my week with a caliber....

[Kojack]

I rented a caliber for a week in halifax...what a pos it was. CVT sucks, the motor was ve very loud, no visability, and fit and finish was way subpar....you can't fit two suit cases in the back of the car and golf clubs, forget it..

 

[stillageek]

Drove one a few months ago. It was a cheap rental. I got in and reached for the power windows....no power windows. The new vehicle sticker was in the glovebox. MSRP'd for more than $15K! Wow. Crazy. Dido on the driving experience. The worst part...a very thirsty 4 cylinder.

 

[blacktalon13]

the dodge caliber is the same cars as the mitsubishi lancer.. =P

 

[Kojack]

Does'nt say much for the mitsu. if thats what its like then im glad I have never driven one. big deal the evo is fast....if the fit and finish etc is anything like the caliber...count me out...

 

[opus]

Does'nt say much for the mitsu. if thats what its like then im glad I have never driven one. big deal the evo is fast....if the fit and finish etc is anything like the caliber...count me out...

Same basic driveline and chassis system, but after that, totally different. They share some engines, some transmissions, and other driveline bits but the exterior, interior, HVAC systems, sound systems, seats, etc.... are totally different. Caliber is made in Chrysler plant with Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot, Lancer is made in totally different facility.

 

[Kojack]

hope they dont have the motor and trans from the caliber that I had. GARBAGE!

 

[Olestra]

I've driven base caliber with CVT and base Lancer with CVT. Both CVT's felt the same - Very horrible and sluggish. So I'd believe when someone said they're the same.
The engines are suppose to have as much power as the Mazda3/5 but it definitely felt much weaker (I think I was driving the 1.8L with 148hp). I suspect the transmission definitely affected the driveability of the car. Going uphill in the downtown area was terrible, the engine would drone loudly as if it were barely going to make it.
Funny about the bad fuel mileage comment, Dodge commercials for the Caliber are based on how fuel efficient it is.

It definitely gave me a very bad impression on CVT transmissions. I haven't tried other automakers' CVTs (like Nissan).

If you're ever going to get a Lancer, get their manual trans. Evo tranny is completely different, so that's apples to oranges. And Mitsu's fit and finish is 1000 times better than a caliber.

 

[mrbwa1]

A lot of carmakers can push 140-150HP our of 4cyl engines, ofter smaller than the 2.3L in the 5. where Mazda got things right was the powerband. Unfortunately, only peak figures are posted, but from driving the 5, I can imagine that the torque curve is nice and fat. Now look at the Calibur's 1.8L and it probably has less torque and a very peaky torque curve.

Don't even get me started on fuel economy advertising. When was the last time anyone say City mileage advertised on a car? My folks just bought a Prius and do you know how many people ask why a Prius when a 4cyl Camry can get 30+ MPG? (too bad the city rating is like 22mpg). But I digress. At least the Prius has a pretty sweet 'CVT' setup.

 

[Kojack]

too bad the prius is ugly as sin. camry hybrid is sweet car however. but the caliber is another flop in a long line of them from dodge. every car they make looks the same, I have own 2 dodge products and both were plain junk.

 

[stillageek]

The Prius MPG is very picky on how you drive. My wife has a 2004 Prius with 55K miles. She still gets 48MPG mixed city highway. When I drive it I get 45-47 MPG. We were getting 50MPG+ but got new tires that are not low rolling resistance, we went for longer life tires. My 5 is getting 25MPG avg so far. I don't drive much, about 600 miles a month of mostly 10 mile trips.

 

[Kojack]

yeah...they are cool but ulgy. my car is 1 year old now and just rolled up 28000. I am starting to drive it more than my truck to keep the km's down on my truck lease. I was going to keep it but the new 150 is coming out and im getting a FX4 version of that with all the trimmings..