10 Vehicles That Can Last Past 200,000 Miles

2015_Accord_Hybrid_Touring_022.jpg
Source: Honda

Everyone wants a car with a reputation to last forever, or at least something close to it. To help in the fight, the folks at iSeeCars.com looked at 12 million cars, ranging from model years 1981 through 2016, to see how many had 200,000 miles or more on them at the time of resale in 2015. Using this system, they were able to determine which models had the most editions currently on the road.

The only thing we know about these models is the number on the odometer. We don’t know how much they cost to fuel, how many repairs were required, or how many times they got on their owners’ nerves. However, having the highest percentages of long-lasting models on the road tells us they were doing something right. Here are the 10 cars with the most models that covered 200,000 miles or more.

Note: Wherever possible, we pulled a classic image from the archives to give you a look at the likeliest look of survivors on the road. Otherwise, pics from a recent model year were used. Per the iSeeCars study, minivans were classified as cars, and cars that sold fewer than 10,000 units in 2015 were excluded.

10. Nissan Quest

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Source: Nissan

The Nissan Quest may not be a household name or be on the road in force, but whatever sold in America has had staying power. (Quest sales peaked at 46,430 in 2004 and plummeted below 10,000 in 2014.) At least we can be sure more than 10,000 models changed hands on the resale market in 2015, and 1.3% featured a number higher than 200,000 on the odometer. These vans last.

9. Chevrolet Impala

2014-Impala.jpg
Source: Chevrolet

From its epic 1950s debut to the swinging ’60s coupes and the regrettable ’80s eyesores, the Chevy Impala has had quite a history. As unremarkable as the models of the past 35 years have been, they have been among those lasting longest among passenger cars, with 1.3% of those covering over 200,000 miles wearing the Impala badge. We’re guessing rental fleets here.

8. Subaru Legacy

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Source: Subaru

Subaru customers are a loyal bunch, so we wonder how many hit 200,000-mile counts in the same ride. Whatever the number, 1.4% of the longest-lasting models changing hands last year were Legacys. This car peaked in popularity in the early 2000s, so were guessing the lion’s share of ones iSeeCars counted are about 10 years old.

7. Toyota Sienna

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Source: Toyota

Last year, the Sienna minivan had its best sales year (137,497) since the segment’s heyday in the mid-2000s. There is a usefulness of these vehicles that appeals so strongly to multi-child families, and we expect a great deal of shuttling to soccer practices took place in the Siennas on America’s roads. Among those cars sporting at least 200,000 miles, Sienna made up 1.4% of the lot.

6. Honda Civic

2004 Honda Civic Hybrid.
Source: Honda

The Honda Civic is something of American icon, despite its badge and automaker home country. Now in its 10th generation, there is a remarkable number of these cars on the road sporting 200,000 miles or more — equal to 1.6% of those that changed hands last year. While we guess the majority are four-door models like the one pictured, many Civic coupes are undoubtedly on the road with them.

5. Toyota Camry

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Source: Toyota

Camry has been America’s best-selling car for years, and it turns out these cars have staying power. Some 1.6% of all the cars reading 200,000 on the odometer that sold last year were Toyota’s midsize sedan. Even as talk of the sedan’s demise rattles around the auto industry, Camry keeps plugging away, barely falling off its pace of recent years.

4. Ford Taurus

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Source: Ford

Talk about cars that have been around forever: The Ford Taurus made its historic debut in 1985 and was a powerhouse until the end of its fourth-generation run (2007). In the later part of that span, it became a favorite of police departments and rental car fleets, which is where many of these long-lasting models (1.8% of those with 200,000 miles) covered so much ground. 

3. Honda Odyssey

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Source: Honda

The iSeeCars research would seem to point to minivans’ enduring value for young families, and the Honda Odyssey is the most durable of the bunch that sold last year. Some 2.2% changing hands already covered 200,000 miles on their lives and were gearing up for more. Nothing changed since the last time the numbers were ran. Odyssey was in third place for 2014, too.

2. Honda Accord

honda accord 2011
Source: Honda

Honda’s three cars in the statistical top five can serve as shorthand for the brand’s popularity in America. Lasting forever has a way of winning over friends and neighbors of Honda owners, who never see them disappear from the driveways once they arrive. In 2015, 2.3% of the cars that sold with 200,000 miles or more on them were Accords.

1. Toyota Avalon

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Source: Toyota

Like Honda, Toyota claimed three of the top 10 cars when it comes to 200,000-mile lifespans, and the full-size Avalon tops the list with 2.7% of the share. This model has a lot in common with the minivans on the list, specifically its size and role as a family mover. The Avalon is also a staple of rental fleets, but with the right amount of care, this car will easily be a mainstay in the family for a decade.

Source: iSeeCars