Dodge Caliber 2.0 CRD SXT review
Dodge Caliber 2.0 CRD SXT Road Test
Test date 05 September 2006
Price as tested £16,995
For Brave design, quirkiness, decent diesel engine
Against Below-average interior, mediocre dynamics
Manufacturers love to threaten us with ‘crossover’ thinking, but they rarely deliver on the promises made by the exotic, outlandish show concepts which riff on the theme. DaimlerChrysler deserve credit for sticking closely to the design of the original Caliber concept as seen at last year’s Geneva motor show.
The finished, production-ready vehicle – the first product to emerge from the recently relaunched Dodge brand in the UK – is now being pitched as something like a cross between a conventional mid-sized hatchback, a small SUV and a coupé.
Whether this is a good thing, of course, remains a different matter. But after the abysmal Chrysler Neon, Daimler’s strategy in creating something completely different looks like an intelligent one.
The Caliber is built at the Belvidere assembly plant in Illinois, but has been designed as a world car, with top-spec European versions getting the option of a 2.0-litre VW group turbodiesel in place of the 2.4-litre petrol motor that powers the upper reaches of the range Stateside.
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