I think I like the caliber best in black, but white definately looks good. I may be biased because I'm currently driving a white 02 Si hatch (yeah, the ugly one....mini-minivan).
My First Impression Test Drive
Well let me start out by saying I was doing my daily "dealer stalk" of the day. I drive to the back lot where they keep the newer vehicles and was another let down, nothing. As I am about to pull out of the dealership there is a blind corner that I always stop for eventhough I have the right of way. Out pulls a PT cruiser, and a Neon, and something told me to wait a second longer and HOLY SHIT I saw one!!! A White SXT!!! It had Michigan plates on it and my gaw dropped like this
. It pulls out onto the three lane highway, I pull out behind it...I follow it, it looks so sweet in motion. They do a couple U-Turns and so do I, by the time of the thrid u-turn they knew I wanted to see it! I finally follow them back to the dealership and was talking to the guys that got out of it. This is the dealership that still does not have the brochure, no salesmen driven one yet, and I ask if I can drive it. Took copy of my license and I was on my way, with a salesman ofcourse.
Standing next to it, I can reach over the same distance as I can my Neon, about halfway. Wheel gap is about the same as it is on the Neon, maybe 1/2 inch less, no joke. The pictures on the net do not do the car justice.
The while color was very sharp!
I open the door to the vehicle and did not need to step up into the car at all, so there is no sign of SUV there. I get into the vehicle and I am amazed on how big it felt. I am thinking that is because the dash rises up higher than Neon. They were in a rush to go to the next dealer, so I have no time to mess with any features I moved the seat up, not as much as I would like. I start the vehicle and it sounds nothing like the old 2.0L, quiet and smooth.
I put the car in reverse and did not feel reverse kick in as I do in Neon. Visibility out of the back window is limited in height, but that is minor. I put the car in drive and away I went. The CVT2 is a really weird feeling as you cannot judge your speed anymore by shift points. As I exited the lot I gave a little more gas than I should have and handled the steering well. There was very little body roll, but the steering is, a little, but not by much, slower than Neon. It seemed to do a solomn very well as I went back and forth with the wheel. I did floor it from a stop and there was tess torque steer than in Neon. The steering radius is, I will have to say amazingly close to the Neon. Making a u-turn on a three lane highway I can put it in the middle lane with out over-shooting no problem, big PLUS!
The interior makes the car seem larger than it really is. The is not a problem for me because number on the exterior dimensions don't lie. The seats could have IMO more side support, but I did make a quick trun I would not make with my Neon AND the seat was not properly positioned for me.
Interior, I thought was of pretty high quality. You can't judge it unless you touch the material. I knocked and tugged and banged on the dash and no craking sound as I hear from my Neon. IMO I thought the interior was the best the DCX made in a long time.
Speed. Got up to 85MPH without a problem. Floored it from stop, went to 4K stayed until car caught up, then climed from 5-6K and stayed there the wholetime. Acceleration is about the same as the Neon if not better, definately SMOOTHER!!
This was a pre review, as I was on test drive for about 5 min. The car was exactly what I though it would be, and I thought it was going to be awesome and it was.
If anyone has any questions let me know and I will be happy to answer them!
-Joe-
. It pulls out onto the three lane highway, I pull out behind it...I follow it, it looks so sweet in motion. They do a couple U-Turns and so do I, by the time of the thrid u-turn they knew I wanted to see it! I finally follow them back to the dealership and was talking to the guys that got out of it. This is the dealership that still does not have the brochure, no salesmen driven one yet, and I ask if I can drive it. Took copy of my license and I was on my way, with a salesman ofcourse.Standing next to it, I can reach over the same distance as I can my Neon, about halfway. Wheel gap is about the same as it is on the Neon, maybe 1/2 inch less, no joke. The pictures on the net do not do the car justice.
The while color was very sharp!
I open the door to the vehicle and did not need to step up into the car at all, so there is no sign of SUV there. I get into the vehicle and I am amazed on how big it felt. I am thinking that is because the dash rises up higher than Neon. They were in a rush to go to the next dealer, so I have no time to mess with any features
I moved the seat up, not as much as I would like. I start the vehicle and it sounds nothing like the old 2.0L, quiet and smooth.I put the car in reverse and did not feel reverse kick in as I do in Neon. Visibility out of the back window is limited in height, but that is minor. I put the car in drive and away I went. The CVT2 is a really weird feeling as you cannot judge your speed anymore by shift points. As I exited the lot I gave a little more gas than I should have and handled the steering well. There was very little body roll, but the steering is, a little, but not by much, slower than Neon. It seemed to do a solomn very well as I went back and forth with the wheel. I did floor it from a stop and there was tess torque steer than in Neon. The steering radius is, I will have to say amazingly close to the Neon. Making a u-turn on a three lane highway I can put it in the middle lane with out over-shooting no problem, big PLUS!
The interior makes the car seem larger than it really is. The is not a problem for me because number on the exterior dimensions don't lie. The seats could have IMO more side support, but I did make a quick trun I would not make with my Neon AND the seat was not properly positioned for me.
Interior, I thought was of pretty high quality. You can't judge it unless you touch the material. I knocked and tugged and banged on the dash and no craking sound as I hear from my Neon. IMO I thought the interior was the best the DCX made in a long time.
Speed. Got up to 85MPH without a problem. Floored it from stop, went to 4K stayed until car caught up, then climed from 5-6K and stayed there the wholetime. Acceleration is about the same as the Neon if not better, definately SMOOTHER!!
This was a pre review, as I was on test drive for about 5 min. The car was exactly what I though it would be, and I thought it was going to be awesome and it was.
If anyone has any questions let me know and I will be happy to answer them!
-Joe-
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Man two dealers in one day too, I did not get to test drive the this Red on though, just got some shots:
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How much would it cost to get the alloys if I ordered them from Dodge? They weren't availible when I bought mine.
Silverfox said:How much would it cost to get the alloys if I ordered them from Dodge? They weren't availible when I bought mine.
The mopar catalog shows 18"x7" Chrome Clad Aluminum for 229.00 each.
That's retail, talk with the dealer you got your Caliber from, he might do it for his cost. I just ordered the door sill guards for cost and was promised the trailer hitch (installed) at dealer cost when available.
It's that stable over 100, too.
LOL thats good to know too!!Silverfox said:It's that stable over 100, too.
[Qutoe from salesman:
Salesman: You will be the one driving it not me, floor it!
Me: I was like are you sure?
Salesman: I am sure!
Me: OK! Here we go!]
It was soo cool and the saleman was impressed too...(This was the first he had driven in one)...
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