2007 Dodge Caliber Review

Ask a car-crazy kid to draw a crossover vehicle -- one combining car and SUV attributes -- and he might create something that looks like the new, Illinois-built Dodge Caliber.

The brawny Caliber has lots of visual swagger and is built at DaimlerChrysler's newly refurbished Belvidere plant. It replaces the 1994-05 Dodge Neon, which was built at the Belvidere facility. The decent, compact front-drive Neon's design had become dated, compared with newer Japanese and South Korean rivals.

The early 2007 Caliber looks and feels very contemporary and is designed to be sold in 100 countries outside North America. That's why it has a versatile hatchback design and comes with four-cylinder engines that deliver high fuel economy.

DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler group, which makes Chryslers, Dodges and Jeeps, says one U.S. Caliber market is occupied by "fortysomething parents who are buying a car for their children." But the new Dodge will be the only vehicle for one-car families in less-affluent countries and thus must be versatile, rugged and fuel-stingy.

In fact, the new Jeep Compass, to be built at Belvidere, is based on the Caliber, and Jeeps are firstly expected to be rugged.

Caliber models sold in other countries will have right- and left-hand drive and will be offered with a 2-liter turbocharged diesel four-cylinder engine with 134 horsepower because half the cars sold in Europe have diesels.

The Caliber starts as the $13,425 SE, and also is offered as the $15,425 SXT and top-line $19,425 R/T. The SE and SXT have front-drive, while the R/T comes only with all-wheel drive.

I tested the R/T. Curiously, it felt like a larger, heavier car. It provided decent, if not neck-snapping, performance despite having the most potent Caliber engine. The additional weight of its all-wheel-drive system caused the engine to sound as if working a little hard during fast acceleration.

The R/T has "performance" steering that's almost too quick, but handling is good and the ride is supple over rough roads despite its firmer sport suspension. The brake pedal has a nice linear action for smooth stops.

I first saw the Caliber last March at the Geneva Auto Show in Switzerland, where its styling and extreme height made it look almost too big and aggressive alongside small European-only cars. However, the Caliber is a fraction shorter than the Neon, although slightly wider and 4.4 inches taller. It's easy to park the Caliber and to maneuver it in traffic. And its height allows upright, chairlike seating and comfortable space for four 6-footers. Head room is especially impressive.

Occupants sit inches higher in the quiet interior than they would in most compact cars for the feel of an SUV, or "crossover," if you will. The height allows tall doors, which make it easy to slide in and out of the supportive front seats.

The roomy cargo area has a wide, fairly low opening, and reclining rear seatbacks on SXT and R/T models flip forward and sit flat to greatly enlarge that area. The front passenger seatback also can be flipped forward for even more cargo room.

Thick windshield posts can partially block visibility when you're turning a corner, but overall visibility is generally good. Reflections in covers of the deeply set gauges occasionally can make them hard to read quickly.

Climate controls are commendably large, as are most sound system controls. There's a deep console bin with a cover and a large glove box. But the ignition switch on the steering column is hard to easily find, and front cupholders are set a bit too low at the front of the console. Rear cupholders are behind the front console, at floor level.

There are a bunch of reasonably priced options, including a power sunroof, upscale sound system and Sirius satellite radio. A clever extra is MusicGate, which features pull-down speakers in the hatch lid. There's also an available Chill Zone, a cooled beverage storage bin available with air conditioning that can hold up to four 20-ounce bottles or cans.

The engines fit the Caliber's international nature, being jointly developed by the Chrysler group, Mitsubishi and Hyundai.

The front-drive SE's 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine develops 148 horsepower, and an optional 2-liter, 158-horsepower four-cylinder is offered. The 1.8 comes only with a five-speed manual transmission, while the 2-liter is hooked to an efficient continuously variable automatic transmission, which has a rather notchy shifter.

The front-drive SXT is offered with the 1.8 with the manual as standard and the 2-liter with the CVT automatic as optional.

The R/T comes only with all-wheel drive and is powered by a 2.4-liter "four" with 172 horsepower. It also comes only with the CVT, which adds a manual shift feature (a regular manual will be offered later this year). Surer handling is provided by 18-inch (up from 17-inch) wheels.

Estimated Caliber fuel economy is 23-28 mpg in the city and 26-32 on the highway, depending on the engine, transmission and drive system.

The Neon came in widely applauded, high-performance SRT-4 form with a turbocharged 230-horsepower four-cylinder engine. A front-drive Caliber SRT-4 thus arrives later this year with a 300-horsepower turbocharged version of the R/T engine, backed by a six-speed manual transmission. It will have racier styling, sportier interior and larger tires on fat 19-inch alloy wheels. Estimated price will be about $25,000.

The aggressively priced Caliber is better than most American brand compacts and should be quite competitive with top Asian nameplates. Chrysler historically has outdone rivals when it comes up with innovative vehicles, and the Caliber should be no exception in that regard. 

2007 DODGE CALIBER 

PRICES: $13,425-$19,425

LIKES: Versatile. Roomy. Supple ride. Distinctive styling. Available all-wheel drive.

DISLIKES: Thick windshield posts. Rather noisy engine. Awkward ignition switch location.