Most Reliable Cars: The Final Four

Photo byDarrien StatononUnsplash

Okay, here are the final four most reliable cars ever built (according to what I was able to find). If you read the first two articles I wrote you already know Japanese cars rank high on this list. If you haven't read those articles yet, well here is your chance.

Long Lasting Cars Toyota

Long Lasting Cars: article one

No surprise then that the final four on the list are mostly Japanese as well. And one more by way of Scandinavia, they build cars like the Vikings used to build ships I guess.

2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata

Poor Mazda, their glory days in the US have slipped so far down that Mazda doesn't even make cars for the US anymore. And even when they were at the top of their game in the US a lot of people disliked the Mazda Miata. Love them or hate them though, if you want a sporty little two seater that will go for 300K miles or more the Miata can get the job done. The 2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata in the video went for over 375K miles and is still going in fact. If I was in the market for a fun weekend cruiser that would run forever I might very well choose a Mazda Miata.

2010 Mitsubishi Lancer

Mitsubishi is another Japanese car company whose reputation has been somewhat tarnished not only in the US but Japan as well. At one time Mitsubishi was right up there with Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Subaru, but not these days. So, I was just as surprised to see them on this list as I was when I saw the Mazda Miata. Apparently, the Mitsubishi Lancer from 2008 on still has a great rep for reliability. 250K miles is pretty common.

Sounds good, but to be honest when I hear Mitsubishi Lancer this is the first thing that comes to mind for me. I'm sure they didn't go 250K miles, but they sure look and sound cool and I bet they were a lot more fun to drive.

2008-2012 Honda Accord

I assume when you do research into which year was the most reliable year for a car and everything basically says, "Any of these years will do." you can assume that the car is very reliable. No surprise then that both the Honda Civic and Honda Accord are on the top ten most reliable cars ever made list. In fact, 250K miles is essentially expected for a properly maintained Honda Accord with 400K miles or more not being unheard of. Another boring pick? Sure, but again I think for a 250K mile plus car I'd be more than happy with boring if it were my daily driver.

Volvo 900 (series)

If Swedish Vikings drove cars would they drive Volvos? Probably not unless they wanted to drive some of the most reliable cars ever made.

In my first article, I mentioned Irv Gordon's 1965 Volvo P1800 that went for over 3 million miles. The 900 series cars might not run for that many miles, but they are still an entire series of cars from 1990-1998 that will run for more than 300K with regular maintenance. Like the Honda Civic, Accord, and Toyota Camry mentioned early and in my previous articles, there is nothing sporty, flashy, or cool about these Volvos. They aren't exactly stylish either, but they can be somewhat luxurious with the right options. They are also rated as the safest brand of cars built. And they can be had for under $10K now, so not bad at all for a car that will last for at least 300K miles.

So that ends my little series of the most reliable cars ever made. I also wrote an article about three of the worst cars ever made. I will eventually write two more articles listing the seven other worst cars ever made in the near future. Hope you enjoyed this one.