Here's the MOST reliable cars for the LEAST money.

[00:00] A new study has just come out detailing

[00:01] the most reliable new cars you can buy

[00:04] for the money. How much money and how

[00:07] little money do you need to spend in

[00:09] order to get yourself into a reliable

[00:12] car? Is it as simple as just buying a

[00:14] Toyota or a Honda or a Subaru or

[00:16] something like that? Well, today we're

[00:18] going to dive into this. If you guys are

[00:19] excited, I haven't even looked at this

[00:21] yet, so I'm excited. I would be hitting

[00:23] the like button. So, please hit the like

[00:25] button. I would appreciate that, guys.

[00:27] It's my first face reveal since getting

[00:30] sick with some sort of flu thing. I hope

[00:32] you guys are all healthy and safe out

[00:35] there. It's also going to be like 30°

[00:39] in Florida. It's going to be snowing in

[00:42] like St. Pete and stuff in Tampa. Like

[00:45] what what is happening? Is the world

[00:48] freezing over? You know, # global

[00:51] warming. You guys know what it's all

[00:53] about. The most reliable new cars for

[00:56] the money. We're over at IC Cars. I'm

[00:58] typically in agreeance with their

[00:59] studies and we're going to find out if I

[01:02] agree with this study today. They have

[01:05] 25 models which combine a low purchase

[01:07] price with a long life span making them

[01:10] a value leader for new car buyers. All

[01:15] right, before we even get into this, let

[01:17] me know which car you are driving, how

[01:20] many miles it has on it, and how much

[01:22] money did you pay or if you remember.

[01:25] So, let's just clear the air here. Uh,

[01:28] on average, a new car costs about 46 to

[01:31] $47,000 and has an 11year lifespan, or

[01:36] about $4,000 for each year of that

[01:39] lifespan. Now, that's very averaged out.

[01:42] IC cars analyze the prices of of about 9

[01:44] million new cars sold in July through

[01:46] December 2025 and odometer readings of

[01:49] over 400 million used cars from its

[01:53] longest lasting car study. and the

[01:55] average list price of each model was

[01:57] compared to its expected lifespan and

[02:00] years to calculate the list price per

[02:02] year. IC cars executive analyst Carl

[02:04] Brower, I've seen him at press events

[02:07] before. He says for buyers looking to

[02:09] maximize their ownership period while

[02:11] minimizing the cost of replacing a

[02:14] vehicle, they've identified which new

[02:16] models offer the longest lifespan at the

[02:18] lowest price. Here we go. Here are the

[02:22] numbers. Let's start with 25. Honda

[02:25] Civic Hybrid. Now, this one's uh this is

[02:30] a completely unknown and the reason is

[02:32] the new Civic Hybrids came out uh what a

[02:37] a year and a half ago. Okay. So, we

[02:40] don't know how reliable this car will be

[02:43] long term. Knowing that it's a Honda,

[02:46] it's going to be probably pretty good.

[02:47] And and hybrids are pretty low

[02:50] maintenance overall. So, it's probably

[02:53] going to be reliable, but I'm not sold

[02:56] on the Honda Civic Hybrid. It just

[02:58] hasn't been out long enough. There has

[03:00] been other generations of a Honda Civic

[03:02] hybrids, but it's those are completely

[03:05] different than the new generation that

[03:08] we have on sale today. All right, but

[03:12] it's I still wouldn't hesitate buying a

[03:14] new Civic Hybrid. I think they're

[03:16] fantastic. Ford Escape. Well, again,

[03:19] here's a vehicle that is cancelled. All

[03:22] right, so I put no stock into it. Nissan

[03:26] Frontier, guys. This the Nissan Frontier

[03:29] has never really deviated much from its

[03:32] triedand-true formula. It has a V6,

[03:35] naturally aspirated. It's a simple

[03:37] truck. This vehicle should last as long

[03:40] as you want it for. Okay, so no surprise

[03:43] that the Nissan Frontier is on the list.

[03:45] Mini hard top four. This was a surprise

[03:48] for me. Minis. Okay, I Here's a Mini

[03:51] story from when I was selling cars. I

[03:53] only sold one Mini uh because I was I

[03:56] didn't work at a Mini dealership, but we

[03:59] had a used Mini and it was a

[04:01] convertible. I've never seen the base

[04:05] aftermarket warranty cost to add onto

[04:07] the car. The cost of it was more than

[04:10] the car itself. I've never seen that

[04:12] before. When you see things like that,

[04:14] that tells me that the car is going to

[04:17] have major problems more than likely.

[04:21] And the insurance companies are

[04:23] protecting themselves. They're saying,

[04:24] "Hey, you're put a lot of money down."

[04:26] It was like $12,000

[04:29] for the lowest amount of warranty. It

[04:32] was unreal. Now, the mini hardtop here,

[04:35] uh, it it it's not a convertible. It

[04:38] probably is going to be more reliable

[04:40] than the convertible, but that's just

[04:43] something to consider. I really

[04:45] struggled to get my head around this

[04:46] being uh top 25 reliable car. Chevy

[04:50] Trailblazer,

[04:52] maybe. Again, there's been different

[04:54] generations of Trailblazers out there.

[04:57] Uh, you know, one mediumsiz. Okay. The

[05:00] newest one's a really small car. The

[05:03] Trailblazer, is that the one built in

[05:05] Korea? If that's the case, then if this

[05:08] is a Yeah, I would not hesitate. I would

[05:11] probably go ahead and say that the

[05:13] Trailblazer is reliable. I think Chevy's

[05:15] made in Korea cars are going to be some

[05:18] of the more reliable models that they

[05:20] make. Another Mini. Take it for what

[05:23] it's worth. Again, the hardtop twodoor

[05:25] and the hard top four-door are

[05:26] essentially the same car just with

[05:28] different door configurations.

[05:31] Nissan Ultima. Everyone likes to crap on

[05:33] the Ultima, but they're everywhere out

[05:36] there. They're cheap. Um, and they run

[05:39] forever with like no maintenance. Okay.

[05:43] Now, is it going to be is going to last

[05:46] longer than an Accord or a Camry? It

[05:49] seems like they do, guys, right? Don't

[05:52] you see them everywhere? They've been

[05:54] beat to a pulp. The Ultima's on the road

[05:57] and they're still running. Nissan Ultima

[06:01] is an unsung hero. Okay. Nissan Rogue.

[06:04] Often the same crowds that drive used

[06:07] Ultimas. It's not that large of a jump

[06:10] for them to also to drive Rogues. Okay.

[06:14] And a Rogue and Ultima has pretty much

[06:16] the same engine, transmission. Ford

[06:18] Ranger. I personally would never buy a

[06:22] Ford Ranger over the Nissan Frontier

[06:24] unless you're talking about like the

[06:26] Ranger Raptor and you want a fun toy.

[06:28] The Nissan Frontier, in my opinion, is

[06:30] going to be a much more reliable, more

[06:33] satisfying vehicle. That's just me. I'm

[06:36] wrong. I don't have the data that I see

[06:39] cars as sifting through. Jeep Compass.

[06:42] The Jeep Compass is Oh. And this thing,

[06:46] these things are so overpriced.

[06:49] I would never Oh my gosh. Look, now

[06:52] they're 26K. I mean, guys, look. You can

[06:55] you can see these things. the 26 model

[06:57] here uh is 23 grand. It's like 8K off of

[07:01] MSRP.

[07:03] All right. So, yeah, maybe if you can

[07:06] get a 8K MSRP that puts it this it would

[07:10] skyrocket it in the list. It's not worth

[07:12] 33K. It's worth like 23K or less. And

[07:16] so, that would make it more more

[07:18] reliable per dollar. So, Jeep Compass

[07:20] here might be uh one of these vehicles

[07:24] that are just dirt cheap. Lexus IS- 350.

[07:28] They're still making it. This is the by

[07:30] far the most expensive vehicle we've

[07:32] seen on the list so far. It's the first

[07:34] luxury vehicle. We know the I it's it's

[07:37] the old 2GRV6

[07:40] naturally aspirated old 8-speed auto or

[07:43] six-speed auto if you get the all-wheel

[07:45] drive. Like these things are

[07:46] indestructible. This is a a baby tank.

[07:49] All right. The Lexus is like they

[07:52] haven't changed it in forever.

[07:55] and it's a good-look car. Toyota Tacoma.

[07:58] Now, keep in mind when they're looking

[07:59] at old Tacomaomas for the data here,

[08:02] that does not mean the new Tacoma that

[08:04] came out 2 years ago uh is going to have

[08:07] the same reliability. The 2.4 turbo

[08:10] might be okay, but I've heard more

[08:13] issues with the 8-speed automatic on the

[08:15] Tacoma than anything. Nissan Frontier,

[08:18] in my opinion, is by far the more the

[08:20] most safe, and it's just better. It just

[08:23] drives better. It's more fun to drive.

[08:25] It has a bigger engine than its

[08:26] competitors. All right. So, yeah, buy

[08:29] the Frontier over the Tacoma. Tacoma

[08:31] might hold its value better, but the

[08:33] Frontier you can get dis big discounts

[08:36] on where the Tacoma you really can't.

[08:38] So, get a Frontier and you'll thank me.

[08:40] I promise you. All right. Nissan Sentra.

[08:44] Again, a cut from the same cloth as the

[08:46] Rogue and the Ultima. People bash Nissan

[08:51] and their ECVT. Sorry, not ECVT. They're

[08:54] CVT with belts and pulleys and it and

[08:57] it's terrible reliability. Well, the the

[09:00] numbers don't lie entirely, right? You

[09:03] can you can kind like I like I've been

[09:05] doing some gymnastics around some of

[09:07] these numbers. Nissan here has another

[09:10] car with a CVT that is really reliable

[09:15] for the money. Camry hybrid. All right.

[09:17] Yes, they've come out with a new

[09:19] generation Camry hybrids. Keep in mind

[09:21] [snorts] you can get them for dirt

[09:23] cheap. Now look, Camryle right here.

[09:26] Right here. 28K. I know this is average

[09:29] price, but I'm telling you it's going to

[09:32] be even better deal when you get these

[09:34] things on discount. Okay, so 28K for a

[09:38] Camry Hybrid LE has the most comfortable

[09:40] seat in the Camry lineup, too. Um, I I

[09:44] swear Toyota designed terrible seats for

[09:48] the Camry to save the Lexus ES. Like, I

[09:51] just don't understand why they're the

[09:53] some of the worst seats in the industry

[09:55] in the Camry. Um, and it gets worse when

[09:57] they put vinyl or what they call soft

[10:00] text on it. It's bad. Okay, so just get

[10:03] the cloth seats are a little bit more

[10:04] comfortable in the Camry Alley. And it's

[10:06] dirt cheap. 60 m a gallon. Not kidding.

[10:09] Car is amazing and it is an easy

[10:11] recommendation. The Prius has become

[10:14] very expensive. Um, compared to the

[10:16] previous generations, still very

[10:19] reliable. It's built in Japan. Like, I

[10:22] have no issues with it being on on the

[10:24] list here. Honda CRV, very reliable.

[10:27] Again, when you look back, cuz again,

[10:30] they're looking at older cars, too. The

[10:32] odometer readings of over 40 million

[10:34] used cars. So, just keep in mind they're

[10:37] looking at old cars that are also out

[10:40] there right now that are currently

[10:42] registered. Okay? There's a lot of old

[10:45] CRVS out there. Just keep in mind that

[10:47] the new CRVS with the CVT and the turbos

[10:51] are probably going to be pretty pretty

[10:53] reliable because the previous generation

[10:56] CRVS had that too. And those numbers are

[11:00] being factored in to get the CRV into

[11:02] the top 10. All right. So, not really

[11:06] surprised to see the CRV so high. All

[11:09] right. And people put a lot of miles on

[11:11] their CRVS. That is for sure. Okay. Um,

[11:15] I would still pick a CRV hybrid even

[11:17] though it's not on the list. Maybe it is

[11:19] later. I don't know. Mazda 3 sedan. I've

[11:23] heard people driving Mazda 3 sedans 300

[11:25] plus,000 miles. And it's crazy how many

[11:30] miles you can put on Mazda 3s. They're

[11:32] little bulletproof tanks. They are

[11:34] fantastic, longlasting cars and they're

[11:37] fun to drive. Um, they they're really

[11:41] simple, okay, in terms of powertrain.

[11:44] Natural aspiration,

[11:46] four cylinders. Well, you can get them

[11:48] in turbo, but let's be real, the

[11:50] majority are naturally aspirated. Um,

[11:53] and they typically come with a six-speed

[11:55] automatic, really basic, bulletproof

[11:58] transmission. All right. So, no

[12:01] surprise. Mazda 3. Hyundai Elantre.

[12:04] That's kind of a surprise, but Elantras

[12:05] are cheaper than Mazdas. So, keep in

[12:07] mind, so that's a bang for your buck

[12:10] situation here. And keep in mind, this

[12:12] is expected lifespan. I haven't even got

[12:14] into this column. This column here is

[12:17] expected

[12:18] lifespan. On average, these cars are 11

[12:21] years. The Nissan Frontier. Again,

[12:23] trucks. Wow. Minis have a long lifespan.

[12:27] What? All right. The Nissan Frontier

[12:30] over 12 years. Ford Ranger 14 years.

[12:35] Okay. Long, long time. Lexus is

[12:40] 17 years. More than a truck that we're

[12:44] seeing on this list. Tacoma almost 16

[12:47] years. Don't know about the new Tacoma,

[12:49] but the old Tacomaomas are tanky,

[12:52] indestructible. the V6 or the four

[12:54] bangers in them just really really awful

[12:59] to drive trucks in my opinion. They're

[13:01] really uncomfortable and super

[13:03] industrial feeling. Poor transmission

[13:06] logic and performance, but they're

[13:09] indestructible tools. That's how I feel

[13:12] about the new Nissan Frontier, except

[13:15] it's just more more refined than the old

[13:18] Tacomaomas were. Anyways, let's keep

[13:20] moving. Camry really long lifespan. Uh

[13:25] Prius long lifespan. CRV long lifespan.

[13:27] Elantre not that long, but the they're

[13:30] so cheap that it's like okay uh we can

[13:34] roll with this. It's going to be

[13:35] reliable enough and it's cheap.

[13:37] Mitsubishi Outlander Sport. You got to

[13:40] keep in mind these things are built in

[13:42] Japan. So, you're going to have good

[13:44] build quality and high quality

[13:47] components and they are super cheap and

[13:50] they last about a decade. Subaru

[13:54] Empreza. Okay, now they're hatchbacks

[13:56] only, but a Subaru is going to be a good

[13:59] buy for longevity. Uh, at least the

[14:00] Empreza is. Honda Accord. We're lasting

[14:04] over a decade here with the Accord. It

[14:06] seems to be fairing better than the

[14:08] Civic that we just talked about.

[14:10] Volkswagen Jetta, guys. Jetta last a

[14:14] long time. A lot of people say

[14:15] Volkswagens are very unreliable. Maybe

[14:18] some more than others, but the Jetta

[14:20] here is able to crank up the years and

[14:23] crank up the miles. All right, so Jetta

[14:26] make it in the top five. That's a

[14:28] surprise to me. Hatch Mazda 3 again.

[14:31] Okay, so they separated the Mazda 3

[14:34] sedan and the hatchback. The hatchbacks.

[14:37] Wow. Why are the hatchbacks outlasting

[14:40] the sedans by 3 years? I don't know.

[14:45] Maybe it's because enthusiasts

[14:48] have a love for the hatchback and they

[14:51] put more money into keeping them on the

[14:54] road. That's my theory. Uh that is

[14:57] strange. Let's get into the the two the

[14:59] top two now. Toyota Corolla. And I would

[15:02] put the Corolla Hybrid here, too,

[15:04] because well, it has the Prius hybrid

[15:07] powertrain, and Prius lasts a long time.

[15:11] Anyways, Corolla Hybrid I'd put right up

[15:13] in the list and not a surprise. And

[15:17] lastly, Honda Civic. Honda Civic is the

[15:20] king of reliable, affordable cars.

[15:23] Again, just keep in mind the Civic's new

[15:26] it has a new engine as a new 2 L as of

[15:30] like last year. They've had it with the

[15:32] CVT for for a long time now. But, you

[15:34] know, this is a really good culmination

[15:37] of reliable, affordable cars. You got to

[15:41] do your research though or just don't

[15:43] take it as gospel because some of these

[15:47] models they might have some big flaws in

[15:51] them especially on the newer models. you

[15:54] might be fine, you know, buying an older

[15:57] Civic or an older Corolla. You might not

[15:59] have much issues with them, but just

[16:02] keep in mind the track record for the

[16:04] cars throughout the history of of them,

[16:07] especially especially in the last decade

[16:09] or so. These are the cars that are going

[16:12] to last the longest for the least amount

[16:15] of money. And I know that the top 25

[16:17] list was dominated

[16:20] by small cars, right? They're very

[16:23] affordable and if they're reliable, then

[16:26] it's just a cheat code for having your

[16:28] best bang for your buck reliable car.

[16:31] But what if you want a small crossover?

[16:34] Well, here's your small list. Mitsubishi

[16:36] Outlander. They're so darn cheap. Okay.

[16:40] And they last a long time.

[16:42] CRV,

[16:44] Jeep Compass, Rogue, Trailblazer, Ford

[16:46] Escape. Don't know why the RAV 4 is not

[16:50] on here. If the CRV is on here, why is

[16:52] not RAV 4? Maybe they categorize the RAV

[16:54] 4 in a bigger class.

[16:57] I don't know. Very, very strange to me.

[17:00] Okay. Most reliable new midsize SUVs for

[17:04] the money. Keep in mind, this is largely

[17:08] tallying the old 4Erunner with what was

[17:12] it? The 1GR engine, the 4 L V6. Now, it

[17:16] has a turbo or a turbo hybrid.

[17:19] I don't know about that. Jeep Wranglers,

[17:21] they last a long time, but they cost a

[17:24] lot of money to to stay maintained. So,

[17:26] high maintenance cost, but it it's

[17:30] apparently more reliable for the money

[17:32] than a Highlander or Highlander Hybrid,

[17:35] uh, or any of these other vehicles,

[17:37] Honda Pilot, Pass or Pathfinder, Honda

[17:40] Santa Fe, etc. Okay. What if you want a

[17:43] full-size SUV? Uh, well, I would pick an

[17:46] Armada easily.

[17:49] Tahoe or Suburban. Yeah, maybe with the

[17:51] V8. It can last a long time, too. But

[17:54] I'm a big Armada fan. So, I'd be going

[17:56] with the Armada uh in this case. But I

[18:00] like the new Armadas better actually

[18:01] than the old Armadas just from a

[18:03] packaging standpoint. It's much more

[18:04] roomy for families. All right. So, but

[18:07] like older Taho, I wouldn't hesitate if

[18:09] you needed something like that in your

[18:11] life. All right. So if here here are the

[18:13] small cars if we take them out. Okay,

[18:17] not a surprise. Not a surprise. We

[18:20] already covered that in the top 25. What

[18:23] about midsize cars? Okay. Well, no

[18:26] surprise. We kind of already covered

[18:28] these as well in the graph. Most

[18:30] reliable new new midsize trucks for the

[18:33] money. Well, again, keep in mind there

[18:37] there's seen a lot of old Tacomaomas out

[18:39] there that run forever. It's not

[18:42] indicative of new Tacoma reliability.

[18:45] Um, and the new Frontier is probably

[18:49] more reliable than anything else out on

[18:52] the road in this segment, and you can

[18:55] get them on huge discount, and they

[18:57] drive the best. So, just go get yourself

[18:59] a Frontier.

[19:01] uh most reliable new full-size trucks.

[19:05] Keep in mind, this is no longer true

[19:08] because they're seeing a lot of old

[19:11] Tundras on the road. Old Tundras with

[19:13] the 5.7 L V8 would last forever.

[19:18] Okay, the new Tundras can't even leave

[19:21] the lot without being, you know, the re

[19:23] that their engine recall. Okay, so I

[19:26] would not trust a Tundra. That's just

[19:28] me. If you feel fine about it, then go

[19:31] buy yourself a twin turbo V6 Tundra and

[19:34] the engine can fail after 20,000 miles.

[19:36] If you buy a new Tundra, get yourself an

[19:39] extended warranty on the powertrain,

[19:41] especially if it's a hybrid, because

[19:43] Toyota is refusing to recall the hybrids

[19:46] on those trucks, even though those are

[19:47] also having catastrophic engine

[19:49] failures. So, do yourself a favor. Don't

[19:53] buy yourself a Tundra, a new one. If

[19:56] you're on the used market, go buy

[19:58] yourself an old V8 one. It'll last for

[20:00] as long as you want. All right? And I

[20:03] could probably say the same for a lot of

[20:04] these trucks. Just go get a V8.

[20:07] Naturally aspirated and it should last a

[20:11] really, really long time. Most reliable

[20:14] new hybrids. I mean, sort of. Okay. Ford

[20:17] Escape Hybrid cancelled. Highlander

[20:20] hybrid going to be cancelled soon for

[20:23] the full EV version. Sonata hybrid, good

[20:26] car, good buy. Prius plug-in hybrid,

[20:30] good car, but pretty expensive. All

[20:32] right. Civic hybrid, great vehicle.

[20:35] Camry hybrid, great vehicle. Prius, I

[20:38] wouldn't give it great. The Camry and

[20:41] Civic are much better buys than a Prius,

[20:43] but a Prius is still a really, really

[20:44] good car for the money. All right.

[20:47] Should last a long time. So, pretty much

[20:49] any any hybrid you get out there are is

[20:53] going to be a good long lasting reliable

[20:55] car. It's crazy that there aren't that

[20:57] many, but the Escape hybrid, I think

[20:59] they discontinued it and they brought it

[21:01] back. Yeah, that's why this number is

[21:03] too low. But yes, anyways, I'm going to

[21:06] shut it down there. I will see you guys

[21:08] in the comments. Uh, let me know which

[21:11] car surprised you the most. Which one

[21:14] are you going to be getting? If you need

[21:16] a truck, Frontier. If you need a car, I

[21:20] would say Mazda 3. If you don't want a

[21:23] hybrid, I would say if you want a

[21:25] hybrid, Camry hybrid um or Civic hybrid.

[21:29] Simple as that. Thank you guys. Have a

[21:31] good day and peace