Everyone has the right to their opinion but this is the Fit/Jazz board so we love our Fits and will defend them to the end! Once you own one - thats it! I just know that I will never drive anything else but Honda again! Funny when the guy in a Dodge Ram stopped to tell me he loved my car, asked about mpg I was getting and told me it was a sweet ride, I thought it was really nice of him to do that. If your a car guy or gal - you can appreciate all makes and models - but you still have a sweet spot in your heart for that thing that makes you happy - our Fits! :cool:

Cat :x

 

Keep in mind the Caliber didn't even make the reccomended list from ConsumerReports.org. These guys generally focus more on quality and reliability issues. lol, the Dodge is really lacking somewhere, even the HHR made this list :D Here is a quote....

"To earn our first-tier recommendation , vehicles must have performed well in CR's tests, have average or better reliability, and, if crash-tested, provide good overall crash protection based on our composite of insurance-industry and government crash tests. Vehicles also must not have tipped up in the government rollover test or, if not tested, must have available electronic stability control."

Oh yeah, the Honda made the "second-tier recommendation

"To earn our more stringent, second-tier recommendation , vehicles must meet all first-tier requirements, have been included in the front-offset and side-crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and provide very good or excellent overall crash protection."

Check it out here:
ConsumerReports.org - New cars: A to Z

CVT :rolleyes:. I'll stick to my guns and say a skilled manual driver can drive as smooth or smoother than a mushy rubber band CVT IMO :D

 

Sugarphreak,

I did a quick look around, and wanted to thank you for being polite in responding about the Caliber to Litesong. I honestly did not mean to offend, but was able to pull it off with gusto!

The Fit does not connect like a silky magic carpet of smoothness (CVT Caliber)...of which I am thankful for. After spending time it the Cailber, I still feel the Caliber does not match the Fit in the areas that I cared about while hunting for a car.

Another serious contender was the Mazda3. It just didn't match up, but for different reasons than the Caliber. The Caliber is a great choice for lots of people, as are host of other cars: large, small, fast, slow, great MPG, lousy MPG, smooth, spunky, ad nauseum.

I am glad that Litesong likes his/her car, even being low on his/her inital list prior to purchase. Better that, than getting a lemon. All of us want the choice we made to have been the right one. Different strokes for different folks.

 

Consumer Reports is probably more of a "daily driver" rating system than the examples I gave, so thanks for that find. How could I forget about Dodge's reliability (or lack thereof). I had a Dodge Stealth not too long ago, and that was the worst investment I could have made. It was a beauty though.

I wasn't trying to be harsh about anything, but Dodge really has a lot of work to do with that Caliber. For the most part, its not really subjective. Looks and everything are.. personally, I don't like the styling of the Caliber, but to each his own on that one. Not really sure how it "replaces" the Neon though... seems completely different.

 

No worries man, we are cool :cool: I am glad Litesong picked a car to his liking too.

 

I've been a Dodge Caliber before when I was getting picked up by Enterprise to get a rental car. Believe the ride height was about the same as my old Ford Ranger.

 

not a fan. id rather drive no car then a Mopar. :rolleyes:

The Nitro is a pretty nifty looking Dodge though. I just don't trust them. If you have good luck with a vehicle, chances are, you'll buy another one. I have a Ranger with over 200,000 miles and still going strong, and I bought another one. My family has owned nothing but Fords and Honda's since I can remember. We tried Buick once......lol anyways, I say, get what you think will work for you. I love my Fit....not everyone does, but it works for me. And it's been around for awhile, so it isnt like its a brand new idea or anything.

 

I'm working at Chyrsler now and they're about to launch the new Caliber SRT4 with about 250 hp....to the front wheels. It looks pretty badass with a redone aero kit. People would either love it or hate it. I like the looks of the SRT4, but I would never get one.

PS. I'm the only Fit in the parking lot and it pisses people off that I get better mileage than any car in the lot.

 

my point exactly they're making it the new srt-4 so a new generation of retards can start driving like morons. not to mention it will probably lose it's value, and market twice as fast as the neon srt-4 because seriously can you really see a performance market starting up for this thing? at least the neon srt-4 had that going for it, and that still wasn't enough to keep it afloat.

 

I think the Caliber is a decent looking car, but not for me. I'm not really into the pseudo-badass styling that Dodge does so well. I much prefer something a little more architectural (that's how I see it anyhow), like the fit.

I used to have a DOHC Neon coupe in red, which required some upkeep, including a head gasket replacement (something Neons generally required about every 45K miles or so). It was cheap, handled pretty well after I lowered it (Eibachs), and was quick enough to outrun normally-aspirated Eclipses. The Caliber just doesn't have that same kind of performance. Otherwise, I understand it's a pretty good little car for someone else.