5 Longest Lived Cars Of The 2010s!

No modern car model really exists for all that long. Automakers are constantly on the move, coming up with facelifts, adding additional equipment and even flat out replacing cars, seeming on a whim. That being said, there are car models and platforms that have stood up to the test of time well enough that automakers didn’t have to do much to keep these cars relevant in an ever-changing landscape. Here are 5 such examples!

The current Nissan Note has been in continuous production since 2012. Fundamentally, the basic car has remained unchanged, especially aesthetically, though the Japanese automaker has at least injected some more modern touches to the car at some point in its life cycle. It received most of the safety bells and whistles you'd find on a more recent Renault-Nissan Group vehicle, and in 2016, a range-extender EV option to the line-up as well. The system, dubbed as "e-power" means that the tiny petrol engine onboard isn't mechanically connected to the wheels, instead being used to only charge the onboard battery. Since 2017, the car has only been sold in Asia, as the company shifts its focus to the Qashqai elsewhere in the world!

Unlike Nissan's approach with the Note, Mitsubishi has at least visually fettled with their previous generation Lancer, and on more than one occasion as well. It received its first minor facelift in 2009 which saw the car sport a new grille and taillights. A more substantial update, which featured a new front bumper, DRLs, new taillights, as well as a more modern touchscreen stereo, was made available in 2016. The car was officially discontinued in 2017, though a variant, complete with new front and rear fascia, is still available for sale in the Chinese market.

We're glad the GranTurismo lasted as long as it did. In an era where supercars and sports cars alike have become increasingly digitised (suites of driving assists!), it remains refreshingly analogue. Multiple variants have been made throughout its lifespan, the most significant of updates being the initial MC Stradale, and the 2018 update. Both refreshes saw Maserati grace their GT with fresh fascias, though the latter also came with other modernised touches sprinkled throughout the car. The car's best feature though, is its engine, which it shares with several other exotic cars from the Fiat group's stable (think the 430, 458 and California!). The V8 grunt is unmistakable, and you can most definitely hear a GranTurismo before seeing one!

If it isn't broken, don't fix it, right? That must have been the ethos for Toyota when it comes to redesigning the Estima, as, for the bulk of its 13-year production run, the car has remained largely unchanged from the base car the world first saw in 2006. But they really didn’t have to, as, certain variants of the original car came equipped with automatic parking, way ahead of its time for 2006, with further updates in 2009 allowing for the addition of Lane Keep Assist and Radar Cruise Control. A hybrid variant was eventually added to the line-up, but the heftiest of updates came in 2016. This facelift added all the safety features that you see on current Toyotas, as well as all new bumpers, lights, addition of DRLs and some mild interior updates. The car was discontinued in 2019, with a van-based replacement slated for certain markets sometime soon.

When it was first launched, the world fawned over the R35 GTR. It offered giant-killing performance at a fraction of the cost, and its popularity means that should you want even more go from your R35, there are a whole host of aftermarket bits to make your car even faster than it already is. The car was first facelifted in 2011, receiving all new bumpers and DRLs, though the most major facelift to date was the revision for MY2017, where the car received all-new front-end panels, rear bumpers and lights, as well as a completely redesigned cabin. Nissan has also extracted more go from its engine with every passing update too, and hardcore variants like the NISMO edition really shows just how well the platform has aged. One other special edition has been created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the GT-R nameplate. Dubbed the GTR50, it was a styling exercise with Italdesign that yielded a svelte carbon and aluminium body draped over the floor pan of the R35.

Credits: Jek Ray Low