Dodge Caliber

Dodge Caliber in Nigeria

The Dodge Caliber is a tiny automobile. The Caliber is a five-passenger, five-door vehicle that combines characteristics from hatchback, wagon, and minivan designs.

There are four distinct four-cylinder engines available, depending on the Caliber model, with manual or continuously variable automatic transmissions. The Caliber is not only reasonably priced, but it is also quite fuel-efficient, with an EPA rating of 24/30 City/Highway miles per gallon in its most thrifty variant.

The SRT4 variant, on the other hand, features a turbocharged engine that produces 285 horsepower. It is a great bargain at a fairly steep starting price.

Lineup

The Dodge Caliber comes in four different variants, each with a four-cylinder engine. A 148-horsepower 1.8-liter with a five-speed manual is standard in SE and SXT, a 158-horsepower 2.0-liter with a continuously variable automatic (CVT) is optional in SE and SXT, a 172-horsepower 2.4-litre with either the five-speed or the CVT is standard in R/T, and the SRT4 has a 285-horsepower turbocharged 2.4 Only the CVT is offered with the 2.0-liter engine.

Cloth seats, a tilt steering column, an AM/FM/CD stereo with four speakers and an auxiliary input jack, a 60/40-split folding rear seat, a removable and washable vinyl cargo mat, and P205/70R15 tires on steel wheels are all standard on the SE. The SXT includes air conditioning, an internal air filter, and a Chill Zone, among other cool features.

The R/T includes all of the SXT features, as well as a sport suspension with performance steering and P215/55R18 all-season performance tires mounted on aluminum wheels. The body aero add-ons of the SRT4 are distinctive, featuring a huge rear spoiler.

Specifications of this model

Driving impression

Dodge appears to want people to think of the Caliber as a smaller Magnum, and that this turns it into a sporty minivan-cum-compact station wagon. It's a good idea, but the package doesn't fully deliver. Everything it does is nicely done, but outside of the SRT4 variant, it falls short on the sporty aspect.

The 172 horsepower of the 2.4-liter engine arguably motivates this one-and-a-half-ton hatchback better, but the CVT was neither as pleasant nor as precise in its gear ratio selection as we hoped, or as Dodge promised. It sounds and feels like an automatic that needs its bands tightened, or a manual gearbox with a slipping clutch when left in Drive.

Even in AutoStick mode, which imposes an electronically managed shift pattern on a transmission that isn't designed to shift gears, the engine speed fluctuated substantially within the specified ratio. The 2.4-liter with the five-speed manual gets 23 mpg in the city and 29 on the highway, compared to 21/25 with the CVT.

The 1.8-liter base engine gets 24 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway, while the 2.0 gets 23/27. However, because it has less torque, the 1.8 is the least responsive to the gas pedal when you need it.

The SE, SXT, and R/T models have relatively consistent driving and handling qualities, somewhat on par with the Vibe and Matrix but not quite in the same league as the more tautly spruced Mazda3.

Do you want to get yours?

The 2009 Dodge Caliber is a hatchback that looks like a station wagon but has the practicality of a minivan, and it's both creative and nostalgic. When it comes to packaging, the Caliber does a good job, but the materials aren't up to par. The SE, SXT, and R/T provide adequate, basic transportation, while the SRT4 is a performance bargain. Cars45 is where you can acquire yours.