Volkswagen is selling you extra power!

One of the features of electric cars is the ability to intervene remotely on the powertrain, but Volkswagen goes further.

Volkswagen is taking advantage of the expansion of its all-electric compact ID.3 lineup to make a rather strange offer to its customers. Basically, give the manufacturer some money and in return, you’ll get additional power and torque. Digital tuning, it’s unprecedented!

The Pro and Pro S versions of the ID.3 introduce the house’s “Power Upgrade” feature. Thus, owners of these versions can now increase their ID.3’s power from 150 kW (204 hp) to 170 kW (231 hp). The torque also rises from 265 Nm to 310 Nm. This feature, available via the Upgrades menu, can be rented monthly (€18.90 per month), yearly (€189 per year), or purchased outright for €755. A free one-month trial is available before renting or buying the feature.

But why?

One might wonder what the point is of renting power by the month. Honestly, we may have never even asked ourselves the usefulness of such a device. With 170 kW, the goal is certainly not to boost the little ID.3 for track days. Maybe, for fun in mountain passes to enjoy better acceleration in hairpins, all while respecting speed limits, of course. Otherwise, you’ll probably gain just a few tenths of a second in the 0 to 100 km/h sprint at toll booths.

Volkswagen doesn’t specify, however, what influence this extra horsepower has on overall consumption and thus range. Logically, it shouldn’t be zero. So if you want to challenge your cousin who keeps bragging about his new Tesla Model 3 Performance, take advantage of the free trial month. If you really need more power, go ahead and try it. Otherwise, save your money for gifts for kids at charging stations.

Otherwise, a small Boost button on the steering wheel, with a seconds allocation per month, would be much more fun than buying an option from an online store. Sometimes, it’s good to have a laugh!

READ ALSO: Does the Volkswagen ID.3 GTX signal the death knell for the Golf GTI?