Forget Netflix, Volkswagen locks horsepower behind paid subscription

You're used to paying for access to Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ every month but now Volkswagen is getting in on the act. It's asking owners of the ID.3 hatch to pay extra if they wish their car to deliver the full performance it’s capable of.

Yes, you read that correctly: while the Volkswagen ID.3 Pro and Pro S are listed on the configurator as producing 201bhp, buyers must pay a subscription fee to reach the car's full potential of 228bhp.

This subscription currently stands at £16.50 per month. That’s almost three times the price of a ‘Standard with Ads’ Netflix subscription – following a one-month free trial – or a total of £165 per year. Owners can also choose to select a lifetime subscription for the grand total of £649, with this being attached to the car rather than the individual, meaning the upgrade will remain if the vehicle is sold on.

If you’re thinking about buying an ID.3, you can spec a new one via the Auto Express’ Buy A Car service or get a pre-owned model at prices from £9,000 with no subscriptions to pay.

Performance upgrade package

Volkswagen says that while selecting the performance upgrade increases net power by 27bhp and the maximum torque from 265Nm to 310Nm, it does not affect range. 

As the car is registered at 228bhp from the factory, owners won’t need to inform their insurance company, either way.

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen what would happen if an owner were to hack their car – also known as ‘jailbreaking’ – in order to manually switch on the extra power for free. This potentially could invalidate the warranty or even lead to legal action from VW, but Auto Express is waiting to hear back from the firm on this.

In a statement the firm said that “Offering more power to customers is nothing new – historically many petrol and diesel vehicles have been offered with engines of the same size, but with the possibility of choosing one with more potency. These traditionally are higher up in the product range, with more specification and a higher list price.”

“If customers wish to have an even sportier driving experience, they now have an option to do so, within the life of the vehicle, rather than committing from the outset with a higher initial purchase price. The car is presented on the configurator with [201bhp], with the option made very clear to customers.”

Also to be clear, Volkswagen is not the only car company asking customers to pay in order to get the maximum capability out of their cars; BMW received a lot of criticism a few years ago when it offered up a subscription service to activate features like heated seats. Owners of the Polestar 2 can also purchase a similar performance pack to that of the VW.

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