Subscriptions are coming for us all, in every aspect of life, and all we can do is avoid them. That just became a little tougher for owners of Volkswagen‘s smallest EV, the ID.3, in the U.K. See, we’re used to hearing about subscriptions for improved performance and creature comforts on luxury cars, but VW’s trialing BMW and Mercedes-Benz’s greatest hits of consumer-hostile policies and gating an additional 27 horsepower behind a $22.30 monthly payment on the ID.3. Alternatively, owners can shell out $878 to unlock that power permanently, for the life of the vehicle.
This news comes courtesy of AutoExpress, and it’s alarming for several reasons. First, again, the ID.3 isn’t exactly a bargain, starting at the equivalent of $41,770, but it’s also no Mercedes EQE. Second, as the article points out, the car is registered at 228 hp stock, which affects insurance rates, even though owners only get 201 hp before subscribing. So, you’re paying a penalty on your insurance premium based on power that you can only access if you give Volkswagen yet more money every month.
This monthly fee also lifts torque from the standard 195 lb-ft to 228 lb-ft, and VW says that the increase in output doesn’t impact range—so at least there’s that. The optional software upgrade applies to all trims of the ID.3 except for the speedy GTX variant, which has around 320 horsepower and costs $21,600 more. All told, that’s roughly $63K—for VW’s smallest EV! And you thought the Golf R was pricey. The more I learn about this thing, the less sad I am that it’s not offered in the States.
The best outcome we can hope for in these cases is that the outcry against it becomes so loud that VW relents. That’s worked to some degree on this side of the pond, with BMW’s heated-seat policies. But the retractions don’t last forever, and automakers are pretty much set on biding their time until software-locking everything is normalized, and they can get away with all of it.
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