The ‘Cassette Deck' on Pioneer's New Retro Head Unit Is Actually a USB Port

The Drive

22-05-2025

The latest car news, reviews, and features.
The radical-dude '80s and '90s aesthetic has been celebrated so much that I'm finally a little sick of it. No hate to the Radwood diehards, but I think we've seen enough synthwave sunset imagery to last another generation. However, there is a staple of that era that also happens to be timeless: Straight-lined, simple, minimally digital button-based interfaces. Pioneer's new SXT-C10PS head unit, for example, is so clean and classy that it looks like an OEM option in an old car. But I hope new-car designers take some inspiration from it as well.
The SXT-C10PS (apparently for 'Sound Excellent Tradition-Pioneer Style,' according to a German car audio site linked below) was announced this month. Looks like Pioneer has the European market in mind from the jump, which would make it slightly annoying to import and install in a U.S. car, but not impossible. I found release information on the British site Digital Radio Choice , which shared some details from Pioneer Europe NV's Marketing Manager Girish Janday:
'Our studies show that owners prefer to maintain the original appearance of their vehicle dashboards, avoiding modern screens that disrupt the original look. Pioneer's solution is the new SXT-C10PS, combining 1980s retro aesthetics with [a] twist, by including modern features like Bluetooth and DAB+ Digital Radio. By way of design, it also includes a front-facing USB hidden under a front panel resembling a cassette deck, allowing for USB music playback and smartphone charging. The compatible Pioneer Smart Sync App enables users to set up the Advanced Audio Features directly from the driver's seat, optimising the sound from the older, often poorly positioned speakers.'
American and European radio are a little different—we have HD radio, they have DAB. There are also some differences in frequencies. But Bluetooth is Bluetooth, and all common cars use 12-volt electronics, so theoretically, you could get one of these sent to you and run whatever songs you want on it through your phone or a USB stick. Sorry for the comically low-res image; this tiny thumbnail was the only picture I could find of the head unit with the 'cassette' cover open, exposing the USB and 3.5mm inputs. Pioneer
Output specs are 4x50W max and 4x22W DIN sinus (so about 22W RMS per American standards), and you'll find more details on the preorder listing at carhifi-store-buende.de, which is the only place I was able to quickly find a purchase link. It's pretty spendy at €399 (about $460 at today's exchange rate) before taxes and shipping.
While the company's getting the hype train rolling now, the product is slated to release in October. I'd say that should be plenty of time for Pioneer to figure out U.S. distribution—but at the rate import regs are changing, who knows?
My enthusiasm waned a little more when I realized I could almost buy a set of tires for that much money, but I'm still absolutely in love with the look. It's not just that it's old school; it's refreshingly retro without being a caricature. It really does look like something you'd find stock in something like a BMW E36 or Mercedes 190E. And yes, you can change the backlight color to match your OE interior.
I'm coming off back-to-back road tests of new versions of iconic cars that left me disappointingly lukewarm for similar reasons—the Toyota 4Runner and BMW M5. What could those vehicles possibly have in common? They both have about as much screen square footage as a sports bar. The new Pioneer SXT-C10PS is marketed as retro, and it is, but it's also just a damn good-looking human-machine interface and I wish more automakers would get back to doing things like this from the factory.
Want to rant about how much better car interiors looked 20 years ago? Hit up the author at [e-mail]
Pro car critic since 2012. Andrew's also been an off-road tour guide, repo man, and Baja co-driver, among other things. Lifetime car nerd, amateur tinkerer, very slow casual racer.