 The
emergence of Dodge Caliber signals the end of the Neon, once a beloved
American small car. In the view of changing market condition - sales
decline of conventional sedans and tougher competition from more and
more Japanese / Korean rivals - Chrysler gave up conventional sedan
form and designed the Caliber as a hatchback-SUV crossover. I think
this is a farsighted decision. It prevents direct competition with the
better-built Japanese cars while enabling sales in the European market,
where practical hatchback is a must for success.Price-wise, the Caliber will occupy the same space as Neon. Starting from US$14,000, it even undercuts its predecessor by US$410. This represents excellent value for money considering the extra practicality and utilities it brings. However, as it offers a lot of interesting optional features, expect most Calibers will leave showrooms at a sticker closer to US$20,000. Style-wise, Caliber looks like a real SUV, thanks to a prominent grille, strong wheelarches, 17/18-inch wheels and an off-roader-like ride height of 185mm. Such a bold and tough design is not my cup of tea, but American buyers may prefer it. They may also like its “commanding” driving position which is 100 mm higher than the Neon. The Caliber is not a real SUV, of course, because it is built in monocoque construction and is front-wheel drive. Even though the top model offers 4WD, it is a part-time system, i.e., the rear wheels are engaged by electromagnetic clutch only when the front wheels are slipping.  The
Caliber is built on the platform shared with Jeep Compass and Patriot
as well as the next generation Mitsubishi Lancer. (It was jointly
developed by DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi before their relationship
ended in 2005) Unsurprisingly, they share the same “World Engines”, a
joint venture between them and Hyundai. There are three petrol
four-cylinder engines, all employ aluminum block, DOHC 16V, dual VVT
and variable intake manifolds. They differ in capacity - 1.8 liters,
2.0 liters and 2.4 liters, producing 148hp, 158hp and 172hp
respectively, which is undoubtedly remarkable. For comparison, Honda's
proud new 1.8 i-VTEC engine develops 140hp only. The 2.0 and 2.4 units
get twin-balancer shafts to cancel the second order vibration normally
appears on inline-four engines. The 1.8 engine, thanks to its shorter
stroke, does not need twin-balancer shafts.For European market, a diesel engine is inevitable. Volkswagen group supplies a 2-litre turbo diesel engine. The dohc 16V unit employs 2000 bar pump injection system and a variable geometry turbocharger to produce 140hp and 229lbft of torque. The diesel comes with a 6-speed manual gearbox while the petrol engines get standard 5-speed manual or a Jatco CVT with Autostick function simulating a 6-speed manual gearchange. On the Road Theoretically, these engines should return very good performance. However, the SUV-like Caliber is no lightweight. It is longer and much taller than most European family hatches, so it carries about 100 kilograms more than rivals. Car & Driver timed a Caliber 1.8 taking 9.7 seconds to accelerate from 0-60 mph, which is already very lucky. I suppose most other magazines will be difficult to get it done within 10 seconds. Top speed of the car is a poor 106 mph due to its wind-blocking shape and large frontal area. Caliber pays the price for its SUV look. Naturally, the 2.0 and 2.4 engines offer more useful torque, but they still offer performance someway below class standard.  Poor
performance is one thing, poor refinement is another. In this
installation, the “World Engine” is not exactly world-class. Although
they are reasonably smooth, they sound coarse at high rev, possibly due
to their thermoplastic intake manifolds or lack of attention to
acoustic engineering. As the driver needs to squeeze rev to achieve
necessary performance, the noise issue is worsened in the Caliber. Transmission is another major failure of the car: the standard 5-speed manual has a very clonky gearchange to discourage shifting. Embarrassingly, this gearbox mates with the smaller 1.8 and 2.0 petrol engines, thus is most needed to be shifted. The Jatco CVT optional on the 2.0 and 2.4-litre model is a low-cost design to enable the bargain price. It displays old-fashion “rubber band effect” – at full throttle acceleration, the engine screams and revs to near redline but the acceleration takes a while to follow. Such delay is unpleasant to keen drivers, although it delivers 6-8 percent better fuel consumption than a conventional automatic. The Caliber has very high centre of gravity. In addition, the suspensions setting is comfort-biased. No wonder its dynamics is seriously compromised. It feels bulky in corners, displaying a lot of body roll and understeer early on. Moreover, the steering is both inaccurate and numb. The front wheels struggle for grip, while torque steer is badly controlled – not only for the torquey diesel engine, but even the smallest petrol engine has signs of torque steer when accelerating in tight corner. Obviously, the Caliber’s chassis is seriously underdeveloped. It shows the worst dynamics in the C-segment. In the Cabin  Awful,
the plastic quality here is really awful. Frankly speaking, considering
the price of the car and the reputation of American build quality, we
won’t expect soft-touch plastic here, but the Caliber’s interior is
even worse than imagined. Its low-rent hard plastic panels have a
number of sharp edges not even found in the cheapest Korean cars, while
various parts feel brittle and easy to get scratched. How long could
they survive? This put a big question mark over the reliability
prospect of the car.The Caliber is a big car by European standard. However, the cabin space it offered matches rather than exceeds its rivals. In contrast, it offers a class-leading luggage space at 520 litres. Function-wise, Caliber is very impressive. Firstly, the 60/40-split rear seat can recline by up to 12 degrees, or fold down to form a flat cargo area which measures 1360 litres. Secondly, the front passenger seatback can fold down to place long items like surf boards. Thirdly, there is an air-cooled beverage storage bin under the front passenger glovebox. Fourthly, the front armrest incorporates an iPod holder to please the new generation, while an optional speaker located at the tailgate can flip out to broadcast music to the camp / picnic site (Chrysler calls it “MusicGate”). Lastly, the cup holders got illuminated base surround to make them easier to locate in darkness. Obviously, Caliber targets at the youth.    Nevertheless, the serious compromise in dynamics and quality is not the impressive functionality can compensate. This raise our long-time argument again: is it worthwhile to pursue SUV feel in the price of performance, handling and cost, not to mention fuel economy ? Dodge Caliber is another testament to our anti-SUV standpoint. |
| The above report was last updated on 2 May 2006. All Rights Reserved. |
SRT stands for "Street and Racing
Technology". It represents the high-performance versions of Chrysler's
cars. 5 years ago, the SRT label debuted on the Neon SRT-4, a
215-horsepower lightweight pocket rocket. Although its chassis had
difficulties to withstand the power, it was loved by tens of thousands
of fans for lightning performance, which was evident from its 0-60 mph
time of 5.6 seconds. 
The suspension of SRT4 is beefed up with stiffer springs
and dampers, lowered ride height (down 28mm front and 22mm rear) and
thicker rear anti-roll bars. The result is evident on rough surfaces,
where ride quality is as harsh as the car looks. Unfortunately, in
corners it still rolls more than conventional hot hatches, blame to
that SUV-like proportion. If you want good handling and ride, this is
by no means a good choice.