Dodge Caliber

[Caillo]

Hello,

I'm considering purchasing a brand new dodge caliber and was wondering if anyone would like to share their experiences and/or opnions about the car.

Reasons why I like the car:

-Good styling
-Great safety ratings across the board
-Mercedes Benz ESP available
-Decent gas mileage

[BartBandy]

I haven't driven one, but I think they're on the right track. Their new seat material is apparently very stain resistant, btw. The rest of the interior quality is the part you'll have to decide on for yourself.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jm/07caliber.htm
http://www.canadiandriver.com/testdrives/07calibersxt.htm
http://www.canadiandriver.com/ctc/blog/?p=91

[tidus888]

i would say that itz a nice car for the price...

i am not too sure.. but i think the New Lancer.. or even the EVO X is based on Caliber's platform!

[lingenfelter7]

if you aren't too concerned with the performance aspect, it seems like a great value for the money, lots of accessories and other goodies with that bold dodge styling
-my pet peeve is the cvt transmission, better fuel economy but strange to drive and lose the feeling of a normal engine and transmission, a bit weak in off the line performance too
-to all the people who are thinking of the caliber i always say to check out the mazda 3, fabulous car with all the goodies, better performance and around the same price..though insurance may be a bit more

[Slippery_Pete]

i would say that itz a nice car for the price...

i am not too sure.. but i think the New Lancer.. or even the EVO X is based on Caliber's platform!

You are right, the Lancer and Outlander share the GS platform with the Caliber, Compass and Patriot as that platform was co-developed with Mitsubishi. The Evo employs a different platform.

[SKYMTL]

-Good styling

W....T....F. :confused:

[oldsnail]

quote from article


Worst Car of the year: Dodge Caliber
Having swept the "Disappointment of the Year" and "Ugliest Car of the Year" awards, Chrysler completed the hat-trick by taking our big prize, "Worst Car of the Year" award ! Thanks to the world-beating performance of its Dodge Caliber. Congratulation !

Dodge Caliber possesses all the qualities necessary for this award: it is built upon a wrong concept - Chrysler thought that a SUV-looking hatchback could please American and European customers simultaneously, but this resulted in unnecessary weight gain and higher center of gravity, which translated to poor performance, handling, ride and fuel consumption.

But that's not all. The Caliber also has an ugly design in and out, appalling plastic quality, poor fit and finish, noisy engines, clonky gearchange for manual gearbox, annoying response for the CVT, truck-like steering... Scores poorly in most areas, no wonder it beat other contenders easily to take our last award.

[tkyoshi]

quote from article

You have to weigh it though...

You are always going to have negative articles, most of the reviews of the Caliber are positive and it's selling quite well.

Once you get used to the CVT, it's great especially on hills (no more gear hunting).

[jerryhung]

Test drive it, it really varies

Had Dodge Caliber (with MP3, cooler option) for a week rental, didn't really like it. Interior is too plastic, rear window too small

PT Cruiser, yes though :)

[chriswalsh]

I think it would be a decent car to own. Personally, I hate the styling and would go for a compass instead but basically the same car. Are you thinking of going CVT2 or 5-speed?

[Caillo]

1st off, thanks for all the replies.

As for style, I personally think the front end of the car is really bold and "Dodge" looking. I like it much better than the Compass and Patriot (similarly priced).

As for the interior, I completely see what you guys are talking about. It definitely has a bit of a cheap plastic feel to it. I was planning on getting the sports appearance group to try and spruce it up a bit.

If I bought this, I would get the automatic with CVT. They say CVT is more efficient on gas and doesn't "jump" gears. Wouldn't this make a smoother more practical ride? I'm not to educated on this and I don't really care if it's fast off the lines.

As for the Mazda 3 and Pt Cruiser: Total Cost of ownership was higher for both cars. But I still think I will check out the Mazda because it may be worth it..... The PT cruiser didn't score well on safety or gas mileage for me.

[Caillo]

One more thing I forgot to ask: Does anyone know if this car is reliable? I'm very concerned about this since the Neon was a reliability nightmare and I know this car is made at the same plant as the Neon was.

I know the car has only been on the market for 1.5 years but I figured I'd ask anyway.

[ES_Revenge]

If I bought this, I would get the automatic with CVT. They say CVT is more efficient on gas and doesn't "jump" gears. Wouldn't this make a smoother more practical ride? I'm not to educated on this and I don't really care if it's fast off the lines.
Well you wouldn't actually be getting an auto "with CVT" you'd be getting a CVT. A CVT is different from a traditional automatic, though it is an "automatic" in the sense of the definition of "automatic". I'm not sure whether the comments about the CVT here are about all CVTs rather than the particular implementation of CVT in the Caliber...

CVT transmissions are actually getting quite popular. And to be honest in most cars I can't tell a CVT from a normal automatic. Often times the only reason I find out the trans was a CVT is by looking on the internet after driving the cars or looking on the window stickers and see that it indeed has a CVT. But it's clear not only from the comments here but also the professional reviews quoted that the CVT in the Caliber doesn't seem all that great.

The other thing is pretty much all the manufacturers are also putting command shift controls with the CVTs--so they appear exactly the same as automatics with command shift. To me that's kind of a strange/backwards thing to do, but it seems to work/feel the same as an automatic with the same.


As for the Mazda 3 and Pt Cruiser: Total Cost of ownership was higher for both cars. But I still think I will check out the Mazda because it may be worth it..... The PT cruiser didn't score well on safety or gas mileage for me.
Strange. Isn't the Caliber essentially the dual-replacement for both the Neon and the PT? It would seem that way anyway. I thought the PT was on it's way out (I didn't even realise it was still being sold actually). D-C is supposed to have a car more akin to the Neon coming in the future as well, based on the same platform as the Caliber, right?

Anyway the best thing about the Caliber is probably the fact that the SRT4 is going to have 300hp :D

[Caillo]

So I took the advice of some of you and test drove the Mazda 3.... WOW :-0
What a great car to drive, much more fun then the Caliber. I was almost sold on the car and almost bought it on the spot because I was so impressed, even though it costs more then the Caliber.

Then I decided to go home and do a little more research and, with great disappointment, I found out that this car is not very safe:

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/safety.aspx?year=2007&make=Mazda&model=Mazda3

So I'm still thinking the Caliber is the car for me... At least for now.

[themanfromvlad]

So I took the advice of some of you and test drove the Mazda 3.... WOW :-0
What a great car to drive, much more fun then the Caliber. I was almost sold on the car and almost bought it on the spot because I was so impressed, even though it costs more then the Caliber.

Then I decided to go home and do a little more research and, with great disappointment, I found out that this car is not very safe:

http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/safety.aspx?year=2007&make=Mazda&model=Mazda3

So I'm still thinking the Caliber is the car for me... At least for now.

If you want safety, have you test drove the Nissan Versa? Terrific safety ratings in front, side, rear tests. The SL model comes decked out with terrific features. Much nicer than the Caliber, I've driven both and I bought a Versa SL about two months ago.

[Caillo]

If you want safety, have you test drove the Nissan Versa? Terrific safety ratings in front, side, rear tests. The SL model comes decked out with terrific features. Much nicer than the Caliber, I've driven both and I bought a Versa SL about two months ago.

Never even heard of this car until you mentioned it... It looks very promissing. The safety rattings are good on this car, as you mentioned... The Caliber does beat the Versa in safety but only by a marginal amount. What strikes me about the Versa is it beats the Caliber by a pretty decent amount in fuel economy which I love.

How's the Versa insurance cost wise??? I definitely think I'm gonna test drive this car. Thanks for mentioning it.

[*pgguy*]

I was impressed when I took out Nissan Versa for a test drive. It even has a 6spd manual. Also CVT transmission. Try it out on the highway and see how quiet the engine is. If I remember correctly, it was cruising @100km/h with less than 2000rpm
http://drivingtelevision.com/index.php?epID=407

[blainehamilton]

I have an 07 Caliber as my work vehicle. I agree and disagree somewhat with the comments in this thread.

I've done a about 7500km since I got the car 4 weeks ago, and this is what I've found:

-Lousy performance off the line.
-Horrible response for passing. (Make sure you have lots of free room ahead)
-Smooth shifting for steady acceleration and highway driving.
-Decent cornering and high speed handling. (17" wheels help with this)
-Poor visability with small windows on sides and back.
-Comfortable seats and pedal placement.
-Very uncomfortable headrests.
-Handy features such as AC outlet, bottle chiller (I keep a couple of bottles of water all the time)
-Plastic interior styling is a bit cheap, but not bad.
-Layout of dash air vents for driver sucks.
-Very decent sounding audio system. (not audiophile by any standard but pretty good for fm and cd road tunes)
-Tiny rear cargo space when back seats are up.