If you're looking for vehicle that will last a decade or more, The Toyota Highlander Hybrid seems to be the top choice.
There are enough commercials on television right now to make one think that buying a new car, truck or minivan is the only acceptable Christmas gift-giving option this season.
While new vehicle sales are at near record levels, another record that seems to get pushed by the wayside is the fact that the average age for a car on U.S. roads is 11.6 years: a record high, according to IHS Markit.
If you’re looking to take advantage of an end-of-the-year deal on new vehicle, but you also want this vehicle to break the current high-water mark for longevity, you want to buy a Toyota Highlander Hybrid, says iSeeCars.com.
SUVs and minivans dominate the list of owner favorites, says the website, which includes three hybrids: the first-ranked Toyota Highlander Hybrid, second-ranked Toyota Prius and ninth-ranked Lexus RX.
After analyzing more than 2.5 million cars from the 1981-2006 model years sold in 2016, iSeeCars.com found 10 models were at least 1.9 times more likely than average to be held onto by the original owners for 10 years or more.
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Prius owners are more likely than almost any group to keep their vehicles longer than 10 years.
The list includes five Toyotas, three Hondas, one Lexus and one Subaru. In addition to the model, the list also includes the percentage of owners keeping the vehicle longer than 10 years:
- Toyota Highlander Hybrid (32.1%)
- Toyota Prius (32%)
- Toyota Highlander (29%)
- Toyota Sienna (28.7%)
- Honda Pilot (27.2%)
- Honda CR-V (25.2%)
- Toyota RAV-4 (24.9%)
- Subaru Forester (24.2%)
- Lexus RX Hybrid (24.1%)
- Honda Odyssey (24%)
“The top 10 cars that people hold onto are all from Japanese automakers, which isn’t surprising since they have a reputation for reliability. But the makeup of the cars is unexpected,” said Phong Ly, iSeeCars.com CEO in a statement.
In addition to being Japanese, nine of the top 10 cars are SUVs and minivans.
“These kinds of cars tend to be used as family cars, so they might be expected to be kept for many years if they’re bought just as their owners start their new families,” said Ly.
(To see more about U.S. new vehicle sales expectations falling for 2017, Click Here.)
Equally surprising is seeing two hybrid vehicles in the top 5, with three hybrids overall in the top 10. Despite common anxieties about the durability of the car batteries, owners hold onto these cars for a long time.
Also absent from the list despite a reputation for being tough are full-size pickups. The percentage of initial owners for the three most popular pickup trucks were close to or below average.
“Trucks are often used as heavy-work vehicles, such as for construction, and are driven much more than a typical passenger car. So they may need to be replaced earlier,” said Ly.
If you’re just looking for a brand, look across the Pacific Ocean, the site says. Seven of the top 10 brands overall are Japanese, including the top four. Korean brands Hyundai and Kia also made the list, coming in at fifth and seventh.
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GMC is the only domestic brand in the top 10, but the percentage of initial owners keeping their cars for a decade or more is barely better than the average.