2024 Model 3 Performance

[DerekS]

So after the shocking thread about a shallow dent causing a 72k battery repair, I am really not sure about getting another Porsche EV. In fact I’m strongly considering selling the one I’ve got.

My wife has been driving a Model 3 since 2018, and after 120K happy miles we upgraded to the 2024 model which I quite like. I’ve been driving both cars and thinking about potentially getting a Model 3 Performance.

Here are the various factors I’m considering.

Feature	Porsche	Tesla	Winner
Styling/appearance	The Taycan looks great as all Porsches do. It has Porsche cachet.	The Tesla is also a very attractive car, but it’s also a ubiquitous one. They are so popular they are as common and basic as a Camry.	Porsche
Driving experience	The Taycan drives like a proper Porsche, it feels great, responsive, and controllable.	The Tesla, especially the 2024 model, has greatly improved driving dynamics. The handling is very good and the upgraded model is less bouncy than the previous generation. However, it has the one-pedal driving where the car brakes when you lift off the accelerator. I know Tesla people love this but I do not.	Porsche
Keyless entry	Porsche has a nice looking painted keyfob that must go in your pocket. The car unlocks when you approach, but must be manually locked by clicking the keyfob or touching the door handle.	Tesla lets you use your phone as a key which is outstanding. We always have our phones! It uses the phone to identify the driver, move the seats/mirrors/wheel. The car unlocks when you approach and locks when you walk away. It’s seamless.	Tesla
Infotainment system	The Porsche PCM has been pretty poor for me. Often the music will just stop playing which has become a running joke for us. It does have carplay, but I find I don’t like using it for anything but iMessage. When I try to stream music on Carplay from Apple Music as a backup for the PCM, it sometimes “skips” like an old CD player.	The infotainment system is rich and robust. I’ve noticed no issues with music playback. It does not have Carplay, but it does have a system for reading your texts and allowing voice replies. There are many extras such as streaming services while parked, and even a web browser.	Tesla
Navigation system	Porsche’s navigation system is clunky but serviceable. It doesn’t handle long distance trips well and sometimes requires breaking a long trip up into smaller ones. The callouts are fine, and it does a good job of making sure charging stops are weaved into the trip, including recalculating when excess consumption changes the plan. I don’t know why it always tells me “caution: the destination is a restricted access area” which is also now a running joke for us.	Tesla really thought their nav system through. They made navigation not a secondary feature, but the primary action you take first thing when getting in the car. This makes sense! It’s fast, responsive, easy to understand and very good at lookups. No notes.	Tesla
Ingress/Egress	Getting in and out of the Taycan is quite a chore for me. I‘m tall and also have a hip issue. I have to move the wheel all the way forward and seat all the way backward, something the car will not do for me automatically. I have to set different memory presets for driving and exiting, and manually hold the buttons every single time.	The Tesla handles this much better. When I put the car in park the wheel and seat move to my desired exit positions, and they automatically move to driving position. I really wish my Taycan would do this!	Tesla
Interior	The Porsche interior is minimal but well presented. I like having “something” on the dash in my cars, and I mostly like the way they’ve done the e-dash. Fit and finish is quality. It mostly looks like it should for a car of this price.	The Tesla is starkly minimalist to a fault. There is no dash requiring looking to the side for info like speed, destination etc. I don’t hate this, but I don’t love it.	Porsche
Range	I get around 200 miles on the Taycan at 85%.	The Tesla gets over 250 miles at 80%. It also seems to last longer real-world due to the forced regen of one-pedal driving.	Tesla
Charging network	Electrocute America is serviceable but deeply flawed. I’ve never been left stranded, but I’ve certainly had sub-par charging experiences. Broken chargers, under-performing chargers, slow-charging vehicles hogging high-speed chargers are the norm. But when the stars align - unused 350kW unit working correctly, prewarmed battery, low SoC - the Taycan is a charging monster.	Tesla’s network may not be as fast as EA but they make up for it with reliability and availability. I made a long road trip in the Taycan, then repeated it with the Tesla, and found Tesla‘s route had fewer charging stops, miles, and a more direct route overall. Charging a Tesla is a non-event. It just works.	Tesla

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[RAHRCR]

A Model 3, like sweatpants, crocs, and many other things in life can be justified based on value for money, comfort, or practicality….I get it.

Furthermore, as time goes by, Porsche is becoming more “challenged” in the value for money category. However, at least for the foreseeable future, I am still with Team Porsche.

You have been a valuable contributor to this community for quite some time so if you decide to pull the plug on your Taycan adventure, hopefully you will maintain your alumni status like Dave.

 

[Uknown]

Nice summary. These threads give me pause on buying a new Taycan or any EV. It seems Tesla can replace a battery for about $20k? I wonder if the CATL battery will drive down the cost of replace at all?

I was strongly considering refreshing to a MY25 Turbo (prefer the look). But unless it was just an unreal deal I am just going to find an extended warranty 1.5 years when my CPO is up.

Also curious to see technical data on the carbon fiber replacement. If done right I believe it could be viable protection.

this is old (but new to me) and I found the tests they did interesting

 

[DerekS]

I’m really on the fence. Despite all the Taycan faults I just like it better.

 

[fgwinn]

You didn't mention exterior fit and finish.

The paint job on my 2018 Model 3 drove me crazy. The unpainted primed areas on the hinge side of the front door jambs made it look like the car was poorly repaired after an accident. Bird droppings would dissolve the clear coat. Fortunately, I was able to repair the finish before trading the car using a $300 paint correction "kit" from Griot's Garage. Porsche definitely wins this category.

The superior fit and finish alone on the Porsche was not reason enough to keep my Taycan. I don't regret trading it after 11 months of ownership before used EV prices collapsed. Unfortunately, I did not escape the steep depreciation plaguing EVs. The retail value of my 20-month old EQS SUV with 40K miles is less than half of its original MSRP.

I genuinely regret not getting a Cayenne or Panamera when I purchased the Taycan CT in 2021.

 

[AnloTaycan2022]

Why not a Macan Turbo instead. Much easier to get in and as good performance.

 

[DerekS]

Why not a Macan Turbo instead. Much easier to get in and as good performance.

Hate SUVs and can’t go back to ICE.

 

[kort]

you should look at a Lucid, they are still offering very good deals.
the Lucid is superior to a tesla in every way.

 

[tigerbalm]

I don’t know why it always tells me “caution: the destination is a restricted access area” which is also now a running joke for us.

I'm fairly certain this only happens when you are using the "Google" online POI search option, rather than the built in POI database. It is almost Porsche's way of issuing a disclaimer: you are navigating to a third-party POI that we're not going to stand over!

 

[DerekS]

To be fair every time I’ve left Porsche I come crawling back.

 

[Redhot2474]

As others noted , sounds great on paper but it’s hard to go backwards. As you know, I came from a model 3 p, I don’t miss it but it is true the Porsche is not nearly 3-4x the car the Tesla is. As much as I like it , I’d never drop 150-200k on another Porsche EV , that’s for sure, I just don’t like being that flippant with my $

 

[DerekS]

As others noted , sounds great on paper but it’s hard to go backwards. As you know, I came from a model 3 p, I don’t miss it but it is true the Porsche is not nearly 3-4x the car the Tesla is. As much as I like it , I’d never drop 150-200k on another Porsche EV , that’s for sure, I just don’t like being that flippant with my $

I’ve had fairly good happiness/spend ratios in prior Porsches but I do feel crappy about the amount I put into this one.

 

[bluesky]

Yeah I don’t know.

I really wanted to buy the refresh, but more and more, it looks like Porsche really doesn’t know what they are doing with Taycan, or perhaps EVs. Yes, an EV sports car is what I’ve been waiting for, haven’t owned one yet, and was really loolking forward to the refresh with active ride and push-to-pass, things that help keep Taycan relevant as high priced luxury car as its various tech bits show their age.

But honestly custom ordering is the only way I can get what I want, since the cookie cutter launch vehicles all follow the usual dealer lot pattern of limited color selection, mandatory glass roof, black on black interior, few options. But now I know that the privilege of custom ordering the refresh means a $100k drop on the $200k Turbo price point in a couple short years, combined with uncertain, possibly lengthy, and increasingly apparently expensive support from Porsche on various battery, recall and software issues.

It becomes increasingly apparent that Porsche does not really know what they are doing with EVs, did not engineer Taycan for servicing, do not have parts or technicians to adequately work on the current 150k Taycans produced thus far. For all those people who think getting a Macan EV is somehow going to sidestep all the problems they’ve heard about with Taycan, guess again. If your Taycan sits around for a month waiting for battery or charger repair, how long do you think it will take to get a Macan EV repaired? and there will most likely be a lot more of them being purchased than there ever were Taycans.

Repair wait times might still be ok, if warranty was being honored and the car weren’t fragile. This battery problem resulting from a 3.33 mm dent in the center of the underpanel resulting in ridiculously expensive and overblown parts replacement at owner cost nearly totally the residual value of the car is too much. It seems to me that this is a cautionary tale to anyone thinking of buying into the possibility of expensive failures or damage. And here I thought driving a refresh Taycan up to a trailhead with the active ride suspension set on high was going to be fine. Hmmm….

Tesla Model 3 Performance is quick but it’s just a model 3. The door handle right away say this isn’t a nice car. And the stark interior with no dash and center stack only instrument screen (also like a ridiculous Mini) broadcasts at once that it isn’t really a driver’s car. It’s enough to have to divert one‘s eyes down to the instrument cluster, but down and to the right is too much. I’m also terribly put off by the fact that they are so generic. They are everywhere and at all times. But that charger network is tops and their tech seems to work.

I likewise find myself is a similar boat. I really want to get an EV sports sedan, but most products on the market just don’t seem perfect. So it may be down to leasing something for a few years to see what develops. Maybe Porsche will get their act together in about 4-5 years and have a solid offering that they can support.

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