What is the definition of true quality and reliability?
Listening to many of our readers, it all seems to be about what happens in the first three years of ownership. While that is an important factor, most of us are only concerned about the reliability and construction of the vehicle during the short tenure in our care. A very short time frame. But what happens after that?
Shouldn’t the true quality be also based on the longevity of the vehicle in years and or miles before it is sent to the scrap yard? Listening to some of you, one might think some marques could barely drive off of the lot before it starts shedding parts. But in a research paper published by CNW, a private think tank, just over a year ago the real truth may be nestled deep in the facts.
CNW’s “Dust to Dust” report gained notoriety at first by exposing the total energy footprint of hundreds of vehicles and exposed the true cost of energy expended from inception to demise. The most controversial point was that a Hummer due to its longevity was far better for the environment than a Prius over the full course of manufacture to demise. Interestingly enough to this date, no study has yet proven this conclusion contrary.
But after blowing the dust off of the report recently I noted a detailed analysis sitting right there, of specific vehicle life expectancies and total mileage before retirement. Hmm, how did I miss this? What a better way to gauge “true quality” then as to how long a vehicle typically lasts before it is scrapped. This means that quality of engineering and materials are tested to the absolute end and a true point of no return has been reached.
I bet you guys can’t wait to see the details but before we get to the statistics, a few parameters must be laid down:
1. These are general averages. Many consumers exceed these figures but many also do not.
2. Mileage is based on historical data as well as manufacturer information and real-world life-cycle information that average the miles over comparable historic models as well as a CNW analysis of repair and replacement as well as scrappage records. In effect, the miles figure here is a realistic approximation of the likely life-cycle of the individual models over the course of the life time.
3. Assumption of overall reliability of a brand can not be reached using these figures. You can’t average averages to gain anything meaningful.
4. No one can assume the amount of repairs needed to maintain any of these vehicles, but one may assume that if the costs were too great then the vehicle would be scrapped.
Overall Life Expectancy
Years Miles Vehicle
25.80 241,000 Volkswagen Phaeton
20.63 202,000 Audi allroad quattro
19.85 256,000 M-Benz E class
18.44 223,000 Lexus LS 430
18.39 219,000 Lincoln Town Car
18.14 216,000 Cadillac STS
16.33 207,000 BMW 5 Series
16.09 202,000 Volvo 80 series
15.50 203,000 Cadillac DeVille
15.36 201,000 Infiniti Q45
15.35 181,000 Lexus GS 430
14.72 189,000 Audi A6
14.53 190,000 Cadillac DTS
13.85 165,000 Jaguar S-Type
13.04 164,000 Acura RL
12.30 162,000 Cadillac Seville
12.08 143,000 BMW M3
10.80 126,000 Infiniti M45
10.31 131,000 Lexus GS 300
15.87 190,579 Total Luxury Car
14.79 185,000 Volvo 70 series
14.63 179,000 Mercury Zephyr
14.18 176,000 BMW 330
13.95 172,000 Lexus ES 330
13.93 182,000 Acura CL
13.69 169,000 Jaguar X-Type
13.47 171,000 Acura TL
13.44 171,000 M-Benz C class
13.42 179,000 Buick Park Avenue
13.31 171,000 BMW 325
13.11 162,000 Lexus IS 300
13.06 172,000 Infiniti G35
12.23 160,000 Cadillac CTS
12.05 162,000 Saab 9-5
12.04 156,000 Lincoln LS
11.99 161,000 Volvo 60 series
13.33 170,500 Total Near Luxury Cars
21.94 251,000 M-Benz S class
19.12 214,000 Audi A8
17.44 201,000 BMW 7 Series
13.89 162,000 Jaguar XJ
13.85 162,000 Maserati Maserati
17.25 198,000 Total Premium Cars
15.52 188,000 Infiniti I30/I35
15.05 193,000 Nissan Maxima
14.94 183,000 Dodge Magnum
14.36 182,000 Saab 9-3
14.30 192,000 Volkswagen Passat
13.80 192,000 Chrysler 300/300M
13.61 169,000 Acura TSX
13.20 172,000 Dodge Charger
12.86 162,000 Volvo 40 series
12.76 171,000 Audi S4
12.61 171,000 Saab 9-2
12.43 152,000 Buick Regal
12.39 151,000 Mitsubishi Diamante
12.32 172,000 Ford Five Hundred
12.10 165,000 Buick LaCrosse
12.10 169,000 Audi A4
11.35 152,000 Mercury Montego
10.00 136,000 Mazda Millenia
13.09 170,667 Total Premium Mid-Range
21.91 237,000 M-Benz CLS class
16.85 191,000 M-Benz CLK class
16.82 171,000 Ford Thunderbird
15.42 177,000 BMW Z8
13.85 162,000 Chevrolet Corvette
13.53 147,000 BMW Z4
13.28 159,000 M-Benz SLK class
13.25 157,000 Porsche Boxster
12.37 141,000 Audi TT
10.99 131,000 Chrysler Crossfire
14.83 167,300 Total Premium Sporty Cars
34.96 379,000 Hummer H1
28.11 301,000 Toyota Land Cruiser
23.15 239,000 Cadillac Escalade
22.83 237,000 M-Benz G class
22.82 234,000 Cadillac Escalade ESV
19.51 213,000 Lexus LX 470
19.19 206,000 Land Rover Range Rvr
18.93 186,000 Volkswagen Touareg
18.44 197,000 Hummer H2
18.14 193,000 Porsche Cayenne
18.00 201,000 Lincoln Navigator
22.19 235,091 Total Premium SUV
15.82 229,000 Volvo XC90
15.15 195,000 Acura MDX
14.39 215,000 M-Benz M class
14.11 192,000 Lexus RX330
13.88 177,000 Infiniti FX45
12.59 166,000 BMW X5
12.54 164,000 M-Benz R class
12.46 173,000 Infiniti FX35
12.26 167,000 BMW X3
11.49 171,000 Cadillac SRX
11.31 156,000 Volvo 50 series
13.27 182,273 Total Premium Sportwagons
24.43 271,000 Bentley Bentley
24.23 273,000 Rolls-Royce All
23.04 257,000 Maybach All
16.33 186,000 Porsche Carrera GT
13.87 156,000 Aston Martin All
10.94 121,000 Lamborghini All
10.59 119,000 Ferrar Ferrari
10.31 116,000 Ford GT
16.72 187,375 Total Ultra Luxury
16.37 222,000 Land Rover LR3
15.34 206,000 Land Rover Range Rover Sport
15.28 207,000 Hummer H3
14.70 203,000 Land Rover Discovery
14.32 202,000 GMC Envoy
13.28 191,000 Lincoln Aviator
12.59 176,000 Buick Rainier
12.53 177,000 Lexus GX 470
12.29 171,000 Mercury Mountaineer
10.81 143,000 Saab 9-7X
10.58 151,000 Infiniti QX4
10.42 147,000 Subaru B9 Tribeca
13.21 183,000 Total Upper Mid-Range SUV
19.55 188,000 M-Benz CL class
18.70 192,000 Acura NSX
17.29 188,000 Jaguar XK
16.06 164,000 Cadillac XLR
15.82 173,000 BMW 6 Series
15.61 164,000 Porsche 911 Carrera
15.56 165,000 M-Benz SC 430
15.16 169,000 M-Benz SL Coupe/Roadster
13.27 151,000 Porsche 911 Carrera 4
11.50 121,000 Lotus Lotus
10.42 118,000 Dodge Viper
15.36 163,000 Total Upper Premium Sportscars
Read Article