We like to drive a lot, but we don't drive nearly as much as delivery driver Farrah Haines, who drove her 2013 Hyundai Elantra one million miles in just five years. Yes, that's one million miles, as in 1,000,000, as in 200,000 miles per year, as in an average of 548 miles per day, every day. For reference, the average driver in America clocks 14,000 miles per year.
Haines apparently gets an oil change every two weeks and Hyundai claims that the Elantra is still on its original powertrain—impressive considering that a medical courier's high-mileage Ford Fiesta that we wrote about a few years ago had to have its dual-clutch transmission's clutch pack replaced at 347,000 miles and the entire transmission replaced at 545,000 miles.
The 2013 Elantra had so many miles on it, its odometer couldn't keep up. Because the digital display couldn't show more than six digits, Hyundai created a special "1M" emblem to commemorate the car turning over from 999,999 to 1,000,000. The company says it'll give this emblem to any other Hyundai owners who hit this milestone. (We don't think it'll be handing out many others.) For any doubting this story, Hyundai also says it verified the Elantra's odometer reading by investigating various data including Haines' service records, VIN report, and mileage records, and by inspecting the car's wiring harness, motor mounts, and engine casting numbers.
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While Haines' silver Elantra looks like it's held up well over time—maybe thanks in part to the tough-looking brush guard installed on the front—we're sure she was thrilled when Hyundai handed her the keys to a new 2019 Elantra sedan in red. We wonder how many miles she has put on the new car already.
See the videos below for the more on the story of Haines and her million-mile Elantra.
Despite being raised on a steady diet of base-model Hondas and Toyotas—or perhaps because of it—Joey Capparella nonetheless cultivated an obsession for the automotive industry throughout his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee. He found a way to write about cars for the school newspaper during his college years at Rice University, which eventually led him to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his first professional auto-writing gig at Automobile Magazine. He has been part of the Car and Driver team since 2016 and now lives in New York City.
