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20,000 miles of awesome!

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review
17K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  Prop1 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey guys, the New Year will mark 15 months with my Caliber! So I thought I’d honor the occasion, but do my write-up a bit early as I just hit 20,000 on my way into work the other day.


We all have reasons why we love this car. Some of us love the smooth acceleration granted by the CVT, while others prefer the raw power of the CSRT-4. Some say it was the aggressive styling or nifty features that brought them to the Caliber, while others just wanted a roomy nice-riding car for the family. Personally I don’t know what the single thing I love most about this car is. All I know is if I needed a second car, I’d look into another Caliber.


So at the time I was 22 years old and living with friends. I rode bikes, played drums, and shopped once a month at Costco. I have an active lifestyle and I needed a vehicle that could keep up and not leak all over the driveway. My previous monster was a 2002 Dodge 2500 Turbo Diesel. While a blast to drive (six-speed transmissions rule), it was very irritating in small parking lots and hardly fit into the garage. With increasing engine issues, and a declining need for the vehicle, it was time for the thing to go.


When I first started looking for a new vehicle I was looking at smaller cars and hatchbacks. This was my first “new car” experience, so I decided to take my time and try driving a lot of cars. The Toyota Matrix, Pontiac Vibe, Chevy Aveo, Nissan Versa and a few others were all cars I drove and found something that drove me insane. I wanted space, a nice ride, comfortable interior layout and some decent fuel economy. The Caliber was surprisingly second to last on my list, but I was so impressed I never made it to the Honda Fit. Anyways, on with the review bit!


The Loudermobile: My car is a Black 2009 SXT Sport with 1.8L engine coupled to a 5-speed transmission. I opted for the BA sound system with the MusicGate and also went with fog lamps as I thought the car looked much better with them as opposed to without. It also came with ABS and the Customer Convenience group, which included a few nifty things like the cargo area flashlight and reclining rear seats.


First Impression: When I walked on to the dealership I was walking by a row of Chargers and from a row behind, the Caliber instantly caught my eye. I took a step back and thought, “That thing looks meaner than the Charger!” Upon closer inspection the front-end only made me like the car more. When I sat down everything was within easy reach, and the interior seemed well thought out. After quick inspection of the rest of the vehicle (and a few other Calibers) I took it out for a spin. It rode nicely and handled some of the roughly paved roads well enough, but it just seemed so natural to drive! Everything was where I wanted it! Audio controls, climate controls, turn signals, even the gauge cluster was laid out great. At the time, I couldn’t find anything wrong with it! The seats folded down for ample cargo room, even with the seats up the rear cargo area had a good amount of space. Rear leg room was also pretty good. I knew I’d be doing a lot of driving with friends in tow, so I made sure it wasn’t cramped. I bought the car and felt very satisfied with the purchase. But I wondered if it would last…


20,000 miles later: I love the car even more than when I first bought it! When you walk out to the car to drive to work, and can’t wait to get behind the wheel, you know you’ve got the right car! Even though I’ve only had the car 15 months, I believe I’ve really put it through the ringer! After dozens of weekend trips to lakes and mountains to for hiking, camping, fishing and a road trip from Phoenix, AZ to SeaTac, WA and it still rides and drives like the day it rolled off the lot. I made the right choice for me with this car.


Maintenance and Repairs: I’ve regularly had the oil changed every 3 months or 3,000 miles and air filter done every other oil change. I may be a bit paranoid but with all the dust flying around out here in the summer, you can’t be too careful. Besides, have you ever PM’ed a car to death? Rotated the tires at 10k and I’ll do it again next week when I change the oil. Brakes are holding up well with only a small squeak from the rear drums on cold mornings. The only repairs needed to be done to the vehicle were solely the upper dash compartment, right above the glove box/chill zone. The spring holding it up broke 2 days after getting it home, and again at 12,000 miles, right before my road trip! Aside from a TSB done on the rear window sprayer the car hasn’t needed any repairs or extra work.


Handling and visibility: The car is great around town and a dream on the highway. Its turning radius is good, but still not as good as my old 1990 Bronco II which can do a 180 on almost any 2 lane road without touching the shoulder on either side. Bumps are handled nicely for a small car, even when loaded down. Body roll is noticeable during fast cornering or long high-speed highway curves. It’s not very bad but you do feel it, it also gets more noticeable when the vehicle is loaded.
Overall frontal visibility is excellent. With my seat adjusted how I like it, I can see very clearly around the front half of the car without moving my head around much. Rear quarter visibility does leave something to be desired however. The B-pillar is a bit thick but nothing serious and the rearmost windows might as well not be there. You can’t see the driver side one, and if you can see something out of the passenger side, it’s too late.


Engine and Transmission: The 1.8 L 4 cylinders still runs very smooth provides consistent power and performance. I was initially worried the small engine wouldn’t have the “oomph” to haul around a bunch of gear. I was pleasantly surprised that it can climb hills with 4 guys, a big cooler, and a bunch of luggage without much issue. ONCE I had to downshift to third gear to keep 65MPH up a steep grade, but that was it. Soon I installed a hitch to tow a small trailer for my quad. Again no issues, the car has plenty of power to get it out to the dunes.


The 5-speed transmission is a great feature for me. I’ve always driven stick by choice, so I can’t offer any insight into the CVT. Aside from the mildly sloppy shifter, it’s easy to work with and the gears mesh together quickly and quietly. I’m still debating whether or not to have it modified to a short-thro shifter or not. I know I’d love it, but after getting used to it the shock shifter gets the job done well.


Interior, interior features and Storage: There is a lot of plastic on the 2009 model, and personally I like it! Yes it’s a little rough on the arms for some people, but I drove old beaten-up trucks before the Caliber, so it’s fine with me. It’s also VERY easy to keep clean. A damp rag, glass cleaner, and Oxy Clean for the seats are all I need to keep my Caliber looking awesome. I’m about 5’9” at 140lbs so I’m not exactly a big guy. But one of my best friends is around 6’2” and around 300 pounds, and he has no problems in the passenger seat. With the seat slid all the way back he has enough legroom to get into the glove box easily.


Lighted cup-holders and a 2-prong power outlet are great options, and I use the power outlet regularly. Buy a cell charger for my car? Nah, I’ll use the spare charger from the house. The center armrest is also plastic, but is comfortable for me. I do wish it was a touch higher though. The flip-out cell/I-pod holder is a nice idea, but gets in the way when shifting the car, so it sees little use. The chill zone is a fantastic idea, and does help keep drinks cooler longer. Not by much but every little bit helps right? Usually I keep 4 water bottles stashed in there for emergency thirst when I can’t get my hands on a Thirst Buster! Speaking of Thirst Busters, 44oz cups fit into the cup holders great! Just enough room for two of them to fit perfectly in the front cup holders, and you can squeeze two more into the ones by the rear seats.


The rear cargo area is more than adequate for most loads, and the cargo cover is great for keeping away prying eyes. The load floor is strong and again, very easy to clean. Under the load floor is where the spare is located. But there is actually a lot of extra room down there! I managed to cram a full size mag-lite, 3 more water bottles, a few ratchet straps, an emergency clock/radio/flashlight, and my ball hitch with receiver under there! The MedKit and jumper-cables sit up against the rear seats, right next to my Disc Golf bag. The flashlight mounted in the rear cargo lamp is handy, yet a little dim. I won’t complain about I, but there could have been an improvement here with a little more quality.


As for big items, there is plenty of room with the rear seats folded down. I just throw the medkit and jumper-cables under the driver seat and the disc golf bag on the floor behind it and fold the seats down. The rear seat backs have a tough carpet covering them, so things don’t slide around too much. My Caliber also has a fold-flat passenger seat, which allows for long items to be crammed in there. I can even fit an 8-foot kayak inside the car! I will upgrade to a roof mount for it eventually.

My only gripe about the interior is the uncomfortable head-rests. Whoever designed those things should be smacked, or made to sleep on one for eternity. I can never seem to find a comfortable position for them. I may be buying headrests from an aftermarket source or new ones from a 2010 model Caliber if they match the seats closely enough.


Exterior: This car has style, loads of it. Even base model calibers have a mean look to them. It only gets better with 17-inch aluminum wheels! I’m really glad I went with them, as they make the car look awesome! Some people don’t like the conventional antenna on the passenger side, and I do think it’s a bit cheap when you see what they do on other cars with rear roof mounted antenna, or mounted in the A-pillar. I think the headlights are a bit “big” in the sense that the silver looks a bit out of place on a black car with a black grille. I also had the same issue with the rear tail-lights. They just look big! I plan on doing a little paint work to make them look how I want them to. The top molding that runs along the roof-line of the car adds to the aggressive look and feel of the car. The roof has a gently curving line that is preceded by the windshield, and sharply gets cut-off at the spoiler integrated into the rear hatch.


Speaking of the roof, I think the Mopar roof bars deserves special mention. If you’re like me and do a lot of biking and weekending, look into it! The Mopar rack is looks to be made by Thule, and you can get a wind fairing that clips right onto it! I didn’t find this out until I had already rigged a Yakima wind fairing onto the rack, but it’s good to know. The rack is 100% removable and the car looks stock when it’s removed.


Performance: If you haven’t guessed, I’m more than satisfied with the Calibers performance. It’s nothing special with the 1.8L and 5-speed, but it’s more than adequate for zipping around town! Fuel mileage is pretty good. I average 26-27 MPG and I’m a bit of a lead-foot. Speaking of that, I think it’s a bit quicker than the CVT. I’ve driven my neighbors Caliber, and it doesn’t seem to have as much pep.


So far there have been no issues with the engine or trans. It starts fine and idles great. The suspension is holding up well, as are the brakes, and electronics.


Sound System: It’s called the Loudermobile; it’s driven by the Louderman. Did you think I’d skip this part of the review? When I started looking at new cars, I was fully anticipating the need to replace everything. Speakers, radio, sub, amp, everything! Just before the test drive I noticed the liftgate speakers, and the salesman told me that the car has an audio system made by Boston Acoustics. Hmm, well let’s put it to the test shall we? I convinced that given the time and effort, I could have a better system. But for a factory sound system it’s amazing! One day perhaps new door speakers and I may do something with the liftgate speakers. But I can crank it up and the distortion is negligible even at very high volumes. If anything the first thing that I’ll do is do some vibration deadening. A 6-disc CD- Satellite radio with auxiliary input is great for now, and will be for some time.


The bottom line: If I had to say what my favorite feature was, I’d sit in thought and never give you an answer. There’s too much I love about this car to pick any one thing. The thing I can’t stand is those accursed headrests!
Minor improvements would be the center console design, perhaps some additional sound-proofing, and there is always room for a bit of dash refinement here and there. Many of these issues were resolved with the 2010 model, the console armrest is padded and higher, and it seems abit quieter. In all, I still prefer my 2009.

I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
 
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#4 ·
I think all FWD cars have larger turning circles than rear axle drive, just a feature of having the driveshafts connected.
 
#8 ·
it was great reading your write up. makes me think I'm not the only one that made the right choice when I bought mine. ( only I cheaped out and bought a new used one with 18,000 miles on it.. I only have 34,000 on it now ) but I'm like you and love to look at it and driving it still after a couple years plus..
 
#11 ·
That was a great write-up. Mine will be hitting the 20,000 mark this weekend. I feel about the same as you said so well, that I love driving this car every day just as much now as when I first got it. There are times I would like a little more space, but for the mileage and driveability, I'll live with it. The headrests do suck! Other than that, I love it too. No repairs or trips to the dealer. (Knock on wood!)
 
#12 ·
Mine is 2 years and 21,000 miles today!

The positives:
Fun to drive, reliable, enough passenger and cargo room for me, comfortable even on 200 mile trips, gas mileage is as advertised (23 MPG) city, 30+ MPG Highway. CVT is great once you know how to work it. No brake wear, the Firestone tires, for all their faults still have most of their tread left. "hard plastic interior" is very durable and easy to clean.

The negatives:
Fit and finish could be better (it's not 1980 anymore), paint seems very susceptible to dings, chips, and scuff marks. Has developed the "typical" American car rattles, creaks, and other assorted strange sounds. Some of the suspension parts seem just barely strong enough to do the job. A little concerned about the projected useful life of this car over the long term.

Overall:
The positives definitely outweigh the negatives, but the lower-end fit and finish will cause me to look at other compact crossovers (Ford Escape replacement in a couple of years) before taking another look at Chrysler.
Yes - the little details do count.
 
#13 ·
the lower-end fit and finish will cause me to look at other compact crossovers (Ford Escape replacement in a couple of years) before taking another look at Chrysler.
Yes - the little details do count.
This gap has already been largely closed on the interiors, and they are already aiming higher with even better sound.
 
#14 ·
Like they say "you only get one chance to make a first impression". Problem is even though the car is a really great vehicle, some of the little things are a turn-off.

Case in point:

My one neighbor has a Toyota Yaris, the other has a high end Lexus sedan. There is no difference in the build quality of these two cars, just the Lexus has more fancy features and gizmos. The Yaris, while "plain Jane" is just as solid as the Lexus.
This is actually good marketing - build your base model car as well as your highest premium car - you could get a customer for life.

A friend has a Chrysler 300 - comparing my Caliber to that car is like comparing things from two different worlds. If your base model is obviously a lower build quality than the flagship model - how many people will move up to the higher level car when they have a good but "ho-hum" experience with the entry level model?

Sergio, Ralph, are you listening?
 
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