This is one in a series of posts by Radio World contributor Paul “Sarge” Kaminski about how radio shows up on the dashboard of various new car models.
Luxury vehicles are judged to a higher standard for fit, finish, performance and features. The award-winning 2026 G90 sedan from Genesis, the luxe division of Hyundai, adds a full-featured and mostly user-friendly infotainment interface to that mix.
You would expect nothing less in a vehicle with a sticker price of around $107,000 for the version I drove for msrpk.com’s “Radio-Road-Test” program.
This is a car with self-opening and self-closing power doors; a “Mood Curator” that controls massage settings, ambient lighting and custom fragrances; and Remote Start Parking Assist, with which the car can park itself in tight spots.
Genesis calls its next-generation infotainment system “the connected car Integrated Cockpit,” or ccIC.
“It connects the cluster and navigation into a panoramic display, cementing a high-tech look,” the company states.
“The 12.3-inch cluster displays one of the views of the map, navigation (normal/augmented reality mode) and advanced driver assistance system to provide key information necessary for safe driving, and the right split screen applies navigation contents such as driving information, radio, phone and media according to the driver’s choice.”
To access the radio screen, Genesis provides a jog wheel in the console to select a source. Nearby controls handle volume and tuning.
This approach feels safer than asking me to tune using a screen, as some cars do, pulling my eyes more from the road.
Also, some car models have deprecated Apple and Android functionality in favor of an on-board ecosystem. And some have eliminated broadcast radio in favor of streaming, though drivers can access streamed version of stations.
Genesis has not made these choices though.
Among the audio sources in the G90 are FM/HD Radio, AM and SiriusXM. (Genesis adopted HD Radio as a standard feature across its North American models a couple of years ago, and this model supports DTS AutoStage hybrid radio as well.)
Credit: Paul Kaminski
The model I drove was an electrified “mild hybrid,” which didn’t keep Genesis from including AM radio reception.
Also you can get streams through on-board subscription-based internet access, or listen from your Apple or Android devices tethered by USB-C or Bluetooth.
The audio comes through a Bang & Olufsen sound system with 23 speakers. It’s good, though processing problems, multipath and other audio glitches are more apparent when they occur.
The dashboard stack holds the 12.3-inch center display and a digital display for the driver.
The HD Radio functionality means I could find fuel prices, traffic details and, when transmitted, weather maps.
When you come back to this car, it remembers what you were listening to when you shut it off. As Quu and others have preached, radio stations therefore should strive to be the last source playing.
The experience of using the media tools of the G90 reinforces lessons we’ve learned over the past decade when trying new cars with sophisticated infotainment systems:
The learning curve now is steeper for drivers and passengers to figure out how basic functions like volume, source selection and tuning work.
Radio programming needs to be compelling because of the audio competition all around it right in the dashboard, not to mention video content. Quality processing matters. So does metadata via RDS or HD Radio so your station and content are visible and as interesting as possible.
And remember, ecosystems in top-end models are very likely to appear later in more affordable cars.
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