2008 Dodge Caliber consumer reviews

Bought my 08 Caliber SRT-4 off the showroom floor in 2009 with 212 miles on it. The seats are the most comfortable I have ever had. I'm 6'0, 245 lbs and the lumbar support and side bolsters are awesome. The hard plastic interior leaves a bit to be desired, but this is easily overcome by the driving experience. Dodge put 98% of their resources in this car to the power-train, handling and seats. I wasn't expecting a super luxurious interior. What is there is functional and stylish for what it is. This car comes from the factory rated at 285HP and 260 Ft lbs of torque at the wheels and it shows. This is a performance machine and it let's you know it. As with most FWD performance cars, the torque steer must be respected which is what makes this car a drivers car. You must pay attention when you get on it. This is not a car for the lazy driver. The handling is fantastic, especially in the mountains. The oversize front brakes are actually from the police package Charger and just as the acceleration is phenomenal, you also need to bring this bad boy to a stop so the extra large rotors are there for a reason. The sound system is awesome with 12 speakers. Yes the road noise is a bit loud, but that's to be expected with the low profile tires. People seem to complain about the rough ride but this is what you get with a stiff sport suspension that allows you to take corners like you're on rails. One look at the low profile tires will tell you that the ride is gonna be stiff. In closing, you will have a performance vehicle that will out perform most V8's, is a blast to drive and all for under $25K. You must understand that this is a performance car, not just a grocery getter, though as a grocery getter, you will get there pretty doggone fast.

My first car and so far so good! I love the feel of the car and the ac works well an the gas mileage isnt bad either.

Be wary of this vehicle. I bought mine new. 15000 miles after I got it I needed new tires, because they were, cupping. I started noticing the road noise getting worse at about 6000 and had them rotated, when the noise got too much I bought new tires. After that I rotated religiously, but to no avail. At 30000 it needed new tires again so it went to the Chevrolet dealer instead and I got a nice quiet Malibu, awesome!

I have a 2008 caliber, driven it for a little over a year now. This is the most uncomfortable car I have ever owned. Short trips to the store are not too bad, but anything over 30 minutes and the ride starts getting miserable. The road noise is so loud that you have to crank up the stereo to actually understand what is being said. To replace the alternator you have to disassemble most of the front end of the car and it turns into an all say job. The suspension leaves a lot to be desired. I have already replaced the struts, at least I did not have to tear half the car apart to accomplish this task. I have had to replace more parts on this car in a year than I have ever replaced on any vehicle. Starter, alternator, battery, struts, brakes, (of course) tires, wipers every 3 months, and regular maintenance.

I traded my '05 Mercedes CLK500 for this used SRT-4 because I needed more space for travelling but also wanted a car that I could still have some fun in. This car is a blast to drive. Especially through the mountains with the turbo engine. It will effortlessly climb hills, and accelerate like a madman on the highway. The turbo has a nice linear spool without being delayed and violent like the Lancer Ralliart Sportback I test drove. The interior is bleh but the seats are like sitting in a lazyboy; extremely comfortable for sport seats. A lot of sqeaks and creaks from the body though. I can't see how this car could not be an extremely reliable machine. Here's why: no power seats, no complicated/ expensive differential, no stupid moonroof, it's just a turbo engine with a 6speed tranny and big wheels. Sure, the professional reviews of this car suck but, it's actually a very easy car to live with and a blast to drive. I've gotten up to 29mpgs on the highway and averaged about 22mpgs with spirited driving. A fully synthetic oil change is a whopping $60(not much). At speed it will out accelerate the majority of cars. Tires are hard to find because of the odd 225/45R19 size, and when you do find them locally people are asking an arm-and-leg for them so do yourself a favor and go to an online source for tires. It's cheaper and there's a bigger selection. It's an extremely rare car so if one could be found, I would recommend this car to anyone that loves turbo manual driving fun in a FWD package. It's an excellent car.

purchased 2008 in april 2010 and started with the alternator battery and now is the computer system this car is good to 50000 miles i'm the 4 i heard this problem

Purchased my used 2008 Dodge Caliber SXT w/ 27,000 miles on it in April 2011.. I have not had any issues thus far.. It's my little mini SUV for half the price and works well for my family.. My husband thought that based on the outside view of the vehicle that it would not be roomy enough but, to his surprise, the vehicle is extremely roomy and he had plenty of head and leg room.. In my opinion, the ride is smooth and I get wonderful gas mileage as well.. This is my first ever hatchback and I absolutely love it..

Very flexible interior.Great for lugging stuff like bicycles. But it's a bit unforgiving as interior materials seem too hard e.g. my arm gets Am getting 30mpg combined on last tankful which is OK. No mechanical problems so far; car seems solid.

Bought the car to have as a second vehicle for running errands and we have enjoyed it so much that it is becoming our vehicle of choice when we go anywhere. We especially enjoy driving it to the gas station, knowing that we may actually have some money left over after getting gas.

Bought '08 Caliber R/T to replace old van. Wife wanted better MPG. Looked online for cars she might want and this Caliber was the first car that caught her fancy. Drove a SXT and then the R/T. I was very impressed with the performance of the R/T vs. SXT. The response and overall feel of the R/t sold me. Doesn't look like a compact car. The stereo is very cool for stock. Love the MPG. 27 first fill. 30 the next. Comfortable. Noticed the blind spots and complaints on the cheap plastic. I guess once you are driving it it doesn't seem a problem. I really like the CVT transmission and the smoothness if you feather the accelerator. I can get to highway speed and never have the RPM over 2000. IMO doing this saves a lot on MPG. Obviously not going to do this trying to merge on the freeway but normal driving I feel this is a plus. Wife is happy and I'm impressed. We'll see yet on reliability but we love the car so far.