I don't think anyone is particularly jazzed that their car will become a permanent source of future subscription costs. Most of us are already maxed out on subscriptions to things like Netflix, HBO Max, Apple Music, Spotify and so on—not to mention car payments and all of our other monthly bills. The "recurring revenue via software" future may sound great for automakers, but I think the rest of us would be fine actually getting what we paid for when we drive off the lot.
At the same time, the world of automotive software opens up countless new possibilities, and some of them even far surpass what gas-powered cars are capable of.
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Automakers want "software revenue"
From downloads and monthly services to sports team-themed infotainment systems and more, automakers are out for your cash after you purchase the car. But what will people actually pay for?
Case in point: the downloadable "Boost" function on the Kia EV9. For a $900 one-time fee—not even a monthly or yearly subscription—this option adds some serious power to Kia's family hauler. Basically, after this, the kids are never gonna be late to school again.
The EV9 boasts Kia's latest software suite, and with it comes the Kia Connect Store. Those include a menu of pay-to-play downloadable upgrade options. Motor Trend just sampled all of them; some are gimmicky, some are useful, and some could be must-haves.
I would put the Boost function in that last camp. Basically, when you download this feature using the Kia Connect app, your EV9 (provided it's in Wind or Land trim) sees a bump in overall torque from 443 lb-ft to 516 lb-ft. That's a serious bump; Kia claims it means the EV9's zero to 60 mph time drops from 5.7 seconds to a legitimately quick 5.0 seconds.
And Kia's underselling it a bit. Motor Trend saw even bigger gains: "We installed the software at the Michigan proving grounds where we test, and in less than a minute, we had chopped the EV9’s 0–60-mph time from 5.1 to 4.6 seconds and the quarter-mile run from 13.7 to 13.4 seconds," editor Eric Tingwall wrote. "It’s a difference you can feel, as well, with a noticeably stronger pull between 10 and 50 mph."
A sub-5-second time is pretty impressive for a three-row family hauler that weighs more than 5,000 pounds. Granted, nobody's buying a Kia EV9 for speed, but why not have your cake and eat it too?
But let's address the obvious: $900 is a lot of money. For some people's cars, that's as much as a monthly payment. Yet as Motor Trend notes—and as I've always felt about such digital upgrades—a gas-powered car would cost a lot more to get similar gains.
Think about it. To lop off a half second or more in your zero to 60 mph time, you'd be looking at a performance chip upgrade, a better intake and exhaust, probably better tires and, most likely, some upgrades to your forced induction system, if you have one. And those parts may not even be available for your car; I'm not exactly seeing a huge glut of Kia Telluride turbo kits out there.
Granted, Kia's not the first automaker to do this. Mercedes-Benz offers the "Acceleration Increase" download on its EQE and EQS models, and those cut about a second off the 60 mph times, though they cost between $1,950 and $2,950. And Tesla has the "Acceleration Boost" function on some models, but that was also $2,000 at one point. In that way, Kia's upgrade is one heck of a bargain.
I can't tell you whether you should blow $900 to make your Kia EV9 go faster. But I am saying that if Kia offered this option on the EV6—which as of this writing, it sadly does not—I'd be heavily considering it. It's cheaper than a turbo kit, right?
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
