5 Overlooked Sports Cars That Hold Their Value Better Than The Porsche Taycan

Depreciation is the most expensive thing about owning a performance car, and almost nobody factors it in. It is also no respecter of badges. Some of the most desirable machines on sale bleed value the second they leave the lot, and right now, one of the worst offenders wears a Porsche crest. The Taycan is a brilliant electric GT, but it also loses close to half its value in five years, around 47 percent by iSeeCars‘ math, which can mean $70,000 gone on a loaded car.

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Not every sports car plays that game. A handful shrug off depreciation the way the Taycan attracts it. These five hold more of your money than Porsche’s electric flagship, ranked by how little of their value they surrender over five years. Lowest depreciation wins. We have deliberately not included the torchbearer, the 911, since it is the yardstick for depreciation standards in general. But, for the curious folks, the iconic sports car depreciates between 11.1- and 19.5-percent in five years. iSeeCars also notes that the industry average is 40-percent and the sports car depreciation average is 24-percent over five years.

5

Toyota GR Supra

Five-Year Depreciation: 24.0-Percent

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The Supra borrows its straight-six and its bones from BMW, then holds value the way a Toyota should. The 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six punches out 382 horsepower and 368 pound-feet, drives the rear wheels, and fires off zero to 60 mph in around four seconds flat. It is quicker and far sharper than the badge snobs want to admit, and the addition of a proper six-speed manual fixed the one thing purists ever held against it.

The cockpit is pure BMW, which is no bad thing. A clean iDrive-based infotainment system, deeply supportive sport seats, and a snug two-seat layout wrapped tight around the driver. Storage is slim, and you will catch some wind buffeting with the windows down at speed, a well-documented quirk, but the cabin feels genuinely expensive and bolted together with German precision.

Amee Reehal | TopSpeed

That German heart is a blessing on the reliability front. The B58 is widely regarded as one of the most dependable engines BMW has ever built, and Toyota’s calibration and quality control only sharpen it. Owners report largely trouble-free miles, with the usual asterisks about slightly thirsty oil consumption on early cars and pricier servicing when BMW-sourced parts are involved. Keep to the schedule and it is a true long-hauler.

Starting in the high $40,000s, the GR Supra sheds just 24 percent over five years, and the looming end of production only sharpens used demand. Stuttgart-grade pace, without the Stuttgart depreciation.

4

Subaru BRZ

Five-Year Depreciation: 23.7-Percent

Subaru

Mechanically the GR86’s twin, the BRZ plays the same game with a Subaru badge and slightly tighter supply. Same 2.4-liter boxer four, same 228 horsepower and 184 pound-feet, same rear-drive six-speed manual, same sub-3,000-pound curb weight, same gloriously low-slung balance. On the road the two are near-impossible to tell apart, and that is a compliment to both.

The cabin mirrors the Toyota with marginally more grown-up styling. Same eight-inch touchscreen, same crisp digital cluster, same refusal to clutter the place up with things you do not need. Subaru tunes the dampers a touch differently, so the BRZ feels a hair more planted at turn-in, but you are buying either twin for the same reason: a pure, talkative chassis with nothing standing between you and the road.

Subaru

It shares the GR86’s FA24 engine and therefore the same story. Reliable in street use, with the same track-day caveat about oil starvation and the same inexpensive oil-pickup fix that puts it to bed. Subaru’s long reputation for boxer engines and symmetrical all-wheel drive does not apply to this rear-driver, but the brand’s hard-wearing simplicity does. This is a low-stress car to own.

At around $35,900 new, the BRZ hands back better than 76 cents on the dollar after five years, helped by that tighter supply keeping used buyers hungry. Proof you do not need horsepower to beat depreciation. You need the right car, built in the right numbers.

3

Chevrolet Corvette

Five-Year Depreciation: 18.7-Percent

Chevrolet

Here is where it gets interesting. The mid-engine C8 Corvette serves up genuine supercar pace for sports-car money. The 6.2-liter V8 makes 490 horsepower and 465 pound-feet, the Z51 cars crack zero to 60 mph in under three seconds, and there is not a manual in sight, just a razor-sharp eight-speed dual-clutch that snaps through gears like a race car.

Step inside and the old Corvette stigma is gone. The squared-off, driver-wrapped cockpit divides opinion, and that long spine of climate buttons down the center console is a love-it-or-hate-it flourish, but the materials, the available leather, and the build quality finally match the way the car moves. Two seats, a frunk up front and a trunk out back, and just enough room for a weekend away. This is a Corvette you can actually live with.

Chevrolet

For a mid-engine exotic on paper, the C8 is reassuringly sane to own. RepairPal scores it 3 out of 5 with average annual repair costs around $737, and J.D. Power owners rate recent cars in the low-to-mid 80s out of 100. Early 2020 builds had transmission-pan leaks and the odd infotainment glitch, both largely sorted from the 2021 model year on. Buy a post-2021 example and the worry list is short.

Starting around $70,000, it loses just 18.7 percent over five years, less than half the Taycan’s rate, and clean examples still command strong money. The badge says Chevy. The resale value says something far more expensive.

2

Toyota GR86

Five-Year Depreciation: 14-Percent

Toyota

The GR86 runs a 2.4-liter flat-four good for 228 horsepower and 184 pound-feet, sends every bit of it to the rear wheels through a short-throw six-speed manual, and tips the scales at a featherweight 2,811 pounds. That is enough for a zero to 60 mph run in the low five-second range and a grin that never quite fades.

Inside, it is all business in the best way. An eight-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a configurable digital gauge cluster that reshuffles itself in track mode, and a pair of snug front seats that pin you exactly where you want to be. The rear seats are a polite fiction and the materials are honest rather than plush, but nothing in here pulls your attention off the drive. That is the whole idea.

Toyota

The FA24 boxer is a dependable daily companion, with one caveat: a handful of owners have reported engine trouble under sustained hard track use, traced to oil starvation rather than any street-driving flaw. A cheap, one-time oil-pickup inspection settles most of those nerves, and Toyota has stood behind the cars under warranty. Treat it as a road car, which is what the vast majority are, and it will run happily for years.

The 2026 GR86 starts around $31,400 and gives back roughly three-quarters of that after five years. For the cheapest real sports car here, that is a quietly remarkable trick. The Taycan should be so lucky.

1

Porsche 718 Cayman

Five-Year Depreciation: 9.6-Percent

Porsche

And the winner is a Porsche. Of course it is. The 718 Cayman is the single best value-retaining vehicle in America right now, full stop, losing just 9.6 percent over five years against the Taycan’s 47. Same crest, same showroom, two completely opposite outcomes. The base car’s 2.0-liter turbo flat-four makes 300 horsepower, the mid-engine balance is sublime, and zero to 60 mph lands in the four-second range, with the S and GTS turning the wick up considerably from there.

The cabin is classic Porsche: low, focused, and built around the driver with switchgear that feels milled rather than molded. It is less insulated than a plush luxury GT, so road and engine noise filter through, but enthusiasts file that under feedback, not fault. Updated infotainment on later cars tidies up the one genuine weak spot, and the twin trunks, one up front and one out back, make it quietly practical for a two-seater.

Porsche

Porsche build quality does the heavy lifting on reliability, and the 718 is sturdy by sports-car standards. Owners flag the water pump as the main wear item, typically due attention around 30,000 to 40,000 miles, plus the usual direct-injection carbon cleanup further down the line. Annual service runs roughly $800 to $1,200. Look after it, and it stays tight for the long haul, which is precisely why the used market refuses to let these go cheap.

Starting around $73,000, it is the proof sitting in the headline. You can beat a Porsche on resale. You just might have to buy a Porsche to do it.

TopSpeed’s Take

Porsche

Depreciation does not care how good your car is, only how many people want it used. The Taycan is brilliant, and the market still will not pay for it. These five do the opposite. Buy any of them new, drive them hard, and sell without that sinking trade-in feeling. Four of them manage it without the Porsche badge. The fifth proves the badge was never the problem.

Source: OEMs, iSeeCars, RepairPal, J.D. Power