When I bought my Toyota RAV4 four years ago, it was a dream come true! I had always wanted a Toyota and had fallen in love with the RAV4. (Tip number 1: Never fall in love with a vehicle and if you do, hide your passion or be ready to hand over your wallet to your salivating car salesperson).

The RAV had much more space, (for my two German Shepherds) a swing gate, (easier than hatchbacks for shorties like me) all-wheel drive, (great for powering your way out of a snowdrift in your driveway) and a CD player. (That's right I said CD player!)

Yes my needs are pretty basic, because when it comes to vehicles, I try to remember- it's just a mode of transportation; one you'll be paying for, for quite awhile, depending upon what you buy. And that vehicle doesn't love you back, make you soup when you have a cold or hug you when you're feeling down. It will need maintenance constantly, might even need repairs or new tires before you're even done paying for it. Or is that just me?

All of that aside, a reliable long-lasting vehicle can be a reality, if you do your research, choose wisely and lavish affection on that machine, which will not return it. I drove a Chevy Prizm (a Corolla twin built for Chevy by Toyota) for 16 years and would have driven it well past it's 175,000 miles, but rust had become it's major enemy in a battle it was losing.

I wish my RAV4 got the 26 miles-per-gallon/city and 32 to 34 mpg/highway that my Prizm did! In any case I'm hoping to drive the RAV for years to come and thankfully it ended up on a list of 20 vehicles that "can take you to 300,000 miles" according to Cheat Sheet.

Yes there are a number of Hondas and Toyotas on their list, as you would expect, but also some very domestic sedans, SUVs and even trucks. Check out the complete list and start taking better care of your intricately assembled pile of metal and plastic!


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