Ford F-350 tops list of vehicles most likely to reach 250K miles

The Ford F-350 Super Duty was iSeeCars' most durable model with 49.1% chance of reaching 250,000-plus miles.
The Ford F-350 Super Duty was iSeeCars' most durable model with 49.1% chance of reaching 250,000-plus miles.

If when you roll off a dealership lot your goal is to hit at least a quarter of a million miles, Ford's F-350 Super Duty is the odds-on favorite to get you there, according to a report compiled by iSeeCars. 

The average vehicle has only an 11.8% chance of lasting 250,000 miles, according to iSeeCars, but with a 49.1% chance of hitting the 250,000 mile mark, the F-350 Super Duty is not only the highest rated truck on the updated Longest-Lasting Cars Study, it's also the highest rated vehicle on a list dominated by pickups. In all, pickups take six of the top 10 spots.

iSeeCars.com Executive Analyst Karl Brauer noted that vehicle lifespan continues to grow with more than 20 cars now having a 20% chance or better to last at least a quarter million miles. “For most of the automobile’s history, 100,000 miles was considered the maximum usable lifespan," he said. "Over the past 30 years we’ve watched an increasing number of cars reach 200,000-plus miles..."

While two Super Duty models cracked the top 10, Toyota is the top-ranked brand with the most vehicles on the longest-lasting list, which includes SUVs, vans and passenger cars. Heavy duty trucks, however, are the most common vehicle type to reach 250,000 miles. 

Aiding in their longevity is that heavy trucks, like Super Duty and Chevrolet's and GMC's HD models, are most often business tools, "purchased by businesses to serve as a key resource driving a company’s success," Brauer said. Also helpful are diesel engines available in these models. 

"Heavy duty pickups are indeed worked very hard by their typical customer, but they are also designed for exactly that kind of work," Brauer said. "The profit margin on these trucks is high enough to justify extensive engineering work to ensure their durability, along with plenty of post-purchase support in the form of dealer warranties and service to keep the vehicles going. An example of the engineering effort to make these trucks last is the availability of diesel engines in every heavy duty truck. Diesel engines are far more robust and durable in their design than a traditional gasoline engine -- exactly why they are a big part of the heavy duty truck market."

The average truck has a 25.9% chance of making it to 250,000-plus miles, with nine models above that average, according to iSeeCars. Most of the above-average trucks are heavy duty models, but the Toyota Tundra, Toyota Tacoma, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, and Chevrolet Avalanche also have a better-than-average chance of reaching 250,000 miles.

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