Top 5 cars for the provincial entrepreneur

For many, Metro Manila’s increasing pace to "Carmageddon hell" means that relocating or moving permanently outside the capital is proving to be a better and much more refreshing solution. 

That can mean settling in an urban center, not within Metro Manila, and retaining your work orientation there. That can also mean putting up your own farm and being self-sustainable by growing the food needed for personal consumption.

The latter option has been a go-to choice for many an urbanite. And putting up a farm can be quite taxing on the wallet, to the point that money allotted for personal transport to and from the farm is limited.

Meaning instead of putting away money for a midsize sport-utility vehicle (SUV), a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) or a double-cab pickup, today’s purchasing power of the start-up farm owner is limited to putting away money for a passenger car (PC) or a car-based crossover.

That said, we feel that the novice entrepreneurial farmer of this day and age need not spend so much on personal transport. That's why we recommend five autos for the rookie farmer.

One should take note that this list considers ground clearance, pricing and hauling ability. We went with a ₱1.5 million cap, given the economic times, especially for rural folk. 

Mitsubishi Xpander (starts at ₱1,128,000)

Most, if not all, MPVs qualify as farm-to-road transport.

We start with the entry-level MPV choices that have dimensions close to most passenger cars.

This is where the Mitsubishi Xpander (Specs | News) qualifies on most counts. The 225 mm ground clearance is the highest in its class, which makes the MPV suitable for traveling to rural places like your own farm. 

The Xpander also has an infotainment system with Android Auto/Apple CarPlay capability. This keeps people in the cabin preoccupied for hours and helps the driver search for a specific address or place of interest in the town proper. 

Furthermore, the 141 Nm of torque of the Xpander’s 1.5-liter, twin-cam, 16-valve inline-4 gasoline engine allows for decent acceleration from rest, especially if all three rows of the MPV are filled with people (the Xpander seats seven) and luggage or if the Mitsubishi’s third row is folded down and there’s a lot of produce tossed into the cargo hold.

Try getting that torque from a Toyota Avanza (121 Nm) or a Suzuki Ertiga (138 Nm) and you’re likely just spinning the front wheels.

Speaking of the Ertiga, one could raise the concern that the Suzuki utility runner should be the pick here instead of the Xpander, given its price.

The Ertiga variants range from ₱954,000 (GA MT Hybrid) to ₱1,154,000 (GLX AT Hybrid). Plus the fact that the Ertiga is now a mild hybrid should have been enough to command a spot in the list. 

But the ground clearance of the Xpander is higher and the Mitsubishi’s loading capacity with the third row upright (495 liters) is much better than that of the Ertiga’s (200-205 liters). 

Kia Seltos 2.0 EX AT (₱1,205,000)

The Kia on this list trumped notables in its segment, including the Honda CR-V (Specs | News) and the hybrid Nissan Kicks e-Power.

Even if the Seltos chosen for this list is the base model because of the ₱1,500,000 spending cap, the Seltos is less expensive than its entry-level Nissan Kicks (₱1,224,000) and Honda HR-V (Specs | News) (₱1,389,000) counterparts.

Also, the Seltos is instead in the middle when it comes to cargo capacity. The Kia sport-ute has 433 liters available in its cargo hold with the rear bench up.

In contrast, the Kicks has 470 liters in its boot with its rear seats up and the HR-V has 431 liters in that same situation.

The problem with the Nissan entry in this arena is that it needs a spare tire. Given that rural areas (towns proper included) have long distances between gas stations and vulcanizing shops, reliance purely on run-flat tires in a provincial setting can be unnerving.

You and your Nissan Kicks, should you experience a flat tire, will be the only ones running some 20 to 30 km/h while others are going at 50 to 60 km/h.

If that tire blowout occurs on a one-lane highway, you will likely get the ire of motorists behind your Nissan Kicks, as you will be holding up traffic flow and becoming a road hazard.

In contrast, the Seltos has a full-size spare tire below the cargo hold.

One can also throw in the JAC S4 (Specs | News), which starts at ₱890,000, as a contender for this part of the list, especially with its eye-popping 520 liters of cargo space with its rear row upright.

The problem is that there aren’t enough JAC dealers out of Metro Manila.

That means that should there be an unscheduled servicing situation and you’re in a province without a JAC dealer in a 50-kilometer radius, you’re limited to third-party service outlets, befriending a service mechanic in your immediate neighborhood (likely from a manufacturer with an increased factory presence) or doing the servicing yourself.   

Honda BR-V 1.5 S CVT (₱1,150,000)

All-new for 2023, the Honda BR-V was chosen for its 207 mm ground clearance, price and 530-liter cargo capacity with the third row folded.

In addition, this particular BR-V variant was picked because of its price (comparable to the Mitsubishi Xpander in this story), along with its good safety features, even without having Honda Sensing active-safety suite as standard.

These include:

• Anti-lock braking
• Brake-force distribution
• Stability control
• Hill start assist 
• ISOFIX latches for child seats
• Door locks that automatically engage when the BR-V hits a certain speed
• Front and side airbags
• Automatic activation of the hazard lights during emergency braking
• A reverse gear-activated camera (with viewing via the 7-inch touchscreen head unit and color-coded parking guidelines).

If you frequent major expressways for your farm work, the top-spec, ₱1,390,000 BR-V VX Honda Sensing’s road departure, lane keeping, collision mitigation and adaptive cruise control electronics will be of help.

One can present the Toyota Veloz (Specs | News) as the pick for this segment.

However, its ₱1,210,000 to ₱1,250,000 price range might be considered expensive, especially compared to its low ground clearance of 190 mm.   

Suzuki Jimny GLX AT (₱1,320,000)

Suzuki’s sole off-road-ready representative made this list not only because of its price, but also because of its national aftersales presence and off-road ability that can go to farms with waterlogged paths. 

The Jimny GLX AT was picked for this list as features in the GLX line aren’t present in the lower variants. These include:

• A reverse gear-activated camera
• Parking sensors
• Cruise control
• Light-emitting diode headlights 
• Automatic air conditioning with a pollen filter

The reverse gear camera and parking sensors greatly help when carrying produce or collecting payment in towns. Also, the LED headlights are a godsend when doing the actions above at nighttime or early morning hours.

That air conditioning is helpful, given that several provinces have low COVID-19 vaccination levels and the threat of the ‘Rona is almost always around. The cruise control feature is helpful if you must deliver produce two to five provinces away (or towards several cities, including the National Capital Region) and you’re on an expressway with enforced speed limits. 

The Jimny was chosen over the likes of the Toyota Raize (Specs | News), which has roughly the same dimensions as the Jimny and a lower price tag. However, the Raize isn't designed for off-road conditions.

Toyota Innova 2.8 E AT - ₱1,370,000 

If there are features that Toyota got right in the multipurpose vehicle class, they're all in the Innova.

High ground clearance at 178 mm? Check. Seating for seven, with a third row that can be folded to swallow large amounts of produce? Check.

Peppy diesel engine? Check. Manufacturer with multiple dealers and service outlets in the provinces? Big check! 

In addition, this particular Innova variant was picked because it is under this piece’s ₱1,500,000 cap, yet totes features that the lower-tier Innova's don't have

For example, the 2.8 E AT has 360 Nm of torque, some 17 more Nm of twisting force on the crankshaft and transmission than the MT variants.

That extra 17 Nm helps if one’s Innova 2.8 E AT has to go up Baguio’s steep uphill roads to bring produce or when overtaking along provincial highways.

Another advantage is the 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto/Apple CarPlay smartphone compatibility, a voice command function and six speakers (one for each side door, plus a tweeter mounted within each A-pillar).

That setup for in-car entertainment is enough to keep Innova occupants entertained or help toggle thru the touchscreen menu for directions to towns proper or places of interest.

Last, if you frequently deliver produce to cities and often encounter massive stop-go traffic jams, having an automatic transmission and just your right foot to move the vehicle around helps a lot. 

Okay, one can toss in part of Toyota’s roster of vehicles (specifically, the Raize, the Avanza, the Veloz and the Rush) into this list, given that there is a Toyota dealer in nearly every province in the country and that Toyota products are acknowledged nationwide (albeit via observed word of mouth) as sturdy, quality, inexpensive units.

However, the beauty of an open market means there are choices other than the acknowledged leader in overall sales for nearly two decades.

Which would you get as your farm car?

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