Already bored of your EV’s neck-snapping acceleration, or wishing you’d shelled out for a more powerful version? That isn’t problem for North American Mercedes buyers who will soon be able to “tune” their cars through an official “Acceleration Increase” subscription program. But Mercedes owners in the UK and Europe won’t be offered the power boost upgrade, a Mercedes UK spokesman confirmed to Carscoops.
“The feature you are inquiring about relates only to Mercedes-Benz models in the United States and Canada. This is not available in the UK and Europe at the current time,” the Mercedes representative told us.
For an annual cost of $1,200 (£993), North American owners accessing the Acceleration Increase service can boost their EV’s output by 20-24 percent. The upgrade increases the output of a 350-badged Mercedes EV from 288 hp (215 kW / 292 PS) to 349 hp (260 kW / 354 PS) and pumps the 450’s muscles from 355 hp (265 kW / 360 PS) to 443 hp (330 kW / 449 PS). The feature is available on both sedan and SUV versions of Mercedes’ EQE and EQS electric cars.
“The torque is also increased, enabling your vehicle to accelerate noticeably faster and more powerfully,” explains the blurb on Mercedes-Benz USA’s website. “This shortens the time it takes to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) by around 0.8 to 0.9 seconds. This additional output is available in all Dynamic Select drive programs.”
The exact improvement in acceleration varies depending on model. While an EQS450 sedan’s zero to 60 mph figure falls from 5.3 seconds to 4.5 seconds, the EQE350 SUV’s stoplight numbers drop by an entire second, from 6.2 seconds to 5.2 seconds.
Related: Mercedes Releases A $1,200 Annual Subscription To Unlock A 60 To 110 HP For Its EVs
It’s not yet clear whether the decision not to offer the subscription in Europe is down to a regulatory issue, a warranty or insurance complication, or simply a marketing decision. Whatever the reason, you might consider it payback for all those years in the 1970s and 1980s when American buyers were stuck with low-power, emissions-strangled versions of the cars available to their European cousins.
Merc’s luxury rival, BMW, already offers a seat heating subscription in Europe, though many drivers think it’s unfair that they are being asked to pay to use equipment that was already fitted to their car when it was built.
