The oldest new vehicle on sale in the US is about to get its biggest update in years. Chevrolet’s Express van is getting a feature that you’re probably shocked it didn’t already have. One that we thought was mandatory long before model year 2027.
There’s a new touchscreen center display, and here’s why it might be the most controversial thing to happen to the van in decades.
Express Is About To Lose The 20-Year-Old Radio
Chevrolet Express RadioChevrolet
Chevy’s Express van, and its GMC Savana sibling, first went on sale in 1996, and they really haven’t changed much since then. A few cabin updates, new grilles, and a revolving door of engines that has seen everything from a 2.8-liter four-cylinder diesel to an 8.1-liter big-block V8 have cycled through. If GM built an engine for a truck, it probably ended up in this van.
While it cycles through engines like an NHRA Top Fuel dragster, the big hole in the dash is filled with technology that would look perfectly at home in a 2006 Chevrolet Impala. As buttons have disappeared in other vehicles, the old vans had a radio with a volume knob you could operate with three sets of mittens on. Even the green pixels on the display are a throwback to a completely different century of motoring.
It’s even better if you look above that radio, because the Express still has honest-to-goodness HVAC controls. A knob for the fan speed, one for hot/cold, and one that aims the air, just as the Automotive Gods intended.
Replacing it, though, makes sense. For a start, it’s the only GM vehicle that still uses this ancient design. It also requires GM to use a rearview mirror with a screen in order to support the backup camera that has been mandatory since 2018.
Is This The Beginning Of The End For GM’s Ancient Van?
2025 Chevrolet Express vansChevrolet
Chevrolet is putting in a new screen, according to GM Authority. Putting in a modern screen, even just the 7.0-inch unit from the base-model Silverado, gives the vans more parts commonality with the rest of the GM fleet. It also gives the driver of the van a much larger image to work with when it comes to the backup cam.
An upgrade from MP3s on a USB stick or the old Aux jack to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto would also be nice, though we haven’t confirmed the availability of that feature just yet.
Believe it or not, this is not the first time the Express van has gotten a touchscreen. It actually offered one before, starting in model year 2013. Chevrolet added an optional navigation system and rearview camera that included a small screen. It went away after model year 2019, and the old system became the only choice once again.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Chevrolet
Adding more screens is far from universally popular even in passenger cars and pickups, so it’s probably going to be even more of a sticking point on this commercial van. Buyers care about price and this change will likely be cheaper for GM, but the drivers who use them for work care about usability and durability.
Buyers are in an office. Users might have heavy gloves on, making touchscreens worthless. There’s also a good chance that if the screen breaks, it will never get fixed. At least not when the company is paying the tab. One more reason why drivers might not want the latest tech. CarBuzz has reached out to GM for more information on the 2027 Chevrolet Express.
Source: GM Authority
