Offering vehicle features as subscription services is a rather controversial practice in the auto industry, and Mercedes-Benz is among those automakers experimenting with it.
You may recall that earlier this year the German automaker started offering the rear steer feature as a yearly subscription for the EQS electric luxury sedan in China. Well, Mercedes-Benz will soon be taking things to the next level by offering performance upgrades as subscription services.
The automaker's US online store lists the "Acceleration Increase" service as an option soon to be offered to customers of Mercedes-Benz EQE and EQS sedans and SUVs as a $1,200 annual subscription (plus tax). Made possible by the Mercedes me connect service, this feature increases the torque and maximum output of the vehicle, therefore unlocking more performance.
The automaker says the adjustment of the motor characteristic curve, torque and maximum output brings noticeable improvement in the 0-60 mph acceleration of 0.8 to 1.0 seconds, depending on the model. The increased acceleration will be available in all Dynamic Select drive programs.
Fine tuning of the electric motors increases the maximum motor output of the Mercedes-Benz EQE/EQE SUV and EQS/EQS SUV by 20 percent to 24 percent, depending on the original factory output.
For example, on the Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4MATIC, the maximum output increases from 215 kilowatts (288 horsepower) to 260 kilowatts (348 horsepower), resulting in a 0-60 mph sprint of 5.1 seconds (compared to 6.0 seconds). The increase is the same for the EQE SUV 350 4MATIC, with the 0-60 mph acceleration dropping to 5.2 seconds from 6.2 seconds in this case.
The power increase will be more significant on the Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 4MATIC and EQS SUV 450 4MATIC: from 265 kilowatts (355 horsepower) to 330 kilowatts (442 horsepower). This will result in a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds for the sedan and 4.9 seconds for the SUV, down from 5.3 seconds and 5.8 seconds, respectively.
Like it or not, offering features as subscription services is something that software defined vehicles make possible, and it looks like we're going to see more of this in the future. So, what do you think, is it worth paying $1,200 a year to shave one second off your EV's 0-60 time?
