2006 Dodge Caliber SE from North America - Comments

<<I am glad to read that mpg on the Caliber is not so bad. We shall see about the reliability. I DO like the CVT.>>

The Caliber has good mpg? Really? Funny its HIGHWAY rating is LESS than its competitors' city ratings.

But whatever floats your boat.

In my mind, the main competitor is the Vibe, and the Toyota equivalent. Having read a ton of user reports on both it seems the MPG is about the same. Yes, I know the EPA rates Vibe's MPG higher. Your tax dollars at work. ;>

The Compass may be a consideration, but I don't think I need to give up higher MPG for the extra power from it's standard 2.4L engine.

As for the HHR, it seems to have have major problems, the steering for instance. Aside from quality, the Caliber seems to be a more useful and pleasant car. GM's larger cars are quite good, but not there smaller cars, in my not so humble opinion.

I wrote the original report here. As far as I can tell, my SE 2 liter Caliber w/CVT is delivering better than average Caliber mileage. I've stated the reasons for my good mileage. Two other reasons may be my lack of continuous heavy slow traffic & it seems that most people around here aren't tailgating & trying to push me down the road at 5 to 10mph over the speed limit...yet. Most (?) people won't get my mileage.

Your fuel mileage is VERY dependent on your style of driving. Also, for some reason Chrysler cars (for me at least) have always gotten MUCH BETTER than the EPA estimates. If you drive at the speed limit and avoid fast starts you will get really amazing mileage. I get 24 MPG highway with my Ranger V-6 and on a recent trip we got an amazing 24.8 MPG with our GMC Envoy with the 275hp I-6. My past Chrysler products got between 35 and 37 MPG highway. One had a 2.6 litre and one had the venerable 2.2. Good driving habits also save on brake repairs. I routinely go 100,000 miles before replacing brake pads on domestics. My 2 imports went thru them about twice that fast, but they use much flimsier parts in the brake system and smaller pads with regard to the car's weight.

I wrote the original report here. I've said I get good MPG with Caliber, but I haven't said much about performance, except that the CVT transmission is good on hills & mountains. Anyhow, while driving the highway, I came up behind a fellow only driving 40 to 45mph who seemed to be enjoying the scenery. Generally, I'm a pokey driver myself because I also like looking at parts of planet earth. However, cars started backing up behind us, so I decided to pass, although there were oncoming cars way down the road. Checking my rearview mirror, I punched the gas. The CVT tranny popped the gears down, the engine went to 6000rpms & away Caliber went. Stepping into the opposite lane, the suspension simultaneously encountered rough roadway & the abrupt camber of the road, while under full acceleration. But the Caliber suspenders handled things well. There was no wheel hop, no steering corrections were needed, & no lack of smooth acceleration. Caliber briskly went from 45MPH to 70MPH, around the slower car, & I had almost moved back into my lane with much, much room to spare. However, a car in the oncoming lane decided to pass a slower car too. So as I got back into my lane, the oncoming passing car was aimed right at me. Not knowing if the driver had seen me passing, I applied Caliber brakes quickly. Caliber quickly slowed evenly with no problems & the oncoming car passed the slow car & got back into his lane with room to spare. So a routine pass, became somewhat of an adventure. But I found out that Caliber's various systems worked well... very very well!

I'm a big fan of the Calibre, and have driven three so far on different occasions. I ALMOST bought one, but due to Chrysler's refusal to honor their warranty I decided to wait a while to see if any problems come up with the Calibre. As for as performance goes, I've found the Calibre 2.0 with the CVT to have ample power except from a dead stop. For merging onto freeways or passing it is better than the Matrix and Vibe I tried out by a comfortable margin. Actually the lack of tire-smoking take-offs would probably save me money on tires anyway!!

Yes, the low speed CVT acceleration will really save your tires. There may be another reason for you to hold off buying the Caliber. Rumors have it that Chrysler may be up for sale. I've said how much I love my Caliber & think it will last a long time no matter what happens to Chrysler. If the potential new owner wishes to discontinue the Caliber, ten years down the road Caliber owners may have a hard time getting parts. But the Caliber is one of Chryslers hot sellers. Any new owner wouldn't stop Caliber production...I think.

Just found out the standard radio & CD player have 66watts of power! For a no-extra cost radio with four 6 by 9 inch speakers in a low priced car, its the super bargain of all standard car music gear. The 66watts divided between 4 speakers is not overwhelmingly loud, but has total richness. Also, the clarity will let you enjoy the textures of complex music passages... over & over. If your CD's are wonderfully recorded, you will hear them wonderfully. Five months of listening, I continue to be amazed at this great stereo as I motor about with the CVT Caliber or in my garage! ha ha ha If you don't have a top-notch stereo at home, get ready for your best entertainment sound if you buy the Caliber.

Made the original report here. Several times already, one commentor here has remarked on Chrysler's lack of backing for warranty repairs. I think if he dealt with a 5 star dealer (like my dealer) he would get good service & warranty backing. I've been into my dealer thrice (for minor things), & my dealer has been very competent & quick to resolve issues. Never has any dealer I've had in the past, been as good!

I'm from the UK, the Caliber's have been on sale since June'06. Have not seen any on the road. So I took a 2L SXT CVT for a test drive, back in September 06, and fell in love with it. Having lived in North America a few years ago, I was very pleased to see that Chrysler have decided to bring the DODGE brand to the UK. It's about time.. I was driving around in a Chrysler Town&Country (Grand Voyager) Limited fully loaded, but could not afford the gas it's £0.89p a litre, which when driving the minivan I could just not afford to get 18MPG..So I bought the Caliber, it arrived in January '07..I still love it..It's just so nice to drive, it's different, but I could most probably compare it (in looks) to the new ford focus's.. It was certanly much cheaper than the ford focus, I would have had to spend at least £17,500 to get the same speck as the Caliber which I paid £ 13,600. I have full leather seats, NO COST CVT/AUTO gearbox, of which ford were asking £1,000 (leather seats) -£1,500 (AUTO gearbox) plus the ford onjly had standard 4 speed transsmision.. Caliber has 6 gear ratio's built in.. plus I get better MPG.. At least I can afford to fill it up..£20 goes a long way now... The Caliber is really good value for money, plus I think it looks so cool. It certanily get a lot of looks... I have 17" alloys as standard, front fold seat CD/Radio and 4 speakers as standard.. the sound is great. so far I have covered 2,500 miles and I love it. the only problem I have, is that when I drive at low speed over a bump/pot hole, there seems to be a slight poping noise coming from the rear. I think I will take it into the Chrysler garage to get checked. hopefully the they won't charge me. I am saving up for a diesel auto Voyager, which returns 28MPG.. Chrysler have only predicted to sell 7,500 Caliber's in the Uk for the first year, but at least that's 7,500 less ford's on the road!! LOL... I am glad I chose the Dodge over the ford, it was just the right thing to do. Oh and one more thing my car is black.. Dodge rock...

I'm the original poster here. Several times noted here, the Caliber's acceleration from 0 to 20MPH is poor. However, from a consumer magazine the Dodge Caliber's & Nissan Versa's CVT automatic transmissions(both made by Jatco) in the mid-speed acceleration from 45 to 65mph, out accelerate numerous other econobox cars with 4 speed automatic transmissions, often by 1 second or so. In other aspects the Caliber & Versa CVTs act similarly. The strong mid-speed accelerations indicate that the engines are not weak. The computer controlling both engines tho, must be quelling the performance at low speeds. I may have noted previously that this reduced performance may be the desire to increase reliability of the CVTs in both cars.

The original report maker here. Earlier, I have noted the CVT uses a carbon fiber graphite belt in the pulley system which is 3 times stronger than steel, & believed that has solved the reliability problems of CVTs. Further, I have stated that Jatco, maker of the Dodge CVT, has computer limited the Caliber's very low speed acceleration & the torque through the CVT, again to increase reliability. Now, I think that conservative driving may need to be used to guarantee long CVT life. It seems that Jatco, the maker of the CVT is taking every opportunity to extend the CVT pulley life. My CVT works very very well & I hear few complaints about the CVT from other Caliber owners. I will make every effort to limit stress in my CVT.

Original report maker here. With 7500miles on my Caliber it is a supreme traveler. I still love my 50mpg Festiva, but the Caliber makes traveling so much nicer... that I travel more. 350 mile day trips end with me wanting to drive some more. My bad back is helped immensely by the fine fitted seats. The lighter colored interior gives a cheery disposition & lightens my mood. The CVT is always in the rite gear making steep mountain slopes easy & eases the engine since it isn't revving up & down, but stays about the same low to moderate rpm in any non rushed situation. The same can be said for steep city streets or any stop & go situation. ANY bigger car with either a 4 or 5speed automatic or manual transmission cannot deliver a smoother or more pleasant ride! Caliber took me to the canyonlands of eastern Washington, a trip I wouldn't have made without the Caliber. Upon returning home the pbs channel repeated the Nova special Mega Floods on the Washington canyonlands. My daytrip fleshed out the program & made the show come alive with reality. I love my Caliber.

I appreciate the continued updates on the Caliber from the original poster. Having put a quarter of a million miles on one Dodge I'm not worried about their reliability. As for the Caliber being discontinued, I wouldn't worry about any problems getting parts. If I can get parts for a '60 Studebaker, there should be NO problem getting Caliber parts.

<<I appreciate the continued updates on the Caliber from the original poster. Having put a quarter of a million miles on one Dodge I'm not worried about their reliability. As for the Caliber being discontinued, I wouldn't worry about any problems getting parts. If I can get parts for a '60 Studebaker, there should be NO problem getting Caliber parts.>.

Sorry, but parts availablility is based on a number of factors, the #1 being interest. The Caliber is just a mediocre compact car that no one will care about when it's gone, so parts will ultimately be hard to find.