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Best compact SUVs of 2022

Compact SUVs are now the go-to choice for family transportation. Actually, considering how popular they are, they have clearly moved beyond only family duty. With such popularity, though, comes an awful lot of competitors, and it can be difficult to figure out which one might be the best compact SUV for you.  It's important to note that by "compact SUV" we're talking about a specific segment. As we describe in our more comprehensive "Best small SUVs" list, there are also subcompact SUVs that vary widely in size amongst themselves, but are clearly smaller than the SUVs below. Frankly, today's segment of compact SUVs isn't exactly compact — some have more cargo space than vehicles that are considered midsize based on their exterior dimensions. They've all grown considerably over the years. While many lists out there just rattle off every vehicle available in a segment, we thought we'd be a bit more helpful and curate your shopping a bit with the top-recommended choices reviewed by Autoblog. We've included both mainstream and compact luxury SUV choices. Best compact SUVs of 2023 and 2024 2024 Honda CR-V Why it stands out: Best-in-class space; excellent hybrid powertrain; sharp interior style; Honda dependabilityCould be better: No lower-price base trim levels; no sporty or off-road niche models; no plug-in hybrid Read our full 2024 Honda CR-V Review Consider the CR-V the baseline for any compact SUV search, and look extra closely at the superb CR-V Hybrid option. Objectively speaking, it's tough to beat due to its massive cargo capacity, voluminous back seat, strong-yet-efficient engines, well-balanced driving dynamics, competitive pricing and features,  and well-regarded reliability. It's easy to see why it continues to be such a best-seller: for the vast majority of compact SUV buyers, and especially families, it checks every box. That's been the case for many years now, however. The all-new 2023 Honda CR-V changes things up by adding a bit more style and character, particularly in terms of its interior design and how surprisingly enjoyable the Sport and Sport Touring hybrid trim levels are to drive.

Mixed sales results, but automaker stocks rise on need for cars in Houston

DETROIT — The Big Three Detroit automakers on Friday reported better-than-expected August sales and issued optimistic outlooks for demand as residents of the Houston area replace flood-damaged cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey, sending their stocks higher. General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler posted mixed August U.S. sales, with GM up 7.5 percent and Ford and Fiat Chrysler down. Japanese automaker Toyota improved sales by nearly 7 percent, while Honda fell 2.4 percent. Still, analysts focused on the potential for Detroit automakers to cut inventories and stabilize used vehicle prices as residents of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, are forced to replace tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of vehicles after the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Mark LaNeve, Ford's U.S. sales chief, told analysts on Friday that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "we saw a very dramatic snapback" in demand. That said, Ford sales fell 2.1 percent in August. It sold 209,897 vehicles in the United States, compared with 214,482 a year earlier. Sales were down 1.9 percent in the Ford division and off 5.8 percent at Lincoln. Demand was down for cars, crossovers and SUVs. It was not clear how many vehicles in the Houston area will be scrapped, LaNeve said, saying he had seen estimates ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 to 1 million. Ford's Houston dealers may have lost fewer than 5,000 vehicles in inventory, he said. Ford is the No. 1 automaker in the Houston market, with 18 percent share, according to IHS Markit. The company plans to ship used vehicles to Houston dealers and has "every indication we would have to add some production" of new vehicles to meet demand, LaNeve said. Investor concerns about inventories of unsold vehicles and falling used car prices have weighed on Detroit automakers' shares most of this year. Now, automakers can anticipate a jolt of demand from a big market that is a stronghold for Detroit brand trucks and SUVs. "It's got to be a positive for the industry," LaNeve said. Investors appeared to agree. GM shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to their highest since early March. Ford increased 2.8 percent at $11.34, and Fiat Chrysler's U.S.-traded shares were up 5.2 percent $15.91, hitting their highest in more than five years. GM reported a 7.5 percent increase in U.S. auto sales in August, helped by robust sales of crossovers across its four brands.

Honda patents engine with different cylinder displacements

A basic rule of engine design states that the displacement of a cylinder is equal to the engine's total displacement divided by its cylinder count. Honda, according to a recently surfaced Japanese patent, is looking to break that rule with an engine containing cylinders of different sizes. We've done our best to translate it from patent-ese. The idea is that different-sized combustion chambers give more flexibility when any combination of cylinders are deactivated, or rested. Because the different numbers can be combined in various ways, it provides more and smaller increments than would an engine with equal-displacement cylinders. Take a 2.0-liter four-cylinder, for example. Following the golden displacement rule, each of the four cylinders has a volume of 500 cc, giving displacement increments of 500 cc when any cylinder is deactivated. But suppose instead that the four cylinders displace 300, 425, 600, and 675 cc, respectively. This would give the engine 15 available displacements instead of just four, and the spacing between each option would be far less than 500cc. As a result, those different virtual displacements would provide more adjustment between power and efficiency than a cylinder-deactivation system can on a conventional engine. Honda's patent describes cylinders with equal bore size, with the displacement from cylinder to cylinder varying based on the crank throw radius – the longer the throw, the longer the stroke and the larger the displacement of that particular combustion chamber. The patent describes how the cylinder sizes would need to be arranged to spread the load on the crankshaft and presumably limit vibration that would be introduced by the different pulse magnitudes. If we're interpreting things correctly, the largest cylinder (the one with the longest crank throw radius) sits in the middle of the bank with the smaller ones alternating on either side as they decrease in displacement. This concept is described for multi-cylinder inline and V-type engines of various sizes. The patent was filed in March of 2014 and published in January of this year. Whether or not this arrangement will reach production is of course unknown, but the advantages in terms of both efficiency and power seem promising. Related Video: News Source: Japan Patent Office via Auto Guide Green Honda Fuel Efficiency Technology patent