I have been struggling over which way to go for my commuter car, electric, hybrid or gas for replacing the daily driver. I have been in my 2013 Lexus LS460 F-Sport for nearly 7 years, I use it as my commuter, 50 miles a day +or- going to/from my office. Most of my driving is on the 5 Freeway in So. California and at times my 25 minute commute can be doubled by traffic. With that said, I spend a fair amount of time in my car commuting and don't drive many miles. I shopped Tesla, Lexus and recently drove the Taycan. The Tesla would cost more than a base Taycan before adding options and no matter what the tesla interior is unacceptably sterile and leaves me joyless stepping into the cabin.

The interesting part for me was seeing a base model Taycan with not one option and it was still pretty well appointed and performs well for a car without any options. Leather interior, Apple Play, heated seats, adaptive cruise control all included as standard equipment. A $7,500.00 rebate brings me from $81,250.00 to $73,750.00 before sales tax and DMV fees, the Tesla no longer qualifies for the federal tax credit so this sealed the deal. Under 74K and I am in a new Porsche Taycan with a beautiful interior, 10 year battery warranty with leather seats, a long list of standard equipment, 3 years of charging and will only miss my ventilated seats (maybe).

 

Leather and ACC is not standard on base model. Base price is $82,700. Were you looking at a slightly used one or demo?

 

Taycan if you are used to some creature comfort and luxury. Tesla if you are into its good user interface (digitally, not the human interface which sucks).

 

The Taycan is an amazing car and it most definitely checks several of the boxes of being a “real Porsche” when it comes to handling, speed and comfort. That said, I find that the tech currently offered is pretty terrible - lots of complexity on the user experience side of things and the Porsche connect app is also pretty lackluster.

If you are looking for a pure commuter car, honesty the Model 3 is a nice car. It’s pretty homogenous in CA so you don’t have to worry about standing out or parking your near $100k in the Target lot when you run errands during the week. Contrary to Porsche the tech is excellent and at least for when I pop into a friend’s Tesla to do some wine tasting in Napa, the fact that many wineries and restaurants there have free supercharging for guests really rounds things out for me. Would I buy one? Maybe, but I’m looking to see if other players catch up in the next 6-12 months but so far it’s not looking like other manufacturers are there yet.

 

I think you'll find that you're probably missing some options on this car you'd deem essential for commuting. Active Cruise for one.

One quick note: Tesla destination charging (like you noted for hotels and wineries) is NOT supercharging. it's Level 2 AC charging, or up to about 12 kW.

I just got done doing 2 and a half years of commuting in Houston at a minimum of 90 miles / day, and often more. Including several trips up to the DFW area from Houston. All of that 2.5 years were in a Model 3 specifically purchased for improving the commute. Some thoughts on the above:

Model 3 Pros for commuting:

• Basic included AutoSteer is currently industry best at lane keeping. This tremendously reduces commuting fatigue.
• Basic included Active Cruise is "decent". It works, but prefers to late brake and can sometimes phantom brake. Porsche is better.
• Spartan interior is actually quite nice for commuting. Set it and forget it for most controls. They're in the touch screen but you don't really need to access them very frequently.
• Arcade / YouTube a bonus for lunch stops or if you're early to a meeting.
• Low cowl and large windows make for amazing visibility. Reduces stress.
• Streaming audio very enjoyable....

Model 3 Cons for commuting:

• ....when the streaming audio works.
• Suspension is pretty crap. Think BMW MSport firm but with less sophistication, leading to head toss.
• Active cruise isn't smooth, as noted above.
• Auto wipers truly terrible.
• Road / wind noise fatiguing.

The Taycan will reward you with a much better driving experience. Much quieter. Much better suspension (even without the air suspension). Apple Car Play makes Tesla's texting look like the joke that it is. Much smoother and more relaxing. Taycan downsides include:

• Cost
• Less range.
• Slower
• No Supercharging network if you're traveling.
• Options add up fast.
• Low slung, not as comfortable to get in and out.
• Smaller backseat for passengers.
• Lane Keeping nowhere near as good as Telsa.
• Likely steeper depreciation.

If you're shopping a Model S, that will cancel out the Model 3's wind noise and crappy ride. But the car styling is old, and the yoke is a complete joke. Plus, at that price point, the interior materials are barely appropriate for the class.

If the Taycan makes you happy, expect to pay for a few options and enjoy. Overall, my Model 3 has really reduced my stress level commuting. I put that down to half from being an EV with one pedal driving, and the other half being a Tesla with the features above.

 

There is "supercharging" for Taycan: EA network.

 

there is nothing wrong with the model 3, I liken it to a camry, it is relatively inexpensive, low maintenance but it is a soul less driving experience. the car is like an appliance.

 

true the EA network is about where the tesla build out was five years ago however the EA network reliability is questionable.
in 9 years of tesla ownership I may have had slow charging, crowded chargers but I never had fail to charge like I've experienced with my taycan on the EA network.

 

One additional benefit to a Tesla Model S compared to the other cars is that the Model S is a hatchback and the storage capacity is huge. People are actually putting in mattresses in the back (with seats folded down of course) and using the Model S for camping trips. If you do frequent Costco runs and/or have heavy transport needs, I think the Model S would be worthy of consideration.

 

Assuming it's a used car your looking at as I would not describe any Taycan as cheap and includes a lot of standard options. Heck any Porsche for that matter. To get the options you are talking about and have a decent looking pair of wheels you would be close to a 100k car.

I am in agreement with others in if your just looking for a cheap commuter electric the model 3 performance is hard to beat. I have driven the model S performance (not the new one) and model 3P back to back. The M3 was a much better sporty drive. Model S felt like an S class barge without the luxury.

Dynamically and visually the Porsche wins without question but you do pay for it.