Consumer Reports: Best cars for making it to 200,000 miles - Top 10 all Toyota & Honda, Prius #1

Can't go wrong with a Toyota or Honda, with that being said, I am very suprised Subaru is not on this list. I have owned 4 over the years and all have been trouble free. I would recommend a Subaru to anyone looking for a vehicle.

 

Nice!

I also own a 2003 Pilot that continues to be rock-solid, which is also listed.

 

So the stereotype that Toyota and Honda cars are reliable continues to hold true.

Not that it's a bad thing though; I'd much rather have a "boring" car that's not going to need constant repairs. And in the case of the Prius, great gas mileage to help insulate against high gas prices, not to mention it's hatchback utility is really useful when I need to haul stuff around on rare occasions.

I think I might do a camping trip with mine at some point too after having read posts here of other owners doing it. I'm only 5' 4", so I should be able to sleep in the back of it. Charging electronics such as a phone and tablet should be easy with the prius. And that awesome mpg will reduce the need for hunting for a gas station.

 

Missed that article, good catch!
I'd feel better about it if CR would drop their nutty 44 MPG data quote based on thier apparently faulty MPG test protocol. Fuelly shows about 47 MPG for GEN3 so that's what CR should quote.

 

Who knew! And to think that there is not one Honda sold in the US that is built in Japan as of 2015! Way to go Honda of America and Honda of Canada. Now let's see how the FIT will do, as the 2015 is being built in Mexico.

 

^^^
CR is "Preaching to the choir" here!

Now that I drive a Prius for about 7 months, I wonder how CR manage to obtain these numbers;
Toyota Prius Four
32/city
55/highway
44/combined
Most Fuel Efficient Cars - Consumer Reports

 

does suburu go 200k relatively trouble free? i think not, great cars though they are.

 

Relatively trouble free? Sure. I have taken mine over 100,000 miles with just routine maintenance. On many websites, owners have gone 200K and 300k on them. The boxer motor is 35 plus years old and has changed very little. The motor is being used by Toyota in the Scion FRS. Their AWD system is bullet proof. Manual transmission last forever, automatics not so much, but will go the distance if fluids are changed on time.

The only complaint would be the major service costs can be expensive and are due every 30,000 miles.

 

i'm thinking 100,000+ is when c/r starts hearing more complaints than toy or honda, but there's nothing scientific about their survey's.

 

From other Subby owners, they seem to worry about blown head gasket.

 

Then you are lucky. 2003 has the worst failure rate of the 5 speed automatic transmission.

You remember the letter from Honda with extending your transmission warranty?

 

Maybe I'm just a product of the times I grew up in.
But in the 70's and 80's if you were looking at a small car or hatchback, Toyota and Honda (Volkswagen with The Rabbit) were way ahead of most American offerings in terms of long term quality and reliability.

I personally think the bar has been raised throughout the industry. I wouldn't hesitate to look at or consider an offering from almost any major manufacturer.

But I still remember some of the really poor offerings in the small car range in the 80's.

Even though I'm not convinced it's as necessary today, I still feel more comfortable looking at Honda's and Toyota's. That was a big reason I purchased my Honda Fit. I could of got a similar looking product for less but despite the claims of higher quality, flashbacks to "Ford Aspires" and early Hyundai products that were horrible, made spending extra money seem worth it to me.

 

It feels good to have 2 of the top 10, the Prius and my wife's Honda Accord 4-cylinder.

My wife's Accord has 104,000 trouble-free miles and my Prius has 94,000. My plans are to see 200,000 miles on both as long as they remain trouble-free.

 

Poor ol' Art Spinella - assuring us the Hummer is more environmentally efficient/friendly than the (now extinct) Hummer;

Hybrid vs. Hummer: Which is greener? | Gaiam Life

 

spinella pegs the prius life at 100,000 miles, and hummer at 300,000.

 

It is a mistake to infer reliability from absolute numbers.
They should have normalized the denominator.

As in ... Per thousand cars of each model ...

 

As opposed to Toyota where my 30k service cost a mere $539.

 

actually, toyota's 30,000 mile service recommendation, is minor, with air and cabin filter check/replace. should run around $100. -$150. you got the dealer special, which is of much greater value.