--- title: "Did You Know the Toyota Prius Once Had a Touchscreen-Operated Tape Deck?" description: "The original Toyota Prius combined a then cutting-edge drivetrain and touchscreen with the finest cassette tape player the '80s had to offer." date: "2024-07-16" modified: "2024-07-16" authors: - name: "James Gilboy" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/did-you-know-the-toyota-prius-once-had-a-touchscreen-operated-tape-deck" categories: - "Car Tech" - "Culture" - "History" - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Toyota News" tags: - "hybrid" - "Prius" - "Toyota" --- # Did You Know the Toyota Prius Once Had a Touchscreen-Operated Tape Deck? ![A 2001 Toyota Prius's dashboard, with a touchscreen and a cassette tape player]() *\Toyota, kolderal via Getty Images\* Cassette tape players and [touchscreens]() are entertainment features we don't typically think of as coexisting in cars. One is archetypal 1980s, the other is the standard interface of the modern world, [for better or worse](). But for a few years at [Toyota](), the two features overlapped, with the first-generation [Prius]() leading the way. Evidence of this bizarre combo survives in a handful of archived press photos and [listings]() for the parts themselves. It appears to have been the standard equipment on the Prius for its debut year in the U.S. in 2001 per [*Motortrend*](), combining an LCD touchscreen with a "logic control deck." For those of you who grew up after CDs had already largely supplanted cassettes (like me), that just means it was controlled electronically instead of mechanically. As for the screen, while most sources refer to it as a "multi-function display," [owners' forum posts]() indicate it was indeed a touchscreen—a novel feature in what was then a novel car. ![2002 Toyota Prius]() ![2002 Toyota Prius dashboard]() *Toyota* To help put this into perspective, this means the Prius debuted a touchscreen tape player *after* the arrival of Bluetooth in automobiles. According to [*Driving.ca*](), that occurred in 1999 with the launch of Chrysler's original [Uconnect]() (though on which model wasn't specified). [Toyota]() was slow to retire cassette players, as the 2003 Prius was far from the last Toyota—or [Lexus]()—to use them. The [Avalon]() sedan offered a tape deck through at least 2007, while multiple [Lexus]() models held out longer still. The LS lost it after 2006, but the LX kept tape decks til 2007. The GS, GX, and RX all took tapes through 2009, and the [ES]() and the infamous [SC430]() became the last vehicles in the U.S. market to offer cassette players in 2010. When spec'd with optional navigation, every one of these Lexuses paired the tech with a touchscreen—meaning their combination in American-market cars stretches for a whole decade. Quite the run for a combo you'd never imagine existing in the first place. ***Update: Jul. 17, 1:05 p.m. ET:*** *This article has been updated with more complete information on Toyota and Lexus vehicles offered with touchscreen-operated tape players.* *Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com* ## Author James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids." ### Author social links [Instagram]()