle data and faster response times. Streaming music and video-sharing services are confirmed as early entrants. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also supported, sitting alongside the native ecosystem rather than replacing it. Connectivity hardware includes Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 6.
The Tucson is not a fringe model for Hyundai to be experimenting on. The nameplate set a U.S. sales record in 2025 at 234,230 units, up roughly 14 percent year over year, and the 2026 Tucson Hybrid lineup was expanded this past June with new entry-level FWD models and a Night AWD trim, rounding out what Hyundai explicitly called the final year of the fourth generation. The 2027 model is the fifth generation, and Hyundai is using it to establish the software baseline that will presumably roll forward to the rest of its U.S. lineup.
That rollout plan, and the pricing associated with it, is where the announcement goes quiet. Hyundai has not announced on-sale timing or MSRP for the 2027 Tucson beyond flagging that additional details will follow closer to launch. The outgoing 2026 base SE starts at a competitive price point in a segment where the Toyota RAV4 opens at $25,950 and the Honda CR-V at $25,050, so whatever Hyundai charges for the new platform will matter to the buyers most likely to cross-shop those two.
The software-defined vehicle pitch is one every major automaker is making right now, but few have committed to a specific product timeline the way Hyundai has here. Naming the Tucson, a high-volume model with real sales momentum, as the U.S. launch vehicle for Pleos Connect is a faster path to volume adoption than starting with a halo EV and hoping the architecture filters down. If the system works as described when buyers get into actual 2027 Tucsons, Hyundai will have a genuine differentiator in a segment where the hardware competition is already fierce. If it doesn’t, the complaints will scale with the sales numbers.
2027 Hyundai Tucson Photo Gallery
Source: Hyundai. Images courtesy of Hyundai.
