Introduction: The Caliber was introduced in 2006 as Dodge's replacement for the Dodge Neon in the 2007 model year. Unlike the Neon the Caliber is only available as a hatchback and its the first Chrysler to use the GEMA engines where Chrysler, Mitsubishi and Hyundai cooperated to design. The Caliber also is one of the earliest Chryslers to use a CVT transmission.
Like all Chrysler models I was not very interested in the Caliber and at this point I expected the worst. What I didn't expect were the colours the Caliber came in...there's an bottle tan orange which is pretty hideous.
Performance: The Caliber SXT comes with the 2.0L GEMA 4-cylinder engine which produces 158 hp and 141 lb.ft of torque. All SXTs come with a CVT transmission to be paired with this engine. There is also a selection of the 1.8L GEMA engine which is only paired with the manual transmission and the bigger 2.4 GEMA engine which was mentioned in the Patriot and Compass reviews. Bottom line, this 2.0L GEMA engine is just as terrible and is certainly worse than the 2.4L due to how lethargic the car accelerates. This is also the worst CVT I've encountered, its not a fuel efficient power train and its unable to get the best gear ratios when you want to go faster. Nissan is superior it seems when it comes to making a proper CVT than Chrysler is. There is no exact acceleration times the 1.8L with the manual was clocked at 9.7 seconds for its 0-100 km/h time. The 2.0L with its stupid transmission feels more than 10 seconds despite the extra torque. The most annoying thing about accelerating the Caliber with the CVT is...from 0-5000 rpm you get lots of noise but no real movement its the 5000-6000 range where the car actually wakes up.
My Score: 1/10 - Terrible engine, very noisy, very slow
Handling: Here's another area of expected failure and the Caliber doesn't disappoint. The base Calibers are roughly 3000 lbs which is very heavy for a car of this size, as a result it has a more difficult time taking corners. The suspension Dodge fitted to this car is neither comfortable nor very good at taking corners. Dodge has done a poor job with the steering feel, while its hydraulic its way too over boosted and as such always feels numb. For a car that's designed for the city since its too slow and noisy for highway driving, the Caliber is a bit of a disaster.
My Score: 1/10 - A heavy car, with numb steering and an awful suspension...there's no way such a combination is good.
Interior: The interior plastics in the Caliber are identical to the Compass and the Patriot. Very cheap plastic material, absolutely unattractive in every way possible. Most Calibers use black plastic and it doesn't seem to hide how hideous the vehicle is to be inside. The seat is decent but is still not comfortable. If you got a base Caliber its even worse, you get roll up windows and because Dodge intended you to buy the power options Dodge didn't make it easy to get at the door locks for the rear doors. The Caliber is however spacious for its size and as a hatch the rear can hold quite a few items. Keep in mind the plastic board covering your spare wheel is so cheap in quality it'll scratch instantly you put something solid there. The Caliber is built in the US and unfortunately is not built very well, panel gaps and loose trim are common issues.
My Score: 2/10 - Low quality materials, not comfortable, not built very well but spacious
Styling: Dodge wanted to make a car that appeared somewhat like an SUV but wasn't. This just makes the proportions of the Caliber look very odd. The vehicle is very chunky in portions that make it ungainly and the truck-like grille again gives you the impression its big...until you see the roof where the car looks flattened. The cheap plastic roof spoiler contains your 3rd brake light meaning its not an option to lose it sadly.
My Score: 2/10 - Doesn't look very good, ugly proportions particularly
Value for the money: If space is really what you want from a car, the Caliber might actually not be a horrible buy. Then again why not just pay that bit extra for a then Mazda 6 wagon which is superior to this car. Everything else the Caliber does is horrible, its less fuel efficient than its ancestors from the K-car(the Aries and Reliant) and the predecessor Neon. The Neon was also faster due to not having the blocky body. Calibers are not reliable either ensuring a loss here to the Japanese cars. They're not great to drive also ensuring a loss to VW. Lastly while its built in America...it still confuses me why you would buy this vehicle when there are better American choices like the Focus and the Cobalt.
My Score: 2/10 - If you need a cheap spacious hatch, maybe but on all other levels this car is pretty awful.
Overall: 8/50 - Another hopeless car from Chrysler.
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