2007 Dodge Caliber SRT-4 Review:
Think of it as one very bad-ass breadbox.
Sequels are tricky. You could ask anyone in the movie business. Hey, the original was a hit — let’s repackage and play it again. The business plan looks like a no-brainer, but all too often it turns out to be just that, and the redux version tanks.
The original SRT4 was one of the first creations of the Chrysler Group’s Street and Racing Technology go-faster shop, a high-performance edition of the mild-mannered Dodge Neon. We referred to it as the Frankeneon in our December 2002 test, and that still sums it up. During its three-year run, the output of its 2.4-liter turbocharged and intercooled four climbed from 215 in the first edition to 230 horsepower, with even more available via the various aftermarket upgrade kits available through Mopar. It was capable of 0-to-60-mph times in the mid-five-second range and could cover a quarter-mile in just over 14 seconds, and in three years of production, Dodge sold more than 25,000 of them.
“The original program plan projected 10,000,” says Herb Helbig, SRT’s senior manager of vehicle synthesis and chassis design. “We sold two-and-a-half times that many.”
So when the Caliber replaced the Neon, an SRT4 sequel was not only an attractive business proposition, it was almost mandatory. But the Caliber is obviously not a Neon, and the differences go well beneath its daring new duds. So the sequel question is germane here. Will this SRT4 II be another hit with the tuner tribe? Or will it be another Caddyshack II.
More on that later. First, let’s take a look at the hardware.
The core of the ’07 Caliber SRT4, like its predecessor, is a 2.4-liter turbocharged and intercooled four, transversely mounted and driving the front wheels. But that’s where the likeness ends. The hurry-up Caliber is driven by a boosted version of an all-new, all-aluminum DOHC 16-valve four (the previous engine had an iron block), developed as a joint venture among DaimlerChrysler, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi, called GEMA, for Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance. It has a production facility in Dundee, Michigan, and the initial DaimlerChrysler yield is a three-engine family — 1.8, 2.0, and 2.4 liters.
The biggest of the trio was the obvious starting point for this exercise, and according to Pete Gladysz, senior manager for SRT powertrains, adapting the GEMA engine for high output didn’t require any really dramatic departures from the stock engine’s basic components. There are new Mahle pistons, designed for a lower stock compression ratio (8.6:1 versus 10.5:1), forged steel connecting rods, valves designed for higher operating temps, heftier bottom-end bearings, oil squirters to keep the con rods and pistons cool, and an external oil cooler.
That sounds like a lot, but none of it affects the engine’s basic architecture, and the block, head, crank, cams, and variable-valve-timing hardware (intake and exhaust) are all standard GEMA bits.
If you liked the Neon-based SRT-4, you’re gonna love the Caliber version. The Caliber is Dodge’s daring replacement for the Neon, and the SRT-4 is its ultimate expression. SRT stands for Street and Racing Technology, the DaimlerChrysler skunkworks devoted to making not-so-fast cars faster, and fast cars faster still. Although the displacement is roughly the same as the previous SRT-4 powerplant, this is an all-new four-cylinder aluminum engine, developed jointly by the DCX Chrysler Group, Hyundai Motor, and Mitsubishi. Dubbed the World Engine, it’s produced in Dundee, Michigan, and in SRT tune it sports turbocharging, intercooling, variable valve timing, balance shafts, and a dual-mass flywheel. Output — 300 horsepower, 260-pound feet of torque — is formidable, and the power finds its way to the front wheels via a six-speed Getrag manual gearbox and limited slip differential. It’s a hot package, and looks it, with raceworthy bucket seats, a functional hood scoop, huge brakes, oversize calipers, 19-inch cast aluminum wheels, and low-profile W-rated Goodyear tires. The new SRT-4 is due in Dodge showrooms in mid-2007. Look for a base price of about $26,000.
Credits: Caranddriver.com
Extra pictures.
Note> This is Definately an awesome car for the money. Not only does it have more room, is more uniquely designed than the Neon, but it's also a mini-suv where you can haul more things if needed, and of course, it is faster stock than the neon srt-4, which is amazing considering that most Neons stock are faster than MOST cars stock, along with the base prices being so low. Dodge has a great line of cars coming out again, be sure to hang out and i'll post up a review of the challenger soon as it comes out
2007: Dodge Caliber SRT-4 Review
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