As summer days begin to shorten, three of us decided to take a few days and travel through Jasper and part of Banff national parks. With neither of us wanting to rack up those rough kilometers on our vehicles it was apparent that we would be renting a car. With an internet reservation in hand I walked in to the Alamo and waited for the car I would be awarded in the car lottery. I wanted something compact and expected a Cobalt, Corolla or a Focus, I was pleasantly surprised when he handed me the keys to a 2007 Dodge Caliber.
The Striking features of the Caliber along with the success of the Magnum and the 300 had me wanting to drive one for some time. The car was a mid ranger with a/c, cd player, power windows, power locks, remote keyless entry included in the key (nice feature for such a cheap car) and cruise control. There are many positive things about this car like its size, cooler in dash, driving position, cargo capability and seat comfort. The negative attributes are plain and simple the 2.0 liter engine and CVT transmission.
Driving the car can be fun as long as you don’t have to pass on any single lane roads. The tight steering/suspension and wide tires create an intimate experience with the driver and the road. As a former RSX driver I would say that this car is nearly as fun to toss around corners. The major drawback of course is that engine and CVT combo. The all rev and no go is something I am not a fan of. On several occasions while climbing up hills the car would easily push 5000 rpm to maintain a rather leisure 80 km/hr. Then comes passing (something I would consider stunt driving) to get maximum power out of the engine you have to push it to the floor to hit a extra few more HP. There is a switch (that you can feel) that is hit and allows the CVT to rev at redline for as long as you need it(which seems like forever). If anyone is looking at this car I would suggest staying away from the CVT and opting for the 2.4L engine.
Plain and simple, it is a nice little car just lacking in the engine bay.