For those who live in the interior of Brazil, it is common to have a “farm car”, a simpler vehicle that will be used to go to the farm and do some heavy work. It does not need to be beautiful, have a glossy paint or be well equipped, the necessary attributes are robustness, ease of maintenance and facing a dirt road without dismantling.
The Uno became the successor to the Beetle in the countryside (Photo: Fiat | Disclosure)
The Volkswagen Beetle and its derivatives dominated this informal market of farm cars, but today they are scarce and expensive. Its successor was the Fiat Uno, which is robust and simple to maintain.
The Italian compact was sold from 1984 to 2013, always being among the best-selling cars in Brazil. It is easy to find videos of the Uno facing heavy trails, we even explain the reason for this good performance in the mud.
2. Volkswagen Gol
The Gol up to the G4 is robust, simple to maintain and had higher suspension (Photo: Volkswagen | Disclosure)
The Volkswagen Gol is another compact famous for its robustness and that can face the farm well. This car has the advantage of being able to come in versions with 1.6 and 1.8 engines, offering stronger performance.
The Gol we recommend is any one up to generation 4, those with a longitudinal engine. From the fifth it gained a more modern platform and had a lower ride height, in addition to receiving more electronics.
3. Ford EcoSport
The first compact SUV was not only adventurous in looks, it has robust suspension and cheap maintenance (Photo: Ford | Disclosure)
The first-generation Ford EcoSport is quite undervalued in the market, and can be found in the range of R$ 20 thousand. As it is the first national compact SUV, it has a good ride height and its construction is robust.
To be a farm car, a 1.6 already serves, the 4WD model may seem tempting, but its all-wheel drive makes maintenance more expensive. The care that needs to be taken is to check the cooling system and change the plastic thermostatic valve housing for a metallic one, this solves the main chronic problem of the Zetec Rocam engine.
4. Chevrolet Celta
The Celta’s simple design brought some improvements to the suspension to increase durability (Photo: Chevrolet | Disclosure)
The Chevrolet Celta was created to be simple, so it has little to break. This hatch was created from the Corsa and uses the famous 1.0 Family 1 four-cylinder engine.
Another reason in favor of the Celta over the Corsa is the suspension design that brought some changes to reduce the friction of the shock absorber rod with the respective bearings and other components, which results in greater durability. It also came without the front stabilizer bar, which does not require the use of connecting rods.
5. Fiat Strada
The robustness of the Strada was what made the model a reference in the market (Photo: Fiat | Disclosure)
To represent the pickups here we indicate the Fiat Strada. Among those that can be found for low values, it is the most robust, thanks to the established mechanics and the rear suspension with semi-elliptical springs.
The cheapest models are from the first two phases, with 1.5 Fiasa or 1.3 Fire engines. Both are reliable and simple to maintain, while the 1.6 16v engine from the first years can be more work.
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