These 10 vehicles have the best potential lifespan

New cars are getting more and more expensive. But they’re also more durable than before, giving riders a better chance of getting their money’s worth.

As the median transaction price for new cars hit an estimated $45,872 in November — the highest ever, according to a joint forecast by JD Power and LMC Automotive — the median age of cars on the road also hit an all-time high of 12.2 years, and 2022 became a separate Report found by IHS Markit.

A decade ago, the median age was just over 11 years. In 2002 it was 9.6 years.

Advances in everything from materials to technology have helped, according to Edmunds news editor Will Kaufman, “and it doesn’t hurt that today’s vehicles have better ways of alerting owners when there are maintenance issues.”

10 cars with the greatest potential lifespan

Among the models with the greatest potential lifespan, the Toyota Sequoia topped the list with a range of nearly 300,000 miles, followed by the Land Cruiser, according to a recent iSeeCars study that analyzed more than 2 million cars over the past 20 years See, which vehicles could last the longest.

Overall, SUVs and trucks are the most common vehicle types in the top 10, while more fuel-efficient passenger cars, including the Prius and Avalon, took two spots on the list.

“Buyers really value reliability, and automakers are definitely sensitive to how badly a reputation for reliability — or unreliability — can impact their brand,” Kaufman said.

Six of the top 10 were Toyota SUVs, trucks or cars. Other contenders in the top five include the Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon, both three-row SUVs.

Every car and truck on the list can clock up nearly a quarter million miles or more, the report says.

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As a general rule of thumb, most drivers consider the 200,000-mile mark to be the upper limit of a car’s lifespan, although some models clearly have the potential to go much further.

Limited supply of new cars and trucks due to ongoing chip shortages has prompted consumers to use their existing vehicles longer, according to IHS Markit, which tracks vehicle registrations in every state.

At the same time, millions of people who previously commuted to work are driving fewer miles in their cars while working from home, further extending the life of their vehicles.

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