Rental Car Review - 2010 Dodge Caliber

[sciphi]

So my Buick is in the shop, and to get around Enterprise rented me a 2010 Dodge Caliber with 27k miles.

The good:
World engine is torquey and delivers plenty of pep.
The AUX IN on the radio has very good sound quality.

The bad:
This is one uncomfortable driver's seat! My rear end was falling asleep after 20 minutes sitting in it.
Visibility is horrible. I feel like I'm in a pillbox.
Body motions are uncontrolled side-to-side.
The car wags its tail swerving around potholes.
It's sucking gas faster than sailors on leave drink beer.
Unshielded wiring in the engine bay. There are great runs of wiring left without loom or tape.
Limited cargo room for its size. My work stuff was crowding the cargo area. It fits fine into both our Honda and Buick.

It's okay to rent for a day, but I would not want to own one of these. I can't wait to turn it back in and get my Buick back.

 

[John_K]

Unshielded wiring! Woo-hoo, Chrysler quality is back!

John

 

[The_Jeff]

But did you feel "safe"?

My rental Charger had huge thick A- and B pillars, and high slabby sides. Had to lean forward in the seat to see overhead traffic lights. At least it drove nice.

 

[Vibe_2007]

Caliber = horrible vehicle. Shoddy quality, bad FE, extremely low resale, etc.

Wouldn't touch one.

 

[sciphi]

I'd like to test-drive a 200, or any 2012 Chrysler. I'm sure they're light-years ahead of this one in about any way possible.

I've felt safer in my old Hyundai than I do driving that Caliber.

 

[Nick R]

There are two guys at work who own calibers. They've been quite happy with them. Reliable, they get decent fuel economy, and drive ok. I drove one a while back, and thought it was an ok vehicle. Average is what it was, and that is what pretty much everyone says. Edmunds basically says there is nothing great, nothing terrible about it. It's average.

 

[crw]

I rented one when we went to Hawaii 2.5 years ago. Dog of a car. I kept looking longingly at the other vacationers who happened to rent Mustang convertibles. My impressions were the same as yours, except that I wouldn't say that the engine has pep, and I didn't try the AUX IN mode of the radio, lol.

If this car didn't have a rental market it wouldn't have any market at all, except for people who just don't care.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

I had a 2010 rental Caliber last year..It was the worst car I ever rented in my entire life..It had all the negatives that were mentioned..My back was killing me after only 20 minutes..It sucked up gas like crazy..My 4.6 V8 is a ton better on mileage..The a/c in the Caliber could not keep up with the July jungle heat down here..I can not say one good thing about it..I could not wait to bring it back.

I can not believe people actually buy those things..No wonder I only see a sprinkling of them on the road down here.

 

[racer12306]

We own a 2007 R/T AWD and have been very happy with it, with one big exception and that is fuel economy. 22mpg is pretty ridiculous for a car of it's size.

I did have an SXT as a rental one time and I didn't notice a difference between the heater leather in our R/T and the cloth in the SXT.

The A/C will keep up for the most part in MD, but a good tinting would help it.

 

[Volvo_ST1]

Originally Posted By: sciphi


The bad:
This is one uncomfortable driver's seat! My rear end was falling asleep after 20 minutes sitting in it.

A numb behind is better than a painful one.

Quote:
Visibility is horrible. I feel like I'm in a pillbox.

You are rather safe from stray bullets.


Quote:
Body motions are uncontrolled side-to-side.
The car wags its tail swerving around potholes.

The vehicle offers very responsive and nimble handling.

Quote:
It's sucking gas faster than sailors on leave drink beer.

We can't let China suck us dry!

Quote:
Unshielded wiring in the engine bay. There are great runs of wiring left without loom or tape.

Easy access for maintenance and repairs.

Quote:
Limited cargo room for its size. My work stuff was crowding the cargo area. It fits fine into both our Honda and Buick.

A stylish weekend car that will easily haul a travel bag or golf clubs.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1
Originally Posted By: sciphi


The bad:
This is one uncomfortable driver's seat! My rear end was falling asleep after 20 minutes sitting in it.

A numb behind is better than a painful one.

Quote:
Visibility is horrible. I feel like I'm in a pillbox.

You are rather safe from stray bullets.


Quote:
Body motions are uncontrolled side-to-side.
The car wags its tail swerving around potholes.

The vehicle offers very responsive and nimble handling.

Quote:
It's sucking gas faster than sailors on leave drink beer.

We can't let China suck us dry!

Quote:
Unshielded wiring in the engine bay. There are great runs of wiring left without loom or tape.

Easy access for maintenance and repairs.

Quote:
Limited cargo room for its size. My work stuff was crowding the cargo area. It fits fine into both our Honda and Buick.

A stylish weekend car that will easily haul a travel bag or golf clubs.


Thanks for putting the positive spin on it!

It was a learning experience. I hope my next Chrysler experience is better than this one! It's hard to believe their minivans are made by the same company. I've been happy driving/riding in their minivans of several generations on often overnight trips.

 

[dishdude]

I had one as a rental for a few weeks when I moved across country a couple years, and it was a mediocre vehicle. I hated the CVT and the interior was beyond cheap.

I think they have upgraded the interior since, I did like the size and utility of it. With a good midcycle refresh it could be a nice package.

 

[kb01]

We own a Jeep Compass and have been very happy with it -- I believe it's mechanically almost identical to the Caliber. It is pushing 100,000 miles and hasn't had any problems. For what I paid, I believe it was a bargain.

I can't really comment too much on the Caliber but it's been my experience that rentals almost universally have the smallest engine option and have suffered questionable maintenance and a lot of abuse. I used to own a Matrix and loved the car but any time I ever rented a Matrix or a Vibe, it was like driving an entirely different vehicle.

I could definitely see the smaller engine option on the Caliber coupled with the CVT being an awful combination.

 

[VNTS]

I rented a 2009 Caliber last year.

Car is no worse than a 2009 Corrolla my MIL has, the Corrolla has the cheapest interior I have ever scene. The Caliber with the 2.4 would run circles around the Corrolla to with its junky 4 spd auto.

 

[daves87rs]

Not a big fan of the interiors (2007-2010), but they seem to hold up very well.

My brother has an 07 SXT pushing 90k, and it is doing pretty well. A few minor things have been fixed (Due to him, mostly), and is still going strong.

 

[IndyIan]

My sister in law had one as a rental with the 1.8L and the CVT. I was pretty impressed with the CVT's fake manual mode with paddle shifters, seemed like good fun for the few miles I drove it. Not super fast but fake ratios were nice and close.
I'd never buy one but I think its fine for what it is.