Automotive Blog

If you’re old enough, you probably remember the cars from the late 70s and early 80s that weren’t good for much more than 120,000 miles before they started to develop real problems and were junkyard bound. Today, thanks to improvements in design, metallurgy, manufacturing techniques and machining, those days are over and it’s not at all unusual to see vehicles with well over 200,000 miles on the odometer and still running strong.

Here’s a quick rundown of some vehicles to consider which have a track record of being good for 250k miles or more:

• Toyota Corolla: Probably not a surprise to fans of Toyotas, the simple, no-frills Corolla hasn’t changed much since the early 00s…but Toyota’s approach to the tried-and-true Corolla is, “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?” The Corolla has a reputation for just soldiering on down the road with little need for anything more than routine maintenance.
• Honda Civic: The Honda counterpart to the Corolla, Civics offers sedan, coupe, hybrid and sporty Civic Si models, all with a reputation for great longevity and driver satisfaction.
• Subaru Outback: Is it a wagon? A crossover? Who cares, the AWD Outback is a strong runner, and the majority of the Outbacks ever made since the 90s are still on the road today.
• Acura TL: This midsize entry from Honda’s luxury brand can easily put in 200,000 miles or more with the right maintenance, and is available in front-wheel-drive or AWD editions.
• Ford Crown Victoria: True, the Crown Vic hasn’t been made for a few years, but it relies on simple, old-school technology like a pushrod V8, body-on-frame construction and a lack of high-tech cabin accessories. The result is a car that police departments would run to 130,000 miles, then taxi services would buy them and drive them for 250,000 miles more. The same goes for the Vic’s stablemates, the Lincoln Town Car and Mercury Grand Marquis.
• Ford Taurus: Comfortable, spacious and reliable, the new generation of Ford Taurus can easily make it past the 200,000 mile mark with many more good miles left in it.
• Dodge Grand Caravan:Not sexy or flashy, the Grand Caravan offers dependable, practical and comfortable transportation. Earlier generations of the Grand Caravan were prone to transmission problems, but later GC’s have a reputation for easily putting in a quarter-million miles or more.
• Nissan Altima: The Altima’s been around for over 20 years, in a few different iterations, but it’s still the same comfortable, reliable Nissan it’s always been, with the same reputation for quality and long service life.