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So I figured that since most of the websites I visit daily are currently offline (thanks to an explosion at the web server building), I'd spend some time writing up a small review of a car I got to borrow for a couple days. I don't do this professionally (or even as a hobby) so my apologies if it's poorly written. 
A buddy of mine works for an automotive review company based in Canada and after a local car show, faced a daunting dilemna. He had three cars at the show and only two people to drive 'em home. The Bullit Mustang was already snagged by his co-worker and my buddy had driven the 135i to the show. Without hesitation, he threw me the keys to the SRT4 and told me to have fun with it and to bring it back in a couple days.
Sweet.
Now, let me get this out right away. When the Caliber first came out, I laughed. The car it was replacing, the SX2.0 (or Neon, for you American folk) was obviously a car, albeit a pretty poor one. The Caliber, on the other hand, looked like a shrunken SUV, and a pretty ugly one at that. The SX2.0 was popular here in Canada and the idea that a miniature SUV would be replacing it was hardly laudable. It seemed that the bigwigs at Dodge still had it in their heads that what the American public wanted is yet another SUV. Okay, fine. Whatever. Who am I to judge them.
Regardless, the more I looked at the car and examined the giant ninteen inch rims, aggressive bodykit and -- amazingly -- the functional hood scoops, the more the SRT4 grew on me. It will never win any beauty awards but the harsh, chunky lines of it is part of the charm. It makes no excuses for its intended purpose, and that is to go fast.
And boy, does it ever go fast.
Throw it in first gear, drop the clutch and plant your right foot to the floor and you'll instantly forget about the miles of C-Grade plastic that makes up the interior. As soon as you gain traction, you find yourself needing to quickly shift. Thankfully, the SRT4 has a short-throw gearbox that shifts beautifully. You'll chirp second and fight the wheel as torque steer makes itself known. Again, thanks to the almost lag-free turboed 2.4, you quickly make it to third. Clutch down, shift gear and bury the go-fast pedal. Surprise, you've suddenly chirped the tires going into third gear. Because the acceleration is so smooth and almost drama free, you can very easily find yourself reaching speeds that will give many cop cars a run for their money. Thankfully the SRT4's massive thirteen inch brakes will stop the car in almost no time at all. They're so powerful and sticky that the on-board G-Force reading will peak at numbers that are almost unheard of in many small, bone-stock cars. So, yeah... it goes in a straight line bloody quickly and still stop just as fast.
"But it's an American car and, as such, that's all they're good for," is something I heard quite a bit the last couple days. Well, while that stigma might be true for some vehicles, it most definitely isn't the case here. Take a corner at speed and you're in for a pleasant surprise. Being so high up in the driver's seat, you feel more susceptible to body roll. Make no mistake, there is definitely a fair amount of roll in this car. However, the stock tires make up for this. I found myself pushing the car into corners harder and faster than I ever thought this car was capable of achieving. It's no Miata or Boxster but it will certainly give a lot of modified cars a run for their money in these corners.
Unfortunately there were some downfalls to this car. As I mentioned, the plastic interior was just horrible. It looks nice from afar but as soon as you get close, you can start seeing the gaps and poor build quality. Everything just feels cheap inside, though the stock sport seats certainly are comfortable enough and will hold you in nice and tight as you take those corners. The car also had just over 4000km on it and already pieces of the dash were starting to squeak. Sure, it was a press car and they're typically abused but, hey, if you own an SRT4, chances are you're going to push it to the limits. It's unfortunately an indication that American build quality still needs some work.
However, for a car that pushes 300hp (at sea level) and costs under $30,000 (Cdn pricing), I will gladly overlook the shoddy interior build quality and instead focus on the handling and power of this beast. I thought for sure that I would hate this car. Unfortunately tonight is ending with me looking at pricing for this car and how feasible it would be to buy one.
http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/phot...98329_1020.jpg
Coles Notes: I liked it.
A buddy of mine works for an automotive review company based in Canada and after a local car show, faced a daunting dilemna. He had three cars at the show and only two people to drive 'em home. The Bullit Mustang was already snagged by his co-worker and my buddy had driven the 135i to the show. Without hesitation, he threw me the keys to the SRT4 and told me to have fun with it and to bring it back in a couple days.
Sweet.
Now, let me get this out right away. When the Caliber first came out, I laughed. The car it was replacing, the SX2.0 (or Neon, for you American folk) was obviously a car, albeit a pretty poor one. The Caliber, on the other hand, looked like a shrunken SUV, and a pretty ugly one at that. The SX2.0 was popular here in Canada and the idea that a miniature SUV would be replacing it was hardly laudable. It seemed that the bigwigs at Dodge still had it in their heads that what the American public wanted is yet another SUV. Okay, fine. Whatever. Who am I to judge them.
Regardless, the more I looked at the car and examined the giant ninteen inch rims, aggressive bodykit and -- amazingly -- the functional hood scoops, the more the SRT4 grew on me. It will never win any beauty awards but the harsh, chunky lines of it is part of the charm. It makes no excuses for its intended purpose, and that is to go fast.
And boy, does it ever go fast.
Throw it in first gear, drop the clutch and plant your right foot to the floor and you'll instantly forget about the miles of C-Grade plastic that makes up the interior. As soon as you gain traction, you find yourself needing to quickly shift. Thankfully, the SRT4 has a short-throw gearbox that shifts beautifully. You'll chirp second and fight the wheel as torque steer makes itself known. Again, thanks to the almost lag-free turboed 2.4, you quickly make it to third. Clutch down, shift gear and bury the go-fast pedal. Surprise, you've suddenly chirped the tires going into third gear. Because the acceleration is so smooth and almost drama free, you can very easily find yourself reaching speeds that will give many cop cars a run for their money. Thankfully the SRT4's massive thirteen inch brakes will stop the car in almost no time at all. They're so powerful and sticky that the on-board G-Force reading will peak at numbers that are almost unheard of in many small, bone-stock cars. So, yeah... it goes in a straight line bloody quickly and still stop just as fast.
"But it's an American car and, as such, that's all they're good for," is something I heard quite a bit the last couple days. Well, while that stigma might be true for some vehicles, it most definitely isn't the case here. Take a corner at speed and you're in for a pleasant surprise. Being so high up in the driver's seat, you feel more susceptible to body roll. Make no mistake, there is definitely a fair amount of roll in this car. However, the stock tires make up for this. I found myself pushing the car into corners harder and faster than I ever thought this car was capable of achieving. It's no Miata or Boxster but it will certainly give a lot of modified cars a run for their money in these corners.
Unfortunately there were some downfalls to this car. As I mentioned, the plastic interior was just horrible. It looks nice from afar but as soon as you get close, you can start seeing the gaps and poor build quality. Everything just feels cheap inside, though the stock sport seats certainly are comfortable enough and will hold you in nice and tight as you take those corners. The car also had just over 4000km on it and already pieces of the dash were starting to squeak. Sure, it was a press car and they're typically abused but, hey, if you own an SRT4, chances are you're going to push it to the limits. It's unfortunately an indication that American build quality still needs some work.
However, for a car that pushes 300hp (at sea level) and costs under $30,000 (Cdn pricing), I will gladly overlook the shoddy interior build quality and instead focus on the handling and power of this beast. I thought for sure that I would hate this car. Unfortunately tonight is ending with me looking at pricing for this car and how feasible it would be to buy one.
http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/phot...98329_1020.jpg
Coles Notes: I liked it.
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