hey you, hi. i figure the best you can do is to hedgehog-up your ride by equipping it with blades or spikes which you simply replace after they fail from absorbing all the damage they can handle.
once you can make batteries, have gotten your first load of them from silently raiding a lab, got lucky with stores in town etc, you can upgrade your core to the most expensive plating you can afford … while putting a row with cheap or plating between it and your outer spikes. some damage will still come to the core but at least you have an ‘i dont care’ zone around you.
seriously, just add some outer stuff and let it fail. its amazing how much juice you will save that way!
don’t worry about the bushes. but do get wide wheels and put plating on them asap.