Auto review: BMW's extra Apple CarPlay fee on 330i sedan is the ultimate money grab

The 2019 BMW 330i sport sedan explores how to meld the brand’s claim to be “ultimate driving machine” with rising levels of driver assistance, but it locks down the title for “ultimate display of gall by an automaker.”

For 2020, BMW moved from its previous practice of charging customers once for a feature other brands made standard years ago to requiring an annual subscription fee, in perpetuity.

We’re talking about Apple CarPlay here. It’s standard equipment in vehicles including the Chevy Equinox, Honda Civic and Hyundai Sonata. I name those three competitors because you could buy one of each for less than the $58,925 sticker of the 330i I recently tested.

CarPlay reduces driver distraction significantly by using excellent voice recognition to easily access the smartphone features you’re most likely to want while driving: Navigation, music, phone calls and finding a business’s address or phone number. It reads text messages to you and takes dictation for replies. It also projects driving-friendly versions of those features on the vehicle’s touch screen.

No infotainment system is perfect, but CarPlay comes close. It significantly reduces the temptation to take your eyes off the road and provides limited, simple touch screen features you can use about as easily as reaching for a volume or tuning knob.

BMW makes the first year of CarPlay free, so you’ve got plenty of time to get hooked on how valuable the feature is. After that, BMW owners must pay $80 a year to keep the feature, every year you own the 330i, unless you choose to pay an extra $300 up front for lifetime coverage.

The charges apply to every BMW that has a navigation system, including $100,000-plus vehicles like the glorious 8-series coupe.

It’s an avaricious policy customers should scorn and resist. Apple does not participate in the policy or get any of the subscription money BMW takes in.

We’ll get back to CarPlay, but first, a few words about the pretty good car this money grab came wrapped in.

The 3-series sport sedan has been BMW’s signature car for decades. The seventh-generation car went on sale as a 2019 model. I drove one just as the model years changed, but there were no meaningful changes in 330i features or price for the 2020s that are on sale now. BMW did add more powerful and expensive M340i models for 2020. 

The 330i’s handling is sharp and precise, despite its increased size and weight. The electric power steering is exceptionally quick, but adjusts for a clear on-center feel on the highway. The new body and suspension combine to create a ride that’s comfortable but also keeps the car stable and planted in sharp maneuvers.

Back to CarPlay.

BMW sold 232,427 vehicles in North America through September. If every owner paid $80 a year for CarPlay, that’s $18.5 million revenue a year for nine months’ sales in North America alone, and North America accounts for less than 15% of BMW’s global sales.

I hope BMW owners balk at the charge. If one automaker can get away with charging for CarPlay — and eventually its counterpart Android Auto — it’s only a matter of time before others do the same thing.