thanks bugati... yeah.. mine's done over 300K.. and yes i do thrash it around A BIT......... its the maintaince aspect that comes into play here.. u have to put quality stuff to ur engine, like a good oil, and change plugs, and do the routine stuff correctly... and as the engine gets older like mine u need to be extra careful of the service intervals... so its not so much the age i belive.. one car really be nasty to a new engine and u are better off buying an old one that is maintained well than the new one which was treated rather poorly...
but i cannot really comment on any other engines other than the mazda as i have only owned one. and i am still owning the same...