Forget Netflix, Volkswagen locks horsepower behind paid subscription

If you thought paying out for Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ was bad, Volkswagen is now forcing owners of the ID.3 to pay extra if they wish their car to deliver the full performance it’s capable of.

Yes, you read that correctly: Entry-level Volkswagen ID.3 Pure models are listed as producing 170kW (168bhp) on the VW configurator but take a look at the small print and you’ll see that the car now comes electronically limited to just 148bhp, unless the owner pays a subscription fee.

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, but Auto Express is awaiting confirmation from VW as to whether this is tied to the user profile or the car. 

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 from 148bhp to 168bhp and the maximum torque from 265Nm to 310Nm, it does not affect range. 

As the car is registered at 168bhp 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 once again Auto Express is waiting to hear back from the firm on this.

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. 

Polestar owners can purchase a similar performance pack to that which Volkswagen now offers, although this is more of a software ‘upgrade’ to boost power, rather than unlocking power that was already there.

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