It’s a question we often get asked – especially in relation to electric cars, as buyers and potential buyers profess concerns about battery life. The question is also something of an odd one, as few buyers will keep their cars for more than three-to-five years anyway, and even those who hang on to their wheels are usually all done after 10-12 years, after which the cars they pass on will – usually – have at least some life left in them.
It used to be that 100,000 miles, or 160,000km once we all changed our mental and physical odometers in the early 2000s, was considered to be the cut-off point. Up to that, a car seemed to have some service still to do. After that, it was on borrowed time. Increasing improvements in manufacturing and metallurgy in the 1990s and 2000s moved that dial, but how far? If you buy a new car today, how long will it actually, really last?
A survey in the US, carried out by iSeeCars, a vehicle shopping and research website, has found that 250,000 miles – or 400,000km – seems to represent some kind of ceiling. Which is not to say that any or all cars will last that long. Indeed, according to iSeeCars’ research, on average slightly fewer than nine out of every 100 cars will reach that kind of mileage.
This is US data, so the overall charts are dominated by pickup trucks, which being (a) commercial vehicles and (b) generally mechanically and electronically simpler than passenger cars arguably have a better chance of reaching a mega-mileage. iSeeCars’ data shows that the Toyota Tundra pickup has the best chance – 36 per cent – of reaching that huge 400,000km figure. That’s enough to drive from here to the moon.
There are some cars in iSeeCars’ list that are sold on this side of the Atlantic, and they offer Irish buyers at least a clue as to which is the best way to turn if ultimate longevity sits at the top of your list of requirements. The simple advice is, perhaps unsurprisingly: buy Japanese.
Japanese brands gave the European and American grandees such a harsh lesson in vehicle reliability back in the 1970s and 1980s, and that advantage has not been lost, according to these numbers.
In the overall list of cars and trucks most-likely to reach 400,000km, Toyota dominates, and the models that are sold in Europe and Ireland include the Toyota Highlander Hybrid (a 25.9 per cent chance); the Honda CR-V (a 13.9 per cent chance); the Toyota Camry (13.5 per cent); and the Toyota Prius (12.6 per cent – a figure that speaks volumes about the relative reliability and longevity of batteries).
In terms of individual brands, again it’s Toyota at the top, with an overall 17 per cent chance of any of its cars reaching the 400,000km figure, followed by Honda on 13.6 per cent. Those brands are in front of US-market-only truck makers Ram and GMC, with US-only car brand Chevrolet in fifth place on 10.5 per cent. Lexus is in sixth place on a surprisingly low 9.7 per cent, only fractionally ahead of Ford in seventh place on 9.5 per cent – a figure doubtless bolstered by all those long-lived American market pick-ups.
ISeeCars also published lists focusing on passenger models. Of the SUVs it surveyed, and of those available on this side of the pond, again the Toyota Highlander Hybrid and the Honda CR-V scored well, as did the Toyota RAV4 (9.6 per cent) and the Subaru Outback (8.4 per cent). There was also a separate list for sedans or saloons and hatchbacks, as we might prefer, and of those we have a chance to buy the Toyota Camry and Toyota Prius, as well as the Lexus ES (10.6 per cent); the Toyota Corolla (7.8 per cent); and the Honda Civic (7.2 per cent).
“Modern vehicles are getting more durable, with 30 models offering a 12-36 per cent chance of reaching a quarter million miles,” said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. “Many consumers still consider a car’s usable lifespan to end at 100,000 miles. But our latest longest-lasting study confirms that even 200,000 miles isn’t the end of the line for many cars. The top nine cars on this year’s list have a better than 20 per cent chance of hitting 250,000 miles.
“The longevity of today’s cars reflects the increasing engineering and build quality across all automakers,” says Brauer. “Buyers may be facing the highest purchase prices in history, but they are also getting the most durable and longest-lasting cars ever sold.”
