Cars and Drivers

Americans Drive This Car the Most Every Year

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: September 23, 2019 9:42 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 4:04 am

The average number of miles Americans drive their cars each year is just below 12,000. Some types of vehicles are driven much farther. Full-size pickups and sport utility vehicles dominate this category. One model tops them all, as it goes 24% further than the national average.

The average miles driven per year leader is the massive Chevrolet Suburban, according to data from iSeeCars. Mileage people put on the big SUV averages 14,862, which is 24% more than the average car. With a base price of just over $50,000, the Suburban can hold as many as nine people. It weighs over 5,400 pounds and gets as little as 14 miles per gallon of gas in city driving. iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly commented: “The Suburban is known for its expansive cargo room while comfortably seating up to nine passengers, which makes it popular for large families as well as for fleet and livery use.”

iSeeCars looked at more than 2.3 million sales of 10-year-old cars to find the 13 vehicles with the highest annual mileage. Next on the list is the GMC Yukon XL, at 14,708 miles per year. That is 22.8% above the national average. The GM full-sized SUV is basically GMC’s version of the Suburban, with a similar based price, dimensions and weight.

Toyota’s competitor to the Suburban and Yukon XL, the Sequoia, seats eight and has a base price at $49,905, nearly the same as the price points of the two GM vehicles. On average, it goes 17.8% farther than the national average, or 14,102 miles.

Most of the rest of the 13 vehicles driven most each year is other full-sized SUVs from Honda, Nissan, Ford and Cadillac. The sole exception is the Toyota Prius, the best-selling hybrid in automotive history. The Prius was first manufactured in 1997 and is among the vehicles sold in America with the highest gas mileage. It is driven an average of 13,534 miles per year, or 12.9% higher than the average vehicle. The Prius isn’t among the cars consumers hold on to the longest. Here are the cars Americans keep the longest.

When SUVs and pickups are backed out, the Prius is followed on the list of passenger cars by the Nissan Altima, the Japanese manufacturer’s midsized sedan. It is driven an average of 13,184 miles, which is 10% higher than the national average. Cars from Ford, Chevy and Honda round out the top 10 passenger car list.

Americans have turned away from passenger cars in favor of SUVs, crossovers and pickups. Ford has gone so far as to kill off most of the passenger car models it sells in the United States. These bigger vehicles, it turns out, are not just popular in terms of sales. Drivers also take them farther than most other vehicles. SUVs also grade well in terms of safety. Here are the 30 safest cars in America.

iSeeCars Top 13 Most-Driven Vehicles

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