I drove a Caliber before I had my PT. I had looked at all the pictures of it before it came out. I read all the reviews, I admired them in the showroom. The one I wanted was yellow and I thought was really sweet. Then my buddy got one as a loaner and we spent a weekend driving it. I got in the car, and couldn't believe that there was no forward visibility. It felt worse than a one ton truck as it has a super long dash and then a big hood in front. It doesn't have the height needed to see past the dash and hood. The stock sound system sucked. The interior was plain and cheap. I liked the rear seat recline, about the only plus. The high belt line made it feel like it was eight feet wide. I drove down a narrow bridge while meeting traffic and I swore I would hit the car I was meeting and the side of the bridge simultaneously. I also hated the cvt with a passion. It was okay when driving normally, but go and pass someone and it feels like it doesn't do anything. I'm thinking it doesn't upshift as fast as it could. I raced it against my bagged out Dynasty with a 3.3L v6 and I beat it easily off the line and top end even with less hp and similar weight. 3.3L = 147hp; 2.0L = 158 hp. I think both around 3000lbs.
I know what cvt's are supposed to do, my atv has one. When I'm on my quad and punch it at any given speed it takes off like a rocket until it finds rev limiter. I can hang with similar sized sport quads with more efficient manual clutched 5 speed trannys and chain drive to the axle. I have a cvt which eats more power, along with shaft drive again more inefficient, and my 4x4 weighs 300lbs more than most sport quads. A well set up cvt will perform quite well. I would conclude the cvt on the Caliber leaves much to be desired. I'm not sure if it doesn't upshift fast enough, or if it just displays the engines lack of torque, but my bagged Dynasty with a 4 speed auto walked all over the Caliber. I would have expected the other way around looking on paper.
All in all I hated the Caliber before I got my PT. I love the way they look. I hated the way they drove. But that is my opinion, and opinions tend to change per person. Go with what makes you happy. I bought a PT. I love it. I wish I had a clone so I could buy another and drive two at once...
I also don't care for the mileage my car gets, but with the price of fuel even my buddy with a Jetta TDI is complaining. I'm thinking of picking up a used motorcycle for commuting and saving my PT for weekends and stuff. That was I can actually enjoy the car instead of just using it if that makes sense. My insurance goes down if I don't drive it to work. And the money I save on fuel can be used for mods on my car or quad. I live in the country, if I was in town I would consider one of those bicycle motor kits. They are street legal, don't require insurance, and get 200+mpg.
Ben
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2001 Red PT Cruiser Limited, 16" OEM alloys, Heart Throb dual exhaust, Airaid CAI, Screamin' Demon coil and Livewires, some shiny stuff inside, Alpine deck, Alpine four channel amp, Alpine PLT5 sub, Hertz speakers in 4 corners, new stone chips every day to add character.
2007 Suzuki King Quad 700 4x4 for when the road gets bumpy.
24 May 2008, 06:14 pm
PT OR CALIBER & WHY:
$2.99 gas /3 years-warranty-(lifetime drivetrain & improved MPG ) Is it the next step from a PT- still has the mini-suv usabilty even though its look is a bit rougher..-can be had nicely equiped with discounts for less than 19K!!!! time to trade? thoughts.......
*** THAT IS TRADE MY Current PT-'03****
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