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2010 Dodge Caliber
Featuring Brand New 'Lifestyle' Models
The 2010 Caliber is serious looking five-seat, four-door hatchback from Dodge. The Dodge Caliber is a fun, well-rounded package, combining the versatility of a sport utility vehicle with the value and fuel-efficiency of a compact car. New for 2010 the Dodge Caliber has a completely redesigned interior, and the high-performance SRT4 trim has been discontinued. The new interior includes a restyled instrument panel with center storage bin, extended chrome accents and upgraded soft-touch materials on the door panels and center armrest. Additionally, the 148-hp 1.8-liter engine is no longer available, and the model lineup has changed to the following models: Rush, Mainstreet, Heat, and Express. All models have five star front and side crash test ratings.Powering the 2010 Caliber
For 2010, the Caliber has discontinued its 1.8-liter four-cylinder, and now only packs either a 2.0- or 2.4-liter four cylinder engine. The standard 2.0-liter comes with a five-speed manual transmission. The Caliber is available with a manual or a choice of two continuously variable automatic transmissions. Front disc and rear drum brakes are standard, but all-disc brakes are optional.
Dodge Caliber Design
The Caliber is clearly a Dodge, thanks to the crosshair grille. The Caliber has very large wheels for a car of its size and class. A black rail that runs from the base of the A-pillars and along the roofline to the taillights tricks the eye into seeing a lower, sleeker shape. Despite the look, the Caliber actually sits a bit higher than most compact cars. Compared to the retired Magnum, the Caliber is shorter, narrower and taller, but it's still a station wagon with four doors, five counting the rear liftgate, and it wears all the styling cues of the Magnum. The trademark crosshair grille dominates the front end; depending on model, this is either body color or trimmed in chrome. The lower portions of the doors wear longitudinal moldings that look like a bi-level rocker panel but. The roofline arcs cleanly from its junction with the hood just aft of the front wheel wells over the side door windows to pinch off at the tail end of the rear quarter glass. The back end pulls from the Magnum, too, with a steeply raked backlight beneath a roof-mounted spoiler and above a mostly upright lower liftgate, employing a hatchback style arguing against any comparisons with a traditional station wagon. A relatively short rear overhang and oversize taillight housings add credence to the argument. Inside the '10 Dodge Caliber
The 2010 Caliber gets a new interior that includes a new instrument panel with a center storage bin, a padded armrest for the center console and soft-touch door-trim panels. Inside the Caliber is all Dodge. The new cabin space is all about function. The instrument cluster and center stack are the picture of efficiency. Gauges are large, round and legible with black markings on white backgrounds. The center stack presents the stereo face and climate control panel in stark relief with functional knobs, buttons and switches and trimmed in matte metallic plastic or not-very-convincing wood grain. All of these controls are easy to reach.
New 2010 Caliber Lifestyle Models
The 2010 Dodge Caliber Express is the base model. It is now nicely loaded, and has the four-wheel Anti-lock Brake System (ABS) and 2.0-liter 16-valve World Engine with fuel-efficient five-speed manual transmission capable of 31 mpg on the highway. The CVT is not available on Express.
The Dodge Caliber Mainstreet adds 17-inch aluminum wheels, chromed crosshair grille, body-color door handles, fog lamps, folding front-passenger seat, 60/40 split-folding and reclining rear seat, touring suspension, tachometer and 2.0-liter 16-valve World Engine with second-generation Continuously-variable Transmission (CVT2). Mainstreet is similar to the old SXT 24D package, with more standard features; it adds to the Express fog lamps, painted 17? aluminum wheels, bright grille, touring suspension, and folding front passenger seat.
The 2010 Dodge Caliber Uptown is similar to Mainstreet but with more luxury features; it takes the Express and adds CVT (automatic transmission), 17? aluminum wheels, fog lamps, automatic climate control, five-passenger leather seating, power six-way driver?s seat, and media center stereo with hard disk, MusicGate Power nine-speaker Boston Acoustics system, steering-wheel mounted audio controls, and two articulating liftgate speakers.
For a sportier ride, the Dodge Caliber Heat has the Caliber Mainstreet features with a sport-tuned suspension, 18-inch polished-aluminum wheels, four-wheel Anti-lock disc Brakes (ABS), performance steering, color-keyed instrument panel and seats, B- and C-pillar blackout accents and five-speed manual transmission. Caliber Heat is similar to the old SXT model with more standard features; an automatic transmission (most likely CVT) with AutoStick is available.
The 2010 Dodge Caliber Rush, which essentially replaces R/T but has more features, includes a unique five-speed manual transmission mated to a larger 2.4-liter World Engine with 172 horsepower and 165 ft.-lb. of torque; while it was available on Jeep Compass, the manual/2.4 combination is new to the Caliber (an automatic CVT is optional). It has the SRT4 spoiler, and features from the Heat plus the media center / speaker package from Uptown and 18? chrome aluminum wheels.
Conclusions
The Caliber comes with a unique-for-its-class driver's knee airbag designed to keep the driver positioned properly for the other primary restraints. An electronic stability system and traction control are optional. For the latest updates on this model, visit the official Dodge Caliber site. The new lifestyle trims for the Caliber were a bold move for Dodge, but the trims make sense and serve their intended functions well. The Caliber for 2010 represents and excellent alternative to an SUV, with plenty of passenger space, and because of the wagon design, decent cargo space.