Cars and Drivers

Cars, SUVs and Pickups That Last for 200,000 Miles

Paul Ausick

Published: March 7, 2019 1:45 pm

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 10:22 am

An average American drives nearly 13,500 miles a year. At that rate, a new vehicle would reach 200,000 miles in about 14.8 years. The average length of new-vehicle ownership is about 6.6 years, and the average age of a car on U.S. roads is currently about 11.5 years.

That means that not a lot of vehicles make it to 200,000 miles, and a new study from auto research firm iSeeCars.com puts percentages on that observation. Just 0.6% of passenger cars, 0.9% of sport utility vehicles and 1.8% of pickup trucks manage to pile up 200,000 miles on the odometer. The overall average for all vehicles is just 0.8%.

The vehicle with the highest percentage chance of making it through 200,000 miles of driving is Toyota’s Sequoia full-size SUV. According to the data, 7.4% of these vehicles have passed the 200,000-mile mark. Tied in second place are the Chevy Suburban and the Ford Expedition, both also full-size SUVs and, like the Sequoia, also built on pickup truck frames.

Phong Ly, CEO of iSeeCars, noted, “Full-size SUVs … are built on truck platforms so they have the durability of a truck and the cargo space for up to eight passengers.”

Full-size SUVs likely last longer than their pickup cousins because they are not often used as work vehicles that are driven hard over just a few years time. The downside to these big haulers is their low fuel-economy rating.

Here are the 14 vehicles iSeeCars found last the longest, listed in order of the percentage of vehicles making it to 200,000 miles. Only two, the Toyota Avalon sedan and the Honda Odyssey minivan are not built on pickup truck frames.

1. Toyota Sequoia: 7.4%
2. Chevy Suburban: 5.0%
3. Ford Expedition: 5.0%
4. GMC Yukon XL: 4.0%
5. Toyota 4Runner: 3.9%
6. Chevy Tahoe: 3.8%
7. Toyota Highlander Hybrid: 3.1%
8. Honda Ridgeline: 3.0%
9. GMC Yukon: 2.8%
10. Toyota Tacoma: 2.6%
11. Toyota Tundra: 2.6%
12. Toyota Avalon: 2.5%
13. Honda Odyssey: 2.5%
14. Lincoln Navigator: 2.2%

In addition to the nine SUVs on the overall list, iSeeCars found six more, including the midsize Honda Pilot, Acura MDX, Dodge Durango and Toyota Highlander. The full-size Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV round out the 15 SUVs on the list.

Toyota’s Tundra (2.6% make it to 200,000 miles) leads the Chevy Silverado (1.9%) and Ford F-150 (1.8%) in the full-size pickup category. Including the Honda Ridgeline and Toyota Tacoma midsize trucks, these are the only pickups to meet or exceed category score of 1.8% of trucks that last for 200,000 miles.

More details and the methodology are available at the iSeeCars website.