How we score
The burden score is 0–100.
It is not a reliability rating.
It is not a recommendation to buy.
It asks how much of this car’s expected software is gated, and how expensive that gate is over five years.
1. Feature access
Each feature in the catalog is weighted.
Navigation, remotes, Wi-Fi, SOS, and hands-free driving count more than entertainment.
Access type then multiplies that weight.
- Included × 0
- One-time purchase × 0.15
- Phone workaround × 0.25
- Subscription × 0.7
- Hardware idle without a plan × 1
A subscription with a trial of three months or less adds a small extra penalty.
The paywall arrives before many owners finish year one.
2. Five-year connected cost
We take unique plans attached to typical-owner features: navigation, Wi-Fi, remote start, remote lock, hands-free driving, and SOS.
Streaming only counts when it is bundled into one of those plans.
After the trial, we use the annual price if published, otherwise twelve times the monthly price.
A prepaid term that covers five years is compared with the subscription total.
We keep the lower number.
That dollar figure is scaled into at most 30 points of the score.
Three thousand dollars over five years is about 30 points.
3. Labels
- Included — typical features are included or phone-first.
- Trial then paywall — a subscription exists, usually after a complimentary window.
- Recurring connected cost — 5-year typical spend is $1,500+ or the score is 55+.
- Hardware idle without a plan — a typical feature's hardware does not function unless you pay.
Feature weights
| Embedded navigation | 12 |
| Wi-Fi hotspot | 10 |
| Remote start | 12 |
| Remote lock & unlock | 8 |
| Audio streaming | 4 |
| Video streaming | 3 |
| Hands-free highway driving | 10 |
| Automatic crash / SOS | 8 |
| Heated seats or comfort | 6 |
Update cadence
Seed listings are dated.
Community corrections require a source URL and an editor.
Approved changes recompute the score with the same function used at seed time.
Lookup opens manufacturer pages and the live web.
We do not invent a price when those pages are silent.
Press and owner pages are labeled separately from manufacturer cites.
Those rows are marked reported, or they are omitted.