We're thinking about a Caliber R/T AWD with the ESP option. Will it be OK to drive in the snow? Not a lot of snow or a lot of the time, but a few days a year - and probably a few ski trips - it will need to go through snow and ice. Any opinions? Grew up in a much snowier place, so we know how to drive on snow. Not sure about the Caliber's AWD quality.

Thanks!

 

It should be a blast in the snow

 

From stories of other people who have the AWD Caliber R/T, the AWD system works like charm! One specifically I remember they took their Caliber on a dirt road, and went a little too fast around a corner which kicked the rear end out slightly and the AWD immediately kicked in and straighten out the Caliber's rear end, thus sustaining control of the vehicle. Dunno how well ESP works as it was just recently made available for order and nobody that I know of has a Caliber on order with ESP. I tried, but it would have messed up my order which I definitely didn't want to do. ESP's main function is basically to keep you from rolling over. FYI: The Caliber scored very well in the rollover test with only a 14% chance of rolling if I remember right. It does have a 5-star rating on the front end crash results and I think it had a 4-star rating on side impact. So its a pretty safe vehicle. I would love to test a Caliber R/T AWD where I live in the winter. I probably should have ordered an AWD R/T, but I went for the slightly better gas milage and smaller wheels.

 

It better be good in snow that's why I bought it. We get a ton of snow and the roads suck here. I drive on gravel every day and the Caliber R/T doesn't even flinch.