Volkswagen Planning Subscription-Based Horsepower Upgrades
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Wouldn't it be even cheaper to design the next version modularly and interchangeable?
Ah, wait, that would make it too easy to repair for unlicensed users.
That would require more logistics to get different modules, checks to make sure the right ones are installed and labor to install them. Somewhere there is a cutoff point where modularity is cheaper.
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option to pay $22.50 per month or $879 one time to gain 20 horsepower.
At least you can buy it outright, so not the worst scheme of this sort, but still a scheme.
Auto Express UK reported on the pricing but could not verify whether the subscription follows the vehicle or the user profile.
This is bad journalism, per EU regulation, if the option is bought it follows the car, if it's a subscription, I doubt they can legally demand either the original and definitely not another owner to keep it. A subscription can be cancelled, otherwise it's an indefinite contract, which a new owner never agreed to.
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Oh sorry I forgot for a second that UK is no longer in EU, so UK customers can be fucked in new creative ways, which probably also explains why this experiment is in UK. Ah well they chose to fuck themselves over I guess.
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And they wonder why nobody’s buying their cars…
Strange comment, since VW group sell by far the most EV cars in EU.
Yet you get a dozen upvotes.
You guys are weird. -
Is $879 for an extra 20 horsepower even worth it?
Not really IMO, but I would personally never buy it, since it's an artificial limitation only meant to extort buyers for more money, for something that cost them nothing, and I would never reward artificial limitations and such shenanigans.
I'd probably look for some third party hack to unlock it for free instead, or probably buy another brand of car.
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option to pay $22.50 per month or $879 one time to gain 20 horsepower.
At least you can buy it outright, so not the worst scheme of this sort, but still a scheme.
Auto Express UK reported on the pricing but could not verify whether the subscription follows the vehicle or the user profile.
This is bad journalism, per EU regulation, if the option is bought it follows the car, if it's a subscription, I doubt they can legally demand either the original and definitely not another owner to keep it. A subscription can be cancelled, otherwise it's an indefinite contract, which a new owner never agreed to.
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Oh sorry I forgot for a second that UK is no longer in EU, so UK customers can be fucked in new creative ways, which probably also explains why this experiment is in UK. Ah well they chose to fuck themselves over I guess.
We imported all the consumer protection laws, so as long as this isn't a recent change it will be the same in the UK.
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Ill take “reasons why I still drive a b5.5 passat” for $500, Alex
Woo! 2002 passat owner checking in here!
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We imported all the consumer protection laws, so as long as this isn't a recent change it will be the same in the UK.
AFAIK a lot of the EU citizen and consumer protections have been dismantled in UK after UK left EU.
Even democratic rights to protest have been limited, and privacy rights against government surveillance that is illegal in EU.
So I seriously doubt they haven't cut user protections too, the conservative government was clearly a government that worked against the general population to benefit the rich and those in power. This was absolutely one of the main points for the extreme right politicians and media (mostly conservatives) to want out of EU. -
Volkswagen is desperate and absolutely fucked. If this is their answer for every one of their shitty little cars being over taken by Koreans they are just fucked.
VW makes better EV's than Hyundai/KIA IMO.
Also VW group has bigger sales.Hyundai and KIA have some good options too, but there is no way to call VW shitty by comparison, when they far outsell the competition in EU.
In Denmark where I live, Korean EV's have dropped out of top 10, while VW group has 7 models in top 10!
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Our family was looking for a newer car. We found a listing for a VW, went to the dealership with intent to buy and was told that the car (which was standing RIGHT there) was available for sale in 3 months. Now we enjoy our new Toyota.
You dodged a bullet.
VW has gone down the drain.
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Our cars aren't selling... Hmm.. Should we make them last longer? No. Should we make the interior out of anything except hard plastic? No. Should we make our cars easier to repair and not have even the most basic shit require specialized tools? No. I got it! Subscriptions for basic shit that gauges the few customers still buying our shit!
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No. Switching from 140 to 160 hp isn't something you'd really even notice on everyday commuting. More is more of course, but unless your driving style is very aggressive that doesn't really make any difference on the driving experience. What it might do is improve your range slightly, but that depends heavily on multiple different things and if your driving style and conditions on most common routes aren't suitable it might even reduce the range you'll get out of the thing.
Do you notice the power difference when your AC is on?
This 20 hp should be similar tbh.
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If you pay a little extra a little corkscrew that raises up from the middle of the driver seat every half hour will only do so every two hours too.
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Fuck off
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Fuck you volkswagen!
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Capped speed isn't enough. I want it to slam the brakes on the highway and go "Tired of the ads? Get the Volkswagen Battlepass and enjoy an uninterupted drive!"
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Strange comment, since VW group sell by far the most EV cars in EU.
Yet you get a dozen upvotes.
You guys are weird.In EU they sell well. not in the US, however.
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In EU they sell well. not in the US, however.
Yeah but the US isn’t all that matters. For reference VW group is the largest automaker in the world, so the comment “no one is buying their cars” is very short sighted.
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In EU they sell well. not in the US, however.
not in the US, however.
I wonder why that may be. but incidentally Porsche was the most profitable brand in USA before Trumps stupid tariffs, and Porsche is also VW.USA can go fuck themselves, they are making themselves irrelevant. Hyundai is also losing profits in USA despite investments:
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/hyundai-motor-warns-bigger-hit-us-tariffs-after-q2-profit-fall-2025-07-24/Hyundai will be fucked over too, it's just a matter of time. VW decided to scale back in USA, instead of fighting the windmills.
I'm not dissing Hyundai, they make OK cars at OK prices, I might actually go for a Hyundai for my next car, but mostly because it's cheaper, if I can find a VW or Skoda Enyaq 80 or 85 at a good price, that's the one I want.
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Yeah but the US isn’t all that matters. For reference VW group is the largest automaker in the world, so the comment “no one is buying their cars” is very short sighted.
i don't think its really all that big a deal. nobody said the US is all that matters. guy just said nobody is buying their cars.
which to him is true. but its been corrected.
this is just a conversation.
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Capped speed isn't enough. I want it to slam the brakes on the highway and go "Tired of the ads? Get the Volkswagen Battlepass and enjoy an uninterupted drive!"
Ooh, how about it accelerates really slowly at stop lights unless I pay for "turbo mode" to not get honked at?