Dodge Caliber 2.0 CRD SXT

Road Test

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Dodge Caliber 2.0 CRD SXT

Test date 05 September 2006 Price as tested £16,207

For Brave design, quirkiness, decent diesel engine

AgainstBelow-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.