And now for something a little different. For the first time, I performed a luggage test during a first drive event. Not because I decided to pack WAY too much stuff for two nights of travel, but because said press event was happening 15 minutes away from my house. Score! So, you can read all about the revised 2023 Jeep Compass that I experienced during that first drive or stay here for the bonus luggage test. Or do both, whatever. You do you. 

So, the Jeep Compass is positioned against compact SUVs … at least in terms of marketing and price. But oh boy, is it nowhere close to the size of the Honda CR-Vs and Kia Sportages of the world. Nowhere close. In terms of both its back seat and cargo area, it’s far closer to the Honda HR-V. I know this quite definitively because, as you can see in the background up there, I happened to be testing an HR-V at the same time. If anything, the Honda is a bit bigger. 

On paper, the capacity is stated at 27.2 cubic-feet behind the back seat. Yeah, that might be optimistic.

Note that there was no cargo cover to test with and without. There was also nowhere to store that cargo cover inside the vehicle, but I’m simply noting that, not criticizing it for such an omission. It’s rare. 

On the other hand, there is no spare tire at all let alone a full-size one. And you call yourself a Jeep …

Alright, let’s get to the bags. As with every luggage test, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife’s fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D). 

If I maintain rearward visibility, this is all she wrote: the four biggest bags. The HR-V could actually manage all but the fancy bag while maintaining rearward visibility.

If I go nearly to the roof, I could fit everything but the fancy bag. There is obviously some room leftover for something, though. With great effort, all my bags could fit in the HR-V. 

Now, it should now be said that the HR-V did not do particularly well in this test. It is midpack at best, which means the Compass is, um, bottom pack?

The following vehicles could fit just a bit more stuff with better visibility and/or greater ease of loading.

Subaru Crosstrek

Nissan Kicks

Mazda CX-30 (barely)

Chevrolet Trailblazer

The following SUVs could manage definitively more than Compass, sometimes considerably so.

Ford Bronco Sport

VW Taos

Kia Seltos

I have not luggage tested a Renegade, but the Compass is at least bigger than the subcompact Hyundai Kona. 

One final note: the power liftgate button is inside the cargo area rather than on the door itself, making it hard to access when it’s loaded up. And judging by the amount of space here, that’s more likely to happen than in rival SUVs. 

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In January, Honda Malaysia announced that with more than 80,200 vehicles sold in 2022, it had achieved its sales target of 80,000 units for the year. The exact total managed by the company last year was 80,290 units, representing a 11.1% share of the total industry volume (TIV). As reported previously, this was enough to ensure it remained top in the non-national passenger vehicle segment for the ninth consecutive year.

Recapping this at its business plan briefing last Friday, the company said it has again set a sales target of 80,000 units – and improving on its market share to 12.3% – in 2023. It is hoping to achieve this with the introduction of four new models, these being the WR-V, sixth-gen CR-V, FL5 Civic Type R and the City facelift.

The year will also see it increasing the presence of RS variants in its product line-up and continue to push its e:HEV hybrid tech, an approach which the company says is the right one for it to take in terms of electrification at this point.

Aside from this, the company is also set to expand its after-sales activities with the introduction of new 2S (service and spare parts) Pit Stop centres to fulfil the growing demand from current and potential customers. It said it will also be upgrading its HondaTouch platform by making the application more convenient and accessible.

The upcoming year will also see the company increasing the deployment of Honda Connect in the market. According to HM, it is set to expand the presence of the telematics system, which allows Honda owners the ability to access a variety of functions via a dedicated smartphone app, by offering it in more models this year.

Available for both Apple and Android devices, the system, which connects to a vehicle, provides remote access to various functions related to safety, security and convenience as well as the status of the vehicle.

Iceland is full of surprises.

For the last couple of years, I’ve unintentionally managed to coincide visits back home with local drifting events. So the last time I travelled to Iceland, I made sure to take my camera gear with me.

Drifting doesn’t have a huge following in Iceland, but those who compete are a passionate bunch. Rear-wheel drive BMWs are by far the most popular cars in the Icelandic Drift Championship, but there are always diamonds in the rough. The diamond I chose to spotlight was rougher than most.

I spotted the 1980 Toyota Cressida in the All Out Racing pit, while it was being worked on by its owner Sigurbergur Eiríksson, and had to go in for a closer look and a chat.

Sigurbergur explained to me, that on a whim back in 2013 he purchased two X40-series first-gen Cressidas with an idea to use them for fun activities some time in the future. At the time, Sigurbergur owned a 1996 Volkswagen Golf as his main car, so all of his energy was tied up in that build – until it wasn’t.

Just a month after completing the Golf, another motorist ran a red light and T-boned Sigurbergur’s Volkswagen good and proper. Thankfully, Sigurbergur lived to tell the story, but sadly his car did not. Some of the aftermarket engine parts he had fitted to the VR6 mill were salvageable, so those were removed and put aside, and the rest of the Golf was sent to scrap.

So Sigurbergur had a spare VW VR6 engine at home, those salvaged performance parts, and a couple of Cressidas. Can you see where this is going?

After his recovery from the accident, Sigurbergur rolled the best X40 of the two into his garage and got to work home-building a drift car.

As it sits now, the 2.8L 12-valve VW VR6 motor produces 417whp and 508Nm. Everything you see in the engine bay has been added with the thinking: use it until it breaks. The beauty of this is that Sigurbergur won’t cry over parts that fail. Most of them are cheap to repair or replace, and he certainly isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.

Modifications in the current setup include a Holset HX40 turbo from a snowplow, custom made intake and exhaust manifolds, and Bosch 2,200cc injectors.

Under the car you’ll find a mix and match of parts, from a custom-modified Ford 8.8-inch rear end pieced together from two ’96 Ford Explorer drivelines, to Driftworks CS2 coilovers originally designed for a Nissan S15 and Toyota AE86 caster arms.

As a result of few wall taps and the body twisting due to driveshaft problems, safety concerns started to present themselves. So in 2020, Sigurbergur tube-framed the rear of the Cressida, and pieced together a new fuel system around a custom aluminum cell.

The stripped interior features a full roll cage, a pair of Lico Hurricane bucket seats with TAKATA Racing harnesses, Sparco steering wheel with a 10cm spacer, a custom made hydraulic handbrake and a PMC gear shifter. The center console and the cage were custom-made by Sigurbergur. The original dash came from the other X40 Cressida, and was apparently one of the few items salvageable from that car.

Sigurbergur says that the one single biggest improvement he’s made to the car since building it, was adding power steering in 2021. Prior to that, it was pretty much manual steering and loads of tennis elbows.

Apart from the universal-fit bolt-on fender flares and whatever wheels can be found, the Cressida’s exterior has been kept mostly stock. The original bodywork and paint has definitely seen better days, but that doesn’t concern Sigurbergur in the slightest. As it stands, he doesn’t have to worry about it, and each new dent or scrape gained in the heat of battle only adds to Cressida’s character.

I asked Sigurbergur if he had any future plans for the car, and at the top of the list is more steering angle and more power. The body panels will eventually be molded and replacements made from fiberglass too, but with this build function most definitely comes before form.

Plans to take the car abroad are afoot though, and you can be sure that Gatebil appearances are definitely in this Icelandic Cressida’s future.

Alen Haseta
Instagram: hazetaa

Honda Malaysia is set to introduce four new vehicles in 2023, three of which will be all-new models, and the fourth a facelift. This was revealed in the business plan briefing the company held during its media night last Friday.

One of the four models was highlighted – while not specifically mentioned, the “small SUV” that was shown in a slide during the presentation is easily identified as the WR-V. Due to be introduced here in the third quarter, it will be joined by the sixth-generation CR-V and the FL5 Civic Type R, despite there being no outright identification of both during the briefing.

The CR-V, which was unveiled last July and set to be officially introduced in Thailand this coming Wednesday, is pretty much a given, seeing that the SUV has been spied running road trials in Malaysia and the nameplate very much a staple for the brand here.

When it eventually arrives, it is expected to do so as an e:HEV hybrid with a 2.0 litre engine and as a petrol variant, with the familiar 1.5 litre VTEC Turbo mill continuing to hold court. Word on the grapevine is that it will only debut after the WR-V arrives, which means it won’t be introduced before Q3.

As for the new Civic Type R, a photo of a manual gear knob in a presentation slide is as good an indicator as any that it’s coming. The FL5, which is based on the 11th-generation Civic Hatchback, is the follow-up act to the FK8 that was introduced here in 2017.

No indication of pricing, but before you get too excited by the prospect of the 330 PS/420 Nm firebrand, it’s safe to expect that the price of the new one will be higher than the previous-gen, which went for RM320,000 when it arrived.

Finally, the facelift, and this will be that of the City. The refreshed fifth-generation sedan made its debut in India earlier this month. Save the minor revisions to the exterior and interior, buyers can expect to find everything familiar about the car, including the powertrain choices available for it.

GALLERY: Honda WR-V

GALLERY: Honda CR-V, sixth-gen

GALLERY: FL5 Honda Civic Type R

GALLERY: Honda City facelift

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Sergio Perez won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Max Verstappen drove from 15th to second to give Red Bull a 1-2 finish Sunday in what is shaping up to be a runaway season for the reigning Formula One champions.

And there have only been two races so far.

“Nice job guys an excellent result for the team,” said Perez, who finished about 5 seconds ahead of Verstappen.

Through the first two races of the season it has been two Red Bull wins, two 1-2 finishes, and an air of desperation from everyone else on the grid.

Verstappen is chasing a third straight title and isn’t worried if it goes down to a straight fight between him and Perez.

“The best one will finish in front,” the Dutchman said.

Perez feels he’s yet to peak.

“I’m not sure it’s my best weekend with the team, Melbourne will be even better,” he said, looking ahead to the next race in Australia on April 2.

Fernando Alonso finished third for the second consecutive race for what would have been his 100th career podium. But he was later handed a 10-second penalty for incorrectly serving an earlier penalty and that dropped him to fourth.

But even as the Spaniard enjoys a renaissance with his new Aston Martin team, Alonso has acknowledged he had little chance at beating Red Bull.

Verstappen won a record 15 races last season and a second consecutive F1 title, and Perez added another two victories as the 17 total wins in 23 races easily gave Red Bull the constructors title. There have been no signs of an offseason drop in performance and George Russell, who moved up to third after the Alonso penalty on on Sunday, predicted after the season-opener that Red Bull would win every race this season.

“I was having fun out there and the car was feeling good,” Russell said after his 10th career podium. “I think it was harsh what happened to Fernando. But I’m happy to pick up the silverware.”

Lewis Hamilton finished fifth as Mercedes went third and fifth just three days after the seven-time F1 champion said the team needed three other organizations not to finish a race for Mercedes to have a shot to win.

“We are not where we want to be but we will get there,” Hamilton told his team.

The show on Sunday was Verstappen, who overcame a mechanical problem in qualifying that forced him to start 15th and quickly worked his way up the grid. The Dutchman set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap to retain his hold atop the F1 points standings.

“Great recovery, Max, that was a really good drive at the end,” Red Bull boss Christian Horner radioed Verstappen.

Verstappen felt the late push was worth the risk.

“I gave it a go at the end and luckily it worked out,” he said.

Red Bull has now finished 1-2 in three consecutive races dating to last year’s finale.

It was the fifth career win for Perez, who started from the pole for the second consecutive year at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. He was briefly leading the championship standings until Verstappen slipped ahead by logging the fastest lap.

“Let’s keep it up, let’s keep pushing,” said the Mexican.

Perez started on pole with Alonso on the front row alongside him and Alonso jumped out to a quick lead, but was promptly penalized for being in the improper starting position. He thought he served the five-second penalty, but the race stewards docked him another 10 seconds post podium celebration.

Russell said “common sense needs to be applied,” and Alonso was annoyed with governing body FIA.

“I think it’s more of a FIA poor show today more than disappointment for ourselves,” Alonso told broadcaster Sky. “You can’t apply the penalty 35 laps after the pit stop. They had enough time to inform us.”

Perez soon regained the lead while Verstappen and Charles Leclerc — starting from 12th because of a 10-place grid penalty — chewed up the cars ahead of them.

When both Ferrari’s pitted for new tires, Verstappen was in fourth.

The 6.2-kilometer (3.8-mile) circuit beside the Red Sea is the quickest street track in F1 with average speeds exceeding 250 kmh (160 mph), which suited Verstappen. It took him only a few seconds to pass Russell and Alonso didn’t last long, either, making it a Red Bull shootout.

Perez held firm.

Ferrari had another race to forget, with Carlos Sainz Jr. placing sixth ahead of Charles Leclerc in seventh. At least Leclerc finished, after retiring in Bahrain, but he wasn’t happy.

“Being behind like this is really (expletive), I don’t know what to do,” Leclerc said as he trundled behind traffic.

Frenchmen Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly were eighth and ninth for Alpine with Haas driver Kevin Magnussen in 10th.

Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll retired on Lap 18, leading to a safety car restart that suited Verstappen.

Alex Albon retired his Williams and his teammate Logan Sargeant, the rookie American driver, started last and finished 16th. McLaren struggled again with Oscar Piastri 15th and Lando Norris down in 17th.

“Tough race after an unlucky start with damage to both cars on the opening lap. Made it too difficult to turn things around. But we tried hard,” McLaren boss Zak Brown tweeted. “Time to get our season back on track in Australia.”

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