I, of course, agree with Andy, with one exception:

I find almost every hub can be adjusted to have no play, but on lower quality/more complicated hubs, the difference between free-spinning and too loose/tight is very pronounced.

I find even the much maligned KT coaster can be adjusted to work with no play, after one has wrapped their head around a few of them. I find the easiest way to adjust them (and IGHs, too) is to clamp them in the dropouts as normal, loosen the axle bolt on the adjusting side, and slide two cone wrenches (though I find a typical 17mm combination wrench of any quality will fit, along with the proper come wrench) in past the dropouts, allowing a very sensitive adjustment.

Actual longevity is another story, but as far as function when new? Very attainable. The KT in particular got a bad rap, I suspect because by the time most people saw one for service, it was beyond saving. IGHs (of the beach cruiser variety, popular around here) will suffer a similar fate as they begin aging; I hear so many people tout them as "maintenance free", when really, they should at least be inspected every couple thousand miles...gone are the days where you could just drop a few mls of oil through the port on the hub shell.