Interstate Mega Tron Ii

Can't really go by warranty or price - as there are too many factors that go into determining battery lifespan. Longer warranty generally means that you have more time before the pro-rated warranty period drops away, might get another year or two of battery replacement - depends on the battery warranty. But there is no guarantee that the battery will hold up any longer - if it doesn't, that's what the warranty is for.

That said - Interstate is a very good battery. Made by Johnson Control Systems which happen to make a number of other batteries including Sears Diehard, Autocraft, Optima, Advance Autoparts products, Duralast, Prostart, Everstart, Kirkland series and many others.

Haven't heard anything bad from them. Used Exide before - decent battery. Had a couple fail prematurely, but that was in a car known to be hard on batteries (BB Chevy with high compression, GM starter). Prostart, have not used but heard that they were OK, but not as good as Interstate.

There are a number of them out there still, just that aggressive acquisitions and impressive purchasing power - that most of the readily available commercial batteries are from JCS.

Deka (East Penn Manufacturing) make NAPA Ultimate batteries, they are still around - independent shop.

As for the major retail arms - used to be three big ones - Delphi, Exide, and Johnson Control. Delphi hung up its gloves early on - got out of the game in 2006-2007. Exide hung in there until mid this year. Due to strong competition from Johnson Control and Walmart picking JCS as their sole supplier - sank Exide and forced them to bankruptcy. After that - their competitors picked the rest of the company apart.

Pretty much anything with an Exide label on it made before June-August 2013 is likely an original Exide battery. Anything afterwards is likely made by JCS or other battery company. At this point - Exide exists only as a brand name.

Interstate is a top notch battery for sure - if it is best one out there from Johnson Control Systems - depends on application and what you consider the most important aspect of "best battery". Just get the one that you like - if the battery dies in 3 years or 10 years - not really worth worrying about. Eventually, even the best battery will fail.

I currently have an Interstate MegaTron II battery in the Rav4, Toyota TrueStart in the Matrix and an Advance Autoparts Silver battery in the Corolla. I like them all - Megatron was the most expensive of the bunch ($130) then TrueStart ($110), then the AAP Silver ($65 w/discounts). All have pretty close to the same warranties - 2 year replacement, 72 month prorated warranty. They did differ quite a bit in reserve capacity and CCA - the beefier batteries moved the cars with the higher electrical demands. For a highway commuter like my Corolla - I didn't need anything fancier than the AAP Silver. Used to run an Optima Redtop ($165) in the Corolla - lasted about as long as the original OEM Delphi battery.

That old adage - you get what you pay for, applies to pretty much any part you get for the car. But don't expect twice the performance or reliability from a battery that costs twice as much. Just get one that fits your budget and replace it when it goes bad.