There is some fun to be had when it comes to leasing a car. You have the opportunity to enjoy a new vehicle for a finite amount of time and then upgrade to the next latest and greatest toy without and hassle. But, what if you could change out the car you are leasing on a monthly basis? With the Porsche monthly subscription service, you could, and most customers probably didn’t even realize it was an option. Fortunately for current subscribers, this innovative and unique opportunity is going away like similar ones have, as Porsche will be continuing monthly subscription service.

The Porsche limited-area subscription

As a current Porsche owner — and someone who makes way too many stops at the dealership to look at all of the newest cars, I was surprised to find that even I didn’t know about the intriguing subscription plan. Perhaps that was because it was limited to a very small group of large cities, namely LA, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Phoenix, and San Diego. Porsche dealerships in these areas could offer customers a chance to try out the monthly subscription service, giving users access to as many as 22 different Porsche models.

More than just a program

Dealerships of the Porsche brand offered two variations of the subscription service. The first and least expensive option was the Launch level of membership. With Launch, Porsche fans could switch out between the brand’s sports cars, the 718 Boxster, Cayman T, and Cayman S, the sporty sedan Panamera or Panamera 4, or even SUV options of the Cayenne, Cayenne Coupe, and Macan. All for a modest price of just $2,100.

Not to worry, if you don’t see an option you like in that lineup, you could upgrade to the next and final membership tier: Accelerate. Along with the options provided by the Launch members, Accelerate members could also pick an extended lineup of sports cars, now including the 718 Boxster GTS, Cayman GTS, 911 Carrera Cabriolet, 911 Carrera S, and 911 Carrera 4S. It also added in more sedan and SUV options like the Panamera 4s, Macan GTS, and Cayenne S E-Hybrid. Sadly, none of the programs offered the use of the striking Porsche Taycan, but you could still expect a high monthly bill of $3,100.

Similar programs coming to an end

Porsche isn’t the first, or only, major luxury car manufacturer to offer such a service. Competitors like Audi and BMW have also made similar programs available, but those companies will bring their programs to an end. It makes sense, too — depending on each dealership and plan, drivers could expect to pay at least $1,000 or more for this monthly subscription, and as it was only limited to certain cities, it isn’t surprising to see it come to an end.

The prices for these memberships seems to come at a steep price. For Porsche, you can expect to pay well over $2,000 a month to join, but that covers more than just the car. Like a lease, mileage is limited on these rented cars, and for Porsche drivers, that means a limit of 2,000 miles per month. The membership fee does cover a fair amount, including taxes, titling, registration, insurance, maintenance, and surprisingly also detailing.

With so many similar programs coming to an end, it is curious to see a brand like Porsche continuing on. Perhaps they have had more success than BMW and Audi, who have recently announced the end of their similar programs, but no numbers have been released for any comparison. For now, the service will remain available only to those living within or near the few major cities offering the monthly subscription service, but it could open doors for a future of a new way to lease cars.