Is a Chevy Head Up Display Worth It?
Chevy includes a head-up display in several of its models to encourage less distracted driving—but do you really need it?
Written by Abbey Orzech
Reviewed by Lisa Steuer McArdle
The Chevy head-up display (HUD) is a digital projection of important driving information that is displayed on the windshield of the vehicle. Its goal is to reduce
distracted driving
and time spent with your eyes off the road, but opting for a vehicle trim
with a HUD included can tack a few thousand dollars onto your sale price. When choosing the technology for your new Chevy vehicle, do you gravitate further toward extra safety features or the coolest high-tech devices? With a head-up display, you’re likely getting both!
A head-up display allows you to keep tabs on necessary driving information without taking your eyes off the road, but will it really be worth the next (more expensive) trim level? We’ll help you decide.
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4.7/5 rating on the App Store | Trusted by 5+ million customers and 7 million cars4.7/5 app rating | Trusted by 5M+ driversChevrolet head up display: what is it and do you need it?
A head-up display (HUD) is both an information and a safety feature that uses holograms or laser imaging to project icons and values on your car’s windshield that show you key driving information. The intention behind a vehicle’s head-up display is to reduce the time drivers spend with their eyes off the road and thus reduce distracted driving.
Now, we know that devices dealing in holograms and lasers can seem like some seriously futuristic tech, but this projection technology has been used in personal vehicle designs since GM’s Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme in 1988.
Today, the head-up display available in many Chevy vehicles can be
customized
to project the information most pertinent to your driving. While the specific features often vary between models and manufacturing years, head-up displays can include:- Road speed
- Speed limits
- Navigation instructions
- Incoming phone call information
- RPM
- Vehicle status and warning messages
- Entertainment menu (including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto)
In addition to choosing the type of information shown to you, Chevy HUD lets you change the image brightness and display height to best work for your preferences.
Bright enough to see even in high-light environments and compact enough to still give you a full visual of the road, a head-up display can significantly reduce distracted driving and time spent with your eyes off the road. It’s not a necessity, but keeping your line of sight on what matters—the road and other drivers—-helps to reduce the sizable number of distracted driving accidents each year.
Which Chevrolet models have a head up display (HUD)?
Chevrolet first included a head-up display option on its 1999 Corvette and has since then implemented the technology across several of their models. While it won’t come as standard equipment in any of the base trims for these 2022 Chevy vehicles, head-up displays come included with an upgrade to some of the higher level trims:
- Chevrolet Camaro:HUD starts standard in the 3LT trim with an MSRP starting price of $32,845
- Chevrolet Corvette:HUD starts standard in the Stingray 2LT trim with an MSRP starting price of $69,595
- Chevrolet Suburban:HUD starts standard in the High Country trim with an MSRP starting price of $76,995
- Chevrolet Tahoe:HUD starts standard in the High Country trim with an MSRP starting price of $74,295
Can you add a head-up display to a Chevy?
But what about the other Chevy models? Or what if you have one of the above-mentioned vehicles but it’s an older model that hadn’t included a head-up display option yet?
There are many available aftermarket head-up displays out there, but if you’re going to shop third-party, it’s crucial to make sure it can deliver on the display, visibility, available features and ease of use.
Ideally, the display will take up no more than around five inches of your windshield. Any bigger and the very technology meant to reduce distracted driving can actually become the distraction. If it’s much smaller, you’ll need to really look and search for the information displayed which, again, leads to more distraction.
When testing the aftermarket HUD for visibility, be sure you have clear visibility in both bright daylight and dark nighttime conditions. You should also be able to adjust the visibility settings to brighten or dim the picture, change the coloring, and adjust the contrast.
This may be an obvious one, but if the head-up display you’re considering doesn’t include all the information features you need, move on. Similarly, if there is too much information or the icons and data presented are too confusing, it won’t be easy to use and will thus create more rather than less distracted driving.
How to use the Chevy head up display
Head-up displays can certainly seem like some pretty advanced technology that would take a tech-savvy mind to figure out, but that is quite the opposite of the intended user experience. Designed to be as easy to use while driving as possible, the Chevy head-up display can be controlled with the push of a button.
You’ll usually find the power button on your dashboard to the left of your steering wheel. This button will turn the display on and allow you to adjust the height to your desired level.
The “INFO” button will be found next to the power button. Use this to choose and change the information the HUD displays so you’re always looking at the most pertinent information for your driving. Another button found next to that one will adjust the brightness.
Is a Chevy head up display worth it?
Since head-up displays are not considered necessary technology, they don’t come standard on the base models of any Chevy vehicle. That being said, shelling out for the higher trim levels may in fact be worth getting a head-up display in your vehicle.
Opting for technology that makes it easier to stay in tune with your vehicle while also being focused on the road can make all the difference when it comes to
safe driving
. But of course, you are ultimately in control of your driving, and not having a HUD does not mean that you will be driving unsafely. It all comes down to your particular circumstances and driving preferences, so take your time weighing the added convenience and safety benefits against the added price and decide what will be best for you.
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