A Used Porsche Taycan and a New Tesla Model 3 Performance Now Cost the Same. Which One Do You Actually Want?

Depreciation has done something interesting. A used Porsche Taycan 4S has landed at roughly the same price as a new Tesla Model 3 Performance, and Gjeebs drives both back to back to work out who wins what. The Taycan in this comparison is a 4S with all-wheel drive, air suspension, and a frunk. The Model 3 Performance is the Highland refresh, also all-wheel drive, also with a frunk, hitting 0-60 in 2.9 seconds. New, these cars existed in entirely different brackets. Used depreciation has collapsed that gap.

The Model 3 wins on practicality at every turn. The trunk is significantly larger, the rear seat is genuinely usable for adults, and the frunk is wider and more accessible. Tesla's Supercharger network with Grok-powered AI navigation is the best integrated charging experience available, and the over-the-air update system means the car you buy keeps improving. The 15-inch centre display, track mode, adaptive suspension, and seats that Gjeebs calls some of the best ever made all come standard. Tesla builds those seats in-house, and they are bolstered, durable, and heated and cooled.

The Taycan wins on feel. The Porsche steering wheel is a 10 out of 10 by Gjeebs's account: the right size, the right leather, with drive modes on the wheel itself. In Sport Plus, a synthesised electric sound pipes through the cabin and the driving experience becomes noticeably more engaging. The air suspension is GPS-aware, lifting the car at locations you programme into the system. The frunk is carpeted. The overall impression inside is more expensive than its current market price suggests.

The Taycan does not receive over-the-air feature updates the way the Model 3 does, and the rear seat is genuinely tight for adults. Regenerative braking works differently too: the Taycan applies regen primarily through the brake pedal rather than via lift-off, which means more conventional brake wear over time. If you need space, technology, and charging convenience, the Model 3 is the clearer answer. If you want something that feels special to drive and does not look like every other car in the car park, the Taycan at its current used price is hard to argue with.