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- A new study from iSeeCars.com ranked car brands by how likely they are to reach 250,000 miles.
- The top four brands were significantly above average, while the remaining 28 brands were below average.
Not all cars are built for long distance driving, but some brands consistently produce long distance cars.
A new study from iSeeCars.com finds that four brands have a firm advantage: Toyota, Lexus, Honda, and Acura. Of course, Lexus is Toyota’s luxury brand, and Acura is Honda’s luxury brand, so there is a connection.
4 brand vehicles are more likely to reach 250,000 miles than the industry average. In fact, Toyota vehicles are 3.7 times more likely than average to reach that milestone, according to the study, which was evaluated based on data from 174 million vehicles. The results cover 32 different brands.
The probability of driving a Toyota vehicle for 250,000 miles is approximately 18%. Compare this to the bottom three brands: Jaguar, Mini and Maserati. Studies have shown that the chances of their vehicles reaching 250,000 miles are essentially zero. That doesn’t mean those cars can’t achieve that much mileage, it just doesn’t record that potential in the data, and of course it also means that it’s still a feat even for Toyota.
Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars, said the findings aren’t necessarily surprising, but they may be more extreme than expected.
He likened the impact of the four high-performing brands to smart kids at school falling off the bell curve.
“It’s strange when you consider that there are 32 brands and only four of them are above average and 28 are below average,” he said.
The survey demonstrated the reputation for reliability that Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda have enjoyed for years. For example, it’s fine to find links online to articles that discuss why Toyota cars are so reliable.
Brauer noted that while these companies are not perfect, they are focused on engineering excellence.
“They designed it well from the beginning, and they built it well after it was designed,” he said of both companies’ vehicles.
Fans of American automakers can probably take some comfort in knowing that GMC, Tesla, Chevrolet, and Cadillac fared best among the remaining brands surveyed.
Brauer said GMC and Chevrolet make sense because they produce trucks and large SUVs that will likely be used frequently. Teslas, and perhaps other electric vehicles, should also have better reliability because they have fewer parts that can fail, he noted.
A car that can maintain high mileage provides an important value increase in the era of expensive new cars. The average transaction price for a new car in August reached $49,077, up from $48,841 in July, according to Kelley Blue Book.
Ranking method
According to new research from iSeeCars.com, here’s a ranked list of brands whose vehicles are most likely to reach 250,000 miles. The top four were above average.
- toyota
- lexus
- honda
- acura
- GMC
- tesla
- chevrolet
- Cadillac
- mazda
- rum
- lincoln
- ford
- dodge
- nissan
- Subaru
- volvo
- infinity
- mercedes benz
- jeep
- mitsubishi
- anytime
- hyundai
- buick
- porsche
- chrysler
- BMW
- volkswagen
- audi
- land rover
- jaguar
- mini
- maserati
Eric D. Lawrence is senior auto culture reporter for the Detroit Free Press. If you have any tips or suggestions, please contact us at elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.
