Hello people,I just want to say that the Caliber is a very nice car.When I get back on the road(because I am a truck driver),I am thinking about getting the Caliber RT.So I wont put high miles on my 2004 Neon([sm=gears.gif]Namely in the winter months[sm=gears.gif])Because there are some people out there that dont know how to drive in the snow!And I dont know what package that I want.How do your Caliber handle?

 

Hi welcome to the forum.
I have had my SXT 2.0L/CVT FWD for a year this August so have driven
thru 1 winter session with it and it handled quite well in all conditions.
The only reason it's been to the dealer has been for oil changes and
a engine/CVT software updates that adressed drivability and engine
performance questions.
MPG is running on average about 29 US/city and 34 US/hiway and
it's a fun car to drive.

 

Agree withbigtsr about MPG,since I overall average 30.8MPG, 32.7MPG over 4000foot mountain passes, & havehad a highway high of 35.6MPG with the 2liter, CVT Caliber. However, my numbers come from very careful featherfooting & trying to avoid major stop & go traffic or big city driving.

The CVT, when pushed hard, has its internal hydraulic pressuresapproach 1000pounds per square inch. Normal lead footing will lowerMPG, but that highCVT pressure lowers MPG even more. So the more you leadfoot,the moreeasily you'll get 10%to 20% less MPG.

 

Thank you for the input.But,what do you think about the RT model?And how is yours on gas and what type of grade of gas do you use? Because I use grade 93(super) for my 2004 Neon.

 

I loved our AWD R/T in the snow last winter. My wife mainly drove it (she works the furthest away) and I felt a lot better knowing she was in it.

 

Chrysler/Dodge calls in it's specs for fuel the use of 87 octane ONLY,
I use Shell Bronze/87 octane and get when I drive carefully 29 mpg US
in the city and 34 mpg US on long hiway trips.
The mpg went up after the reflash and after 10,000 miles on the odo.
Don't spend money on octane you don't require.

 

Hi Flash_ Gordon2392....Sorry for my late reply. My SE will beat R/T MPG hands down. Tho the SE is much cheaper, it is just as tight as any R/T. That means the R/T is tight & solid too. But get ready to pay much more money, since my SE only cost $14,000. Use the low grade(it isn't low quality) gas. The Caliber is designed for it & you can see the excellent MPG I'm getting with it. Just short of 1 year, my overall average MPG with 50 tanks of gas, has risen to 31.3 MPG. In about 1 month, colder weather & the return of lower energy winter mix gasoline will probably lower my MPG from its 1 year high. But I hope my second year after next spring & summer willbring my MPG back to over 31MPG or close to it.