[Ironside]

Little more information about why they didn't go with AWD on this baby... it was pretty well the reason we all expected;

"Fast And Furious Wagon
We loved the original Dodge Neon SRT4. It was a rowdy little beast that snorted, snapped and popped like a modified street racer. It did front-wheel-drive burnouts with ease, and with Mopar parts could top 300 hp. Well, the guys from SRT have unveiled that car's replacement. It's the Caliber SRT4 and this little wagon comes with 300 turbocharged and intercooled horses--stock. That's Mitsu Lancer Evo and Subaru STi territory, folks. The Caliber SRT4 does carry about 200 extra pounds over the SRT4 Neon, but then again the Caliber is infinitely more practical and looks much more butch. Backing the new 2.4-liter powerhouse is a six-speed manual and front-wheel drive. We had a chat with SRT's main man Dan Knott a few months ago and he said they had debated the virtues of front versus all-wheel drive on this project. It basically came down to cost and weight. Having the performance advantage of all-wheel drive would have meant a much steeper price. We think it'll be a fun ride with front drive, especially because a limited-slip diff comes standard. Dodge is promising 0 to 60 times of less than 6 sec. Sign us up.--Ben Stewart"

 

[Xtreme Thunder]

Cool find, kinda what I figured too. I'll live with FWD!

 

[caliber4whoosh]

Yeah, I figured...

I'm actually not that bummed about the FWD really..I like the added challenge in getting it to go and not just roast the tires at the line..and of course the added bragging rights when you kick the shit out of other cars

 

[boostdog]

i'll take it either way...i would prefer the awd but o well. i just hope they have staged kits for it like old srt-4 model.

 

[crewzen]

Been thinking about buying this car but need to try out the SRT first and if it jumps around like the SRT-4 I have now, I guess I will go rear wheel drive next. Dodge engineers should be able to Iron this little problem out tho?

 

[Xxsrt4xX]

The Caliber SRT4 does carry about 200 extra pounds over the SRT4 Neon, but then again the Caliber is infinitely more practical and looks much more butch.

What is the Caliber SRT-4 the diesel **** of the automotive world?

 

[caliber4whoosh]

ROFL

ahahaha...ahh..aha...I hope not lol.

 

[Xtreme Thunder]

What is the Caliber SRT-4 the diesel **** of the automotive world?

OMG!! "...diesel ****..." ROTFLMFAO!!! I just could not stop laughing when I read that post!!!

 

[MattD]

That's weak. AWD would've been a HUGE selling point.

 

[Silverfox]

Yeah, but I doubt anyone would pay $30K+ to have it...

 

[sr4tuner]

It's alright that they dont have all wheel drive. We do not need the extra weight and we cant really at too much of a loss.

 

[srtman]

uhhhh look at all the subaru sti's and lancers they are high 20's and they sell

 

[boostdog]

uhhhh look at all the subaru sti's and lancers they are high 20's and they sell

^what he said!! there is no reason at all that they can't sell the srt-4 model w/awd! Totally missing out on a big portion of the market. Unless they do not want to compete head to head with mitsu. since they are working together and i assume that dodge does own a portion of mitsu. Someone inlighten me.

 

[Vision67]

^what he said!! there is no reason at all that they can't sell the srt-4 model w/awd! Totally missing out on a big portion of the market. Unless they do not want to compete head to head with mitsu. since they are working together and i assume that dodge does own a portion of mitsu. Someone inlighten me.

Sounds to me like a marketing decision unless the AWD system cannot handle the torque.

 

[Amandyke]

There's no reason as to why they could just develop an AWD system to handle the torque. Hell just take it out of the EVO and call it good. As for price... I see no reason as to why AWD would add $6,000 on top of the price (I'm assuming the SRT-4 will sell for what the neon SRT-4 sells for).

Also, the EVO starts at $29,149 and the STi starts at $32,995.

If anything dodge can undercut BOTH of those cars with the SRT-4 caliber in AWD. As for performance... well that's left to be seen. I know the Neon SRT-4 didn't hold a candle to either EVO or STi. Straight lines or curvy ones.

 

[nate2010]

If anything dodge can undercut BOTH of those cars with the SRT-4 caliber in AWD. As for performance... well that's left to be seen. I know the Neon SRT-4 didn't hold a candle to either EVO or STi. Straight lines or curvy ones.

Maybe not int the quarter mile.... let an evo or sti run into and srt from a roll, and its usually a different story.

 

[Nytmare]

There's no reason as to why they could just develop an AWD system to handle the torque. Hell just take it out of the EVO and call it good. As for price... I see no reason as to why AWD would add $6,000 on top of the price (I'm assuming the SRT-4 will sell for what the neon SRT-4 sells for).

Also, the EVO starts at $29,149 and the STi starts at $32,995.

If anything dodge can undercut BOTH of those cars with the SRT-4 caliber in AWD. As for performance... well that's left to be seen. I know the Neon SRT-4 didn't hold a candle to either EVO or STi. Straight lines or curvy ones.

Gonna have to cal you on this one. One of the SRT-4's many nicknames is the "EVO Eater". I've seen my share of srt-4's take down evo's and sti's.

 

[Amandyke]

Gonna have to cal you on this one. One of the SRT-4's many nicknames is the "EVO Eater". I've seen my share of srt-4's take down evo's and sti's.

Not stock you haven't.

 

[minace]

I work for a dodge dealership and we just went through caliber training and the lady from corporate said that the srt-4 WILL BE AN AWD. I am really confused on the reality of what this vehicle will really have. She said that it will be released in january of 07 and not fall of 06 due to the change from fwd to awd. Any help on the subject would be great!!!!

 

[Ironside]

I work for a dodge dealership and we just went through caliber training and the lady from corporate said that the srt-4 WILL BE AN AWD. I am really confused on the reality of what this vehicle will really have. She said that it will be released in january of 07 and not fall of 06 due to the change from fwd to awd. Any help on the subject would be great!!!!

She must be on a 'helluvalotta' crack... the SRT ENGINEERS have said MANY-a-time that the SRT4 will NOT be AWD. Why would they lie like that?

I think she is just another misinformed bumblefuck like MOST employees at ALL the dodge dealerships/establishments. Also, as the Dodge website AND my local dealerships AND the SRT Engineers have stated.... SPRING 2007 is when the SRT4 hits dealerships. Not until.

And on the note of whether or not the AWD SRT4 would sell.... I thought the SRT was MEANT to be the HIGHEST of HIGH-END for a certain vehicle. Look at the Charger... $26,000 CDN can get you one, OR you can opt for a $53,000 SRT8...

Likewise with the Caliber... the people who dont want to throw down all that extra money for the PREMIUM SRT brand... buy an SXT/RT.

But DONT ROB US MONEY WASTING BASTARDS OF OUR RIGHT TO HAVE THE BEST OF THE BEST!!!!!!