Dodge Caliber's look stronger than its bite

Don Hammonds | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - -Dodge is one automaker that marches to its own drummer, and there are few of its products that fit that description more than the spunky new 2007 Dodge Caliber. Its four-door wagon/hatchback Caliber just barges in with a brutish "in your face" look abetted by the trademark Dodge Ram-style grille.

Dodge has created an advertisement with this car, showing it propped up on a copy machine photographing its rear end -- and if this car were a living thing, that's just about what I'd expect. Raucous, a little sexy, a little over the edge -- and all Dodge.

The Caliber slots just above the smallest entry-level compact cars, so let's tag it a premium compact. Our example, an all-wheel-drive Caliber R/T, came with a base price of $19,426 that, after adding a leather interior, power sunroof, Sirius digital radio and other goodies, came in at a final $24,035. Even that price should endear it to a bunch of folks who feel priced out of the all-wheel-drive market, where $30,000 or so seems the price of entry.

Power on this car comes from a 2.4-liter, 172-horsepower four-cylinder engine with fuel injection and a continuously variable automatic transmission. Gas mileage ratings were 23 in the city and 26 on the highway.

	Daimler Chrysler The 2007 Dodge Caliber is replacing the long-running Neon. The Caliber is a four-door/ hatchback with 48 cubic feet of cargo space when rear seats are folded.

Caliber's interior is full of interesting points. You can get a "Chill Zone" beverage storage bin that will keep four cans, bottles or any combination of the two cool; a removable, chargeable flashlight built into the rear headliner; an arm-adjustable armrest that slides forward and flips open to form a nice MP3 cradle; and an optional MusicGate Power 458 watt Boston Acoustics sound system that swings down from the rear liftgate when you open it.

The rest of the interior features a center stack and clear, easy-to-read gauges. Though the floor gear shift is a bit awkwardly mounted, you get used to it quickly.

The Caliber is fun to drive and generally handles pretty well. It sticks to curves nicely, and because the turning radius is small, it is also maneuverable and easy to park.

But it feels heavy on the road, and doesn't convey the excitement and fun that the exterior promises. Cars such as the Chevy Cobalt SS and Honda Civic will have an edge on the Caliber in the "fun" factor category.

A 300-horsepower, turbocharged, intercooled 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine is coming soon with the SRT-4 version, and I can just about guarantee you there won't be any boredom issues happening when that hits the road.

But the rest of the Caliber line is still a strong contender for compact car contenders -- just don't expect to head to the drag strip in one any time soon.