New list of longest-running cars puts iconic darling at the bottom

A new list of the longest-lasting cars has four Japanese models at the top — and a stylish little runabout at the bottom.

Mini’s models were given a 0% chance of reaching 250,000 miles in the analysis released this week by the car-shopping search company iSeeCars. The brand was joined at the bottom by Jaguar and Maserati; just above them were Fiat (0.2%) and Porsche (0.3%).

In the overall rankings — lumping together luxury and non-luxury brands, but excluding heavy-duty vehicles — the overall average was a 5.4% chance of making the 250K benchmark.  The top brands were Toyota (19.7%), Lexus (14.4%), Honda (13.3%), Acura (9.5%) and GMC (5.8%).

iSeeCars said it analyzed odometer data for more than 395 million cars. To determine rankings, it averaged the odds of reaching 250,000 for models across each brand’s lineup.

Mini made a splash after BMW acquired the longtime British brand and introduced a new generation of vehicles starting in 2001. It was Top Gear’s car of the year in its debut season and the North American Car of the Year two years later. A star turn in the 2003 remake of “The Italian Job” burnished its reputation. Two decades later, a robust community of enthusiasts arranges events around driving and styling their Minis.

iSeeCars’ top 5 lists for subcategories:

Non-luxury (average 5.8%)

1. Toyota (19.7%)
2. Honda (13.3%)
3. GMC (5.8%)
4. Mazda (5.3%)
5. Ram (4.2%)

Luxury (average 3.4%)

1. Lexus (14.4%)
2. Acura (9.5%)
3. Lincoln (4.7%)
4. Cadillac (3.9%)
5. Tesla (3.3%)

Full lists at iSeeCars.com.