Well I turned my truck into Rich last weekend, got back and picked up a Dodge Caliber from Enterprise. I was hoping for a Charger, but they didn't have any and wanted to stick me in a Malibu.
I picked up a 2009 Dodge Caliber, with a 4-banger, and about 48XXX on the odometer.
Interior:
The interior is actually pretty dang nice. There is a LOT of space in the cabin. I'm a full sized guy, 6'1" and a tad over 220lbs. I have plenty of head space, and the seats, even for completely manual, are pretty comfy. MY roommate, who is a lankier version of me didn't have any problems either. The back seat is good sized, but while loading a large box, the door jam got in the way. The transmission lever, cupholders and center council are all located within easy grasp of the driver, along with the radio and environmental controls. The A/C works well, and is responsive. The interior lights are decent, but I don't like the gauges and how they are lit. The cupholders, one light works, one doesn't. None of the switches seem to have much gusto to them, they all feel cheap and lacking. the rear storage area is nice, but on my model the screen that can cover the storage area from wandering eyes can't be removed... I'm thinking Enterprise just permanently attached it.
Exterior
The outside of the car is what I would expect, no eral issues and solid build. lights seem well placed and light the road appropriately. The actual design is very nice. Besides the "cab Forward" design Chrysler has been pushing for years, it leaves a lot of dashboard.
Power Train.
This is my biggest gripe with this car. I know that it has been run a lot (48,XXX miles in a YEAR) but the transmission is just... odd. I get on the road and floor the gas, it's responsive up until about 40mph where it starts to slack off, the engine max's out around 6500 RPM and sits there, there is no shifting during acceleration from 10-65 mph. And it's not one of those "shiftless" transmissions. it just doesn't seem to shift while accelerating. the engine is responsive, but can 'stick' if you do the classic "engine rev" the engine goes for a few seconds after letting off the gas. So, in otherwords, you can't do the classic "vroom vroom" type activity.
anyways, thought I would add to the section!
Topic: 2009 Review (Read 2487 times)
