[Rodie09]

Hello BHPians,

In the era of digital world, where apps and data have become an integral part of our lives in every aspect, our cars of course cannot stay behind. Today, most new cars offer the connected car experience to their owners via an app and an e-sim and it does provide a lot of interesting features and insights into data related to our cars. However, like most things in this world, this come at a cost.

My Safari completed one year recently and I realized the iRA subscription has expired. The renewal costs about 3.6 K a year. Honestly, I have not used this app a lot in last one year but it does offer some value. I am wondering if the renewal makes sense or is it really something I can live without. I learnt that some manufacturers offer a lifetime free subscription, some perhaps 2-3 years and some are charging for every year. I looked for the info on forum but seems it is scattered all over the place. So, I have created this thread to gather information across car brands and models at one place. This may be useful to future buyers as part of their buying decision while comparing options.

Owners can post their info in below format that I am sharing my info in.

Make: Tata Safari
Year 2023
Connected Car App - iRA
Free Subscription Duration - 1 Year

Renewal Cost:
Gold Pack - 6GB/Day/365 Days - Rs. 3528/-
Platinum Pack - 12 GB/Day/730 Days - Rs. 6549/-

[NetfreakBombay]

Does this include Telecom cost .. I.e. do you have to pay Airtel / Jio etc for car's mobile connection ?

Or does 3.5k cover that cost as well ?

[Rodie09]

It's all inclusive. As you can see the plan I mentioned does state XX GB of data per day. Did not know if there are subscriptions where you have to pay separately to telecom provider. Will be interesting to know which manufacturers offer that.

Edit: I see a couple of votes saying more than 2 years free. Please share the detail of car make etc. and how many years free, and charges after that. That will make this thread more useful.

[blogslogger]

Kia connect has 3 years of free connected car tech and then i guess 3k per year. Not very sure though.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by Rodie09

It's all inclusive.

Thanks. Kia's FAQ confirms this. https://connect.kia.com/eu/customer-...t/faq-general/

[Rodie09]

I see that there are votes but no posts with detail on car model, plan etc.

I'd reiterate that this thread will be useful only if folks share the car make/model and plan details etc. so that this becomes a referenceable information.

Thanks again!

[NPV]

I have a Harrier XZA+ 2023 June model (Pre facelift) which came with first year free connected car subscription and I recently renewed it. I went with the Gold Package (6 GB) and it cost Rs.3528.

I was wondering if the subscription could be renewed a month in advance (lest I forget) and tried through my dealer, then via email and even tried the toll free number. All these routes failed, the phone and email support were clueless about what I was asking for! What finally worked was on the day of expiry, the iRA app showed up with the option for renewal (it does not show prior to expiry date!).
Long way before Tata Motors ties up all ends on the service/support side.

I haven’t used the iRA app extensively during the past year, but I like the “Run Diagnosis” feature that it provides. It may not be too accurate or foolproof but the fact that it can at least indicate some errors/fault codes helps (in my opinion). I also like the fact that it provides features like location tracking for the vehicle, fuel range, trip history, setting up emergency contacts, monthly health report.

In my Tata Harrier owners group, many haven’t renewed beyond the first year. I think it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind, even if it’s just notional

Make: Tata Harrier
Year 2023 (Pre facelift)
Connected Car App - iRA
Free Subscription Duration - 1 Year

Renewal Cost:
Gold Pack - 6GB/Day/365 Days - Rs. 3528/- (This is what I went with for second year)

Platinum Pack - 12 GB/Day/730 Days - Rs. 6549/-

[dass]

My Harrier, XZA+ 2023 (pre facelift) model came with the iRA as free for the first year. The only feature I probably used a few times was the door lock/unlock button when I had to pick up something from the car in the basement and did not want to carry the bulky key around. Once this free subscription expired, I did not renew it. I see no real use for what it currently offers. TATA should have made this LTF, especially for their flagship product.

[DivyanshuDiv]

I am happily using the complimentary 3 years Kia Connect subscription which is bound to get renewed mid next year. Every feature of this app is useful and gives me a peace of mind, and importantly it works 9 out of 10 times.

[satyamkolhe]

I have 1 year iRA subscription for my Safari Accomplished Plus and I think I will renew it.
It gives a good piece of mind and as long as the network is there, it has worked 90% of the times for me. I am a numbers geek and I like the stats it provides about the driving behaviour or the trips, even though they are not extensive.

Also whenever I am late in the night, I don't get calls from home asking where I am and how long it will take to come back since I have installed the app in my wife's as well as my Dad's phones.

And recently there was a marriage in the family and the car was used by a lot of people (even though I hated giving it to others), it helped keeping an eye on the movements of the car.

[Rodie09]

Just curious about this one vote on "Chargeable from day 1". Which manufacturer is this?

@Marshal I can see from your garage that you have a Skoda which I understand has lifetime free subscription, and the other is Chevy. Not sure if the latter at any point in time had connected cars. Happy to hear from you.

[holdoyn]

I own a 2023 Creta SX(O) AT Diesel.
It comes with Hyundai's Bluelink and is free for the first 3 years and chargeable thereafter.

I'm not really sure if I'd renew it especially since I only use it to track my usage (distance traveled etc

Any Creta owners here who renewed their Bluelink sub? How much does it cost?

Thanks.

[northstar*]

My XUV came with a 2 year Adrenox Connect subscription from the factory and the renewal amount was Rs. 5999 per year after the second year.

But later on M&M revised it to 1 year standard subscription and has to be renewed from the second year onwards. They also reduced the renewal cost from Rs. 5999 to Rs. 2499 including tax.

For M&M there only one plan available and I came to know that many from our XUV group is not keen in renewing the plan as the internet is pretty useless and you will not be able to connect and use any device from the hotspot provided. Mine is about to expire next month but I am planing to renew just for the fancy of it.

[AsphaltNomad]

Hi,

I'm still a newbie and so cannot vote. However my question is, how useful are these connected features compared to the yearly subscription fees (which seems very high IMHO). I understand at times remote locking/unlocking or maybe something like geofencing could help. Another view point is would it help if car manufacturer's program the 2nd key to enable something like on demand valet mode (speed limit enforced, no settings can be altered, geofencing)?

[a_chelat]

XUV 7OO, with 2 years' Adrenox subscription. Renewed last week for INR 2499. I don't really have any use for it other than checking the real time location from time to time. Say my wife is driving alone at night - sometimes it is easier to check her whereabouts without having to call or message her.

In two years of ownership, I have never used any other connected features but I didn't think twice about renewing because it is, at least for me, fairly cheap. In the grand scheme of things, 2500 a year seems miniscule.