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Wagons Dodge Caliber Dodge Caliber Test Drive - What Did You Think?
59 messages, Last post on Aug 02, 2006 at 11:52 AM
You are in the Dodge Caliber Forum. Your Host is kcram
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Hey Guys, I just drove a Caliber R/T about 100 miles yesterday and came away generally disappointed. The two areas that I felt the car under-delivered in were performance and interior quality. You can read my entire blog entry here, but the short version is that the interior plastics are substandard and the engine/CVT combination make it feel underpowered. I know "SRT" is the real performance designation at Dodge, but for this car to wear an "R/T" badge and still feel this sluggish is unacceptable IMHO. I've been generally happy with most of DCX's new product offerings in the last couple years, but this one leaves me cold. Karl
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Replying to: editor_karl (Apr 19, 2006 11:12 am)
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Replying to: canoenut (Apr 19, 2006 5:25 pm) |
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Replying to: editor_karl (Apr 19, 2006 11:12 am) I had been driving my Caliber STX about 1800 miles before I found about the step in the gas pedal. You push down on the gas, and it is like pushing on air up to a point. Most people would never know to go further. Try pushing it further you might even think you are going to break something. And I think you will be surprised at the power. I think you are under rating the performance; you should go back and try it again. You will be surprised. |
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i went to a dodge dealer and test drove the caliber sxt yesterday and i loved it! it drove much nicer than the vibe or matrix in my opinion and i liked the added horsepower but still decent gas mileage. the dealer only had one on the lot so i am waiting for more cars to come in-i may go back and put some $ down so i get what i want. seems like they are only taking $500 off sticker plus the $500 rebate, is that about right?
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Replying to: lablover2 (Apr 23, 2006 3:53 am) |
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Hello people! I just wanted to let you know... I bought a black Caliber SXT, 1.8L, 5speed about 2 weeks ago. I'll only get it in 4-6 weeks, but when I bought the car, it was only after test driving an SE with CVT2. I personally don't like the CVT2 at all. It's clumsy and very noisy! I just can't stand it! I am more of a manual transmission car type guy. With manual, I feel a lot more control over the car. It's easier to get the power you want, when you need it! Anyway, my point is, I went back to the same dealership where I ordered the car this past weekend and, I was pretty surprised when I saw a 1.8L, 5 speed, orange SE Caliber on the lot... Last time I checked, the guys at the dealership told me that they were only going to start getting manual transmissions Calibers in mid-may. So, I'm thinking, maybe I'll be able to drive mine before mid-june... I just can't wait... And of course, I asked my salesman to go test drive the orange 1.8L, 5speed... by myself!! You see, I am not a mechanic, but I know enough about cars to be able to tell what's good on a car, what's wrong and what's gonna be my next mod.  Seriously, when you go test drive a car, you should always go by yourself. You can take "all the time you want" to have a look at the car. Nobody to disturb you, to take your attention away from the things you should be able to check when you're by yourself... So, I drove away, test drove the car on highway, curvy roads, city streets, dirt roads... for about 30 minutes. And then I stopped in a parking lot and I listened to the engine, looked under the car, the hood, everywhere! Looking for noises, weakness, things that will fall apart after a couple years. I did find a few little things, but nothing that can't be handled and fixed by the dealership. EX: Look for missing rubber pieces around the doors, the hood and the trunk. These are little things, but it makes a lot of noise when you shut a door and there is one missing. Metal against metal = No good. The car was very quiet, except when you make the engine rev to 6000rpm... but that's normal! The 5speed was never as noisy as the one with the 2.0L with CVT2. Not much road noises. Good stability, good brakes, good suspension. A bit of steer when you accelerate very fast, which could be a problem if you are driving 6 months of the year in winter conditions and you don't have a lot of driving experience.  When you are test driving a car by yourself, you can listen to the car without the radio on, with the radio on, windows up, down, etc. I really think it's important to do all those things. That way, you are making sure that you will like the car. An other thing, some car reviews on the Caliber are saying that the 5speed isn't "smooth", it's hard to shift and needs some refinements. I think it's not bad at all, and if you really know how to drive standards, you should know that every new transmission needs a little bit of time to break in and that at a certain engine rev, it's easier to shift. Once I got use to the feel of the 5speed manual transmission of the Caliber, I loved it... and it was very smooth, and fast!!! 
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Replying to: blackcaliber (May 01, 2006 9:10 am) I am glad someone drove the car we ordered and found it to be a good choice! I hope we get ours soon, this Thurs is 6 weeks..
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Replying to: caliberchic (May 01, 2006 11:47 am) Thanks! I can't wait to get mine. I've seen 3 or 4 Calibers so far while driving around and they were all from an other province!! It's getting pretty warm and sunny here, I can't wait to take mine for a drive... but I'll need to get it first... 
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Replying to: blackcaliber (May 01, 2006 9:10 am)  Hello blackcaliber. What City/Town did you see that orange 5 - speed in? I'm approaching an 8 week wait for a 1.8 5 - speed. Very frustrating!!!
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