[ssjr0498]

Surprisingly, no mention of the OHC! 21years since and nothing comes close in that segment! The cost of maintanence is lower than that of a 2wheeler by today's standards and amazing reliability! The car still has takers and by far is the most mod friendly!

[ColAjayDrives]

IMHO, the reliability of the Innova is without a parallel.
I owned a Gypsy Soft top from 1994 to 1996 but it had its share of workshop visits.
Reliability engineering commenced in India only after the arrival of the Suzuki family. Prior to that, traveling with a toolkit was the norm.

[SR-71]

I voted for the Innova and I wont be surprised by a mile if that choice leads by a big margin! Its been around for 17 years now and shows no sign of slowing down for another 17 atleast! And the reason I choose this over the older classics like Maruti Zen or Ambassador is because its continues to maintain its tall leadership despite good competition unlike the 90s or early 2000s when choices were limited.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

most long lasting car/s in India ever since the Indian manufacturing took off.

The moot point is to get an idea about the great survivors.

Thank You anjan_c2007 for this thread. I won't limit my opinions to just one or two cars, but will add that the ones that have been bread earners have outlasted the rest.

1. Maruti Swift Dzire/ Tour/ Tour S - since 2008 and showing no sign of going away
2. Toyota Innova - unchallenged since 2005
3. Tata Indica - since 1999 but disappearing now
4. Mahindra as the Marshall, Max, Bolero - since 1990s and still going
5. Ambassador and Padmini - 1960s to around 2003 (the only cars of that era that had an equal share of being smile earners as family cars and bread earners as cabs)
6. Hyundai Santro Xing - 2002 to date (a lot of Mumbai Yellow top cabs are Santros)
7. Maruti Eeco - has been around since 2010 and doesn't seem to show any signs of slowing down. Maybe 10 years down the line, this will be the champion

[Mad Max]

Not sure about how to define durability.

Purely from a lifecycle perspective, almost all our cars are long term.

1. 2012 Figo diesel - that thing just doesn't die. It just sits there for months on end, recharge the battery and bam! it just goes in it's noise-making merry way.

2. 2013 Vento - the injectors went kaput and one was replaced. Runs fine now and it's been 2 years since we had any major trouble. Mind you, this is the 1.6 diesel manual

3. Our Tata Nano crossed 180,000 kms today. It goes into farms and mountains and breaks down once in a while but fixes are less than a 1000Rs in most cases.

4. Our Indica ran for 225,000kms before we let it go. Except for tire changes and a broken AC knob (which was a preposterous cost to replace), everything worked well.

5. The least "reliable" is our Amby. It's got a temper on it's own and this is the third engine getting changed. Mostly my fault for not doing long term planning and not matching engine with rest of the car. It's going through its avatar change again.

[RakishRam]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

But the Hondas are conspicuously absent.

Yeah, I was looking and searching where Honda is in the list? omitted by mistake or ? Not voting till Honda is added!!

I have a 14 year old Civic and I would say super reliable. Looks and runs as new.

[COMMUTER]

I would vote for the Tempo Traveller over all the options mentioned here. With their monocoque chassis and a Benz designed engine, it will be able to out do all the options mentioned here.

[MaheshY1]

Voted: Bolero

Before we get into the discussion, here are my definitions of 'Durability' and 'Reliability'.

Durability is the ability to last a long while (in terms of mileage and age) with or without breakdowns during the period.

Reliability is the number of times the vehicle breaks down per unit of time or distance it covers.

A vehicle can exclusively be either, both or neither. E.g. REs are durable but not reliable.

Most Boleroes IMO has been through enough punishment, which most Innovas or even a Qualii would've never endured. The rural customers are still interested in the Bolero for its durability. Every roadside mechanic even in the villages can fix most issues with a Bolero without speciality tools. Innovas have clocked a lot of miles but if we put them through the same abuse as a Bolero, they probably wouldn't last that long. After all, the 5 lakh km Innovas we know of have munched those miles on fairly smooth roads while Boleroes are almost always off-roading on village "roads."

[Ravi Parwan]

have to agree with Mahesh. The Mahindras have proven to be the workhorses in adverse conditions versus the Toyotas which run mainly on highways. I have seen some of the 5 lac plus driven innovas and qualis's, and invariably they are run by very sedate drivers who feather the accelarator and drive at 60-70 kmph.
Mahindras I have witnessed in government service, completing 3 lakh km in 3 years and paint from the bonnet getting abraded due to daily washing. These vehicles have had broken shockers, collapsed/broken leaf springs and body squeaks due to the rough terrain, but marching on nonetheless.
the boleros and MM540s are also subject to way more overloading compared to the Innovas.

[subuiyer]

Nice thread! Chose Willys / Jeep.

In my experience, rarer vehicles are maintained with more passion by their owners and consequently 'survive' longer. Beaters are made to last long, but not necessarily treated well to 'survive' long.

There are many candidates though and difficult to choose between some of them. Equally, wont be surprised if a few hatch-backs that have been sold in millions last into the 2nd half of this century.

While modern cars (built in last 2 decades) are better built, the propensity of owners to maintain them has dramatically reduced compared to owners of vehicles from previous century.

[PrasunBannerjee]

Innova, Bolero, Scorpio, Maruti 800. These are some really robust Indian cars in my opinion (not in any preferential order) still voted for bolero. One has to see how 'abused' this car is in rural areas and it happily delivers without breaking a sweat.

My definition of robust does not include Honda city or Civic or old Corolla. They are really good cars with long life and fuss free maintenance, but they are primarily urban dweller cars, not something which you'll drive daily 20 kms outskirts of tier 3 city limits to areas which have no-tarmac no-concrete roads. The above 4 I listed have stood test of time.


And yes Maruti Omni makes a close cut too. My life has been 90% in tier 3-4 cities, towns and rural areas, opinion comes from what I've seen around.

[denzdm]

My vote goes to Bolero for it still takes the road less travelled with ease. With numbers to boast even in March 2022 and Mahindra's No 1 seller from their stable, I guess, facts tell a story.

I would also want to call out Force Trax / Cruiser as it was another heavy duty vehicle which I have travelled in villages without a worry about breaking down where roads ceased to exist.

[IamGetz]

I would vote for the Hyundai Getz (not on the voting list above) and can vouch on the twin parameters of durability and reliability.

My 2006 Getz ,GLE, petrol is still a pleasure to drive both in Bangalore and the occasional highway run.

It's European design / build quality have stood the test of time for me and I find myself reluctant to upgrade yet to newer cars currently.

I do see a fair amount of Getz still plying on Bangalore roads.

The original Santro, Maruti Zen and Gypsy are also old favourites ranking equally high on my voting list (durability and reliability).

[anand.shankar]

The car I want to pick isnt on the list..

Of all the cars i've owned - Used - Cielo, Opel Corsa, Indica, Esteem, Etios Liva, and New - Punto Evo, S-Cross

Punto is the car i'll swear by, It was about 90K kms when I sold it, it hadn't even flinched, and was good for another 90K kms, would have not let it go if Fiat hadn't wrapped up here. It was tough as a nut, and could take abuse and not show signs of abuse.

[Nissan1180]

Making a list of older cars that I can still see being driven everyday:

1. Maruti 800 and Omni
2. Maruti Alto first gen
3. Tavera
4. Wagon R first gen
5. Innova first gen
6. Santro first gen

I think that the most important factor for the long term survival of a car is the availability of good quality reasonably priced spare parts. Maruti, Toyota and Hyundai excel in this department.