What is the average life of a 4 cylinder car?

Provided that all the maintenance is kept up to date. Mostly highway mileage. No heavy towing.
Looking into getting a car in the near future. Honda Civic and Buick Encore are two of my choices.

I had a Saturn Ion, I put 160K miles on over about a 14 year period of time. If one is doing things like keeping the oil changed, they can last at least a decade.

200K miles easy.

One day if it's involved in a write off smash up.

Not all engines are created equal.

I'd wager on the Honda engine outliving the Buick.

I'm disappointed at anything under 20 years, grateful for good service after 25 years. I haven't had a daily driver make it past 30 years or 300K miles yet, but 200-250k miles is a reasonable expectation for any properly maintained car. My current car, a 2002 Prius with 201K miles, needed its first repair (other than the usual consumables) a few months ago.

The average life span of cars these days is about 15 years, according to the NHTSA. That average includes cars with owners who don't take care of them, vehicles totaled in accidents, and cars that are well maintained. If my experience is any indication, the lifespan can be indefinite. I'm still driving the first car I ever bought myself, and that was 28 years ago - and it was 20 years old then! So basically, for you, the answer depends on the condition of the car when you get it, how well you maintain it, and how carefully you drive it.

Depends how you drive but the Honda will cost less to keep on the road over the long run.

I just got rid of a 20 year old Pontiac Sunfire 2.2 OHV 4cyl
Still ran great, never any major problems
It was all in town driving (longest trip was 72 miles 1 way)

I had a Saturn Ion, I put 160K miles on over about a 14 year period of time. If one is doing things like keeping the oil changed, they can last at least a decade.

Honda 150,000 miles or 10years.