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| (Photo: Kevin ''Crash'' Corrigan) |
Other nice little touches include the interior light which detaches and becomes an LED flashlight (an industry first), the illuminated coffee cup holders, and the seating arrangements, which include a fold-flat front passenger seat and reclining rears. Speaking of seats, these are well designed, stylish, comfortable, and my test vehicle carried rather sharp looking color-keyed inserts.
Now, I have been known to have a little poke at Daimler-Chrysler now and again for their interiors, but I have to take my hat off to them on this one. It suits the vehicle, and the materials are of better quality than you would expect in this price range.
Ok, so it looks good and sports a well-designed interior, but what is it like to drive?
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| (Photo: Kevin ''Crash'' Corrigan) |
The power is supplied by a smooth running 2.0L 4 cylinder DOHC engine with 16 valves and Variable-Valve-Timing. This is then fed through a Continuously Variable Transaxle (CVT) transmission to the front wheels. This doesn't give exactly mind-blowing acceleration from a standing start, but it does work well when performing passing maneuvers, and is extremely smooth in operation. It is also a large part of the reason behind the Caliber's great fuel economy (9.0 City, 7.3 Hwy). That's 39 miles per gallon! I'd call that "great fuel economy", and I can still remember when I was young and had to find gas money.
The ride is a little on the semi-firm side. In fact, it feels like a European car in many ways. The Caliber SXT Sport comes with anti-lock front disc/rear drum brakes which are more than adequate for the vehicle. All in all, I thought that the Caliber handled very well. In fact, I've driven vehicles that carry a much higher price-tag that came up short of it.
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| (Photo: Kevin ''Crash'' Corrigan) |
I think that Dodge has a real winner on their hands here, and that the younger buyers are going to go wild for it. On the other hand, I was talking to an older gentleman the other day who was thinking of trading in his minivan for one. He felt that the fold-flat front seat would be great, as he could lay a six foot step ladder in there. I have a funny feeling that the younger folks might have "other ideas" for that particular feature.
