Finally! My wife and I went to a Dodge dealership in Tampa on 12/24/07. So happened the dealership just got some in and we wanted to check them out and possibly test drive one. We were interested in buying one... for my wife. Well the salesman was a jerk, he didn't even want to unlock the car so we could check it out. That they were closing early. Our friend that was with us, went inside and asked another person if they could unlock the doors to one of the CSRT4's and they did. So we got to check it out but didn't get to test drive one. So Monday, I headed to a local Dodge dealership to pick up some parts and a salesman asked me when I got out of my car, "Hey do you want to trade the Neon in for the Caliber SRT-4". I told him, no thank you... that I just came for parts. Then he began to talk to me more and more and I told him the above story of the salesman at another Dodge being a jerk. So then he said, "you can test drive this one if you want". I said, really? He said "yeah". I said, let me get my parts real quick. So long story short I got to drive one with just 3 miles on the odometer, 11 miles when I got back. With the ESP on, I was taking turns I wouldn't even take in my NSRT4 for fear of losing control and funny thing is I have plenty of suspension mods on my NSRT4. The Caliber handled like a dream. Very well car throughout, I was impressed. The shifter took a little bit to get used to but it was fun. The only thing is that the 10lbs stock boost felt a bit slow to me but its because I'm used to modded NSRT4's. If I was to drive a stock NSRT4 I would say the samething. But all and all, the car to me was great. If it wasn't for the fact my wife is happy with her NSRT4 and I'm happy with my NSRT4 we probably would of had one by now.
yeah I test drove one...and guess what happened next... I started pming Aaron@realtune about parts for it
Damn.....I want a SRT4 neon bad......If I could ever stop modding my two SRT8's, I could pay cash for one. I saw one of those "dark orange metallic" 04 or 05 @ Carmax not too long ago.......so tempting!!! Chase
I want a SRT-8 Charger real bad myself, but I just cant see myself letting my Neon go anytime soon. I do like this car a lot.
Well I guess I'm gonna go against the grain yet again, everyone's gonna hate me but ... I don't like the Caliber one bit. Just drove the hell out of it at the Track Experience at Laguna Seca and I just didn't like it. Drove it on all 3 modules too (performance drive, shootout and autocross) so I got a good all around feel for it and I just didn't like it, it's not nearly as fast or fun to drive as the 8s. IMO please remember. It felt too loose and light footed at higher speeds on the pro drive compared to the 8s and therefore less confident inspiring to go fast, too big and bulky to drive fast through the autocross and too hard to launch on the shootout (I believe EVERYONE bogged it off the line time and again). I did enjoy shifting gears manually though (forgot how much I like that) but didn't like the shifter or the placement. Also I never could get in a comfortable driving postion in it like in the 8s. It did have some surprising power out on the track at higher speeds but not nearly the low end pulling power or all around power of the 8s. And I do like the looks of it but only in SRT form, otherwise it's just plain ugly. Personally I would not get one. Sorry all, that's my take, you can bash me all you want ... :chair:
Your comparing the csrt4, which is half the price, half the cost, half the motor, half the weight to your vehicle. Its a completely different platform from the 8s, and it will always be, because of it size overall. This car, takes getting used to, and you have to develop a style for it. The Track experience is fun, but I also believe it can deter you away from one or more of the cars, just because your not given MORE than enough time to actually, test the car, and get your styles down. Bogging out of the hole, easily down if you dont launch at 3k in this car, and at that point you gotta pedal it to keep from spinning. I can do it on the streets anytime without the ESP. Your comparing high end speeds to low end speeds against the 8s...hmmm... Turbo 4 Cyl, to Big Torquey V8? Which one will always have more torque lowend? My point, you cant really compare the CSRT4 to the SRT8s. Both are of course part of the same team, but are very different to each other. Sorry if i sound horrible, but I just wanted to clarify some things. No hard feelings Gabriel
No bro, let me have it!! Lol!! I was just stating my opinions is all. I was trying not to compare the 4 to the 8s but it's hard to do and yea, I'm a little biased I guess, sorry. I was trying to pull my thoughts on the Caliber out away from the 8s and let them stand on their own. Now I've never driven on Laguna Seca raceway before so the only way to tell about the Caliber is to compare it to the 8s, sorry. I was surprised by it's upper end power on the track but it just felt too "light" for me is all, like it was on it's "tip toes" all the time and I didn't feel as confident in it at higher speeds. You'd think it would be the other way around too, I know, that the heavier and bulkier 8s would be less confident inspiring being so big and heavy but that wasn't the case, at least for me. On the autocross there's no comparison since we only ran the Caliber. I thought it was too big and bulky for autocrossing, again my opinion. The 8s def would have been, I'd never run my maggie in an autocross, good lord no!! Lol! On the shootout I tried all the way up to a 5K launch trying to get off the line without bogging to no avail. Everyone bogged it seemed, maybe that was the ESP??? Don't know. Guess I'm getting spoiled by an auto tranny these days, lol! Again, I didn't mean to compare the 4 to the 8s, I know that's not fair, just wanted to give my thoughts. Sorry but I just don't like the Caliber ... for ME. That's ok right??
The ESP Will kill everything there is about the car, it will kill 1st gear indefinately and 2nd will be hindered big time. Once you turn it off, wheel spin city past 3k, just like any other SRT The car to me feels planted very well, and is surprisingly light coming in at 3050, where my NSRT4 weighed 2850, so I mean, the Caliber seems like a lot more car, but in essence, is not. The car to me, feels very stable taking turns compared to the NSRT4, and that is where the comparisons still lay. I believe the CSRT4, with coilovers or even just a stiffer spring, will GREATLY increase its handling performance and making this car something to bargain with on the autox course. I just have been doing a LOT of driving with my CSRT4, and it hasnt even been 3 weeks since I have had the car, and it has 1500miles. I believe this car has a lot of potential and is definately something to watch out for in the future as the aftermarket expands. Gabriel
See, I think there's our difference, you're comparing it to the neon and I'm comparing it to the 8s. Doh!! LoL!!
I know that, and thats where the comparisons should stay. The SRT8s, are a very different vehicle. Weight, Power, Motor, and of course Suspension is a difference. The 8s are a little more planted in my opinion due to the weight, and may feel a bit safer than the CSRT4 but do not be decieved the CSRT4 will handle a corner just as well and if not better than an 8. The power is a huge difference again, between the CSRT4 and the 8s, just because they have 2 different things going on. If the 8s had a power adder equipped, they would have tremendous topend, and the lowend would suffer due to too much power. The CSRT4, lacks low end torque and all, and thats where our turbo plays a big part, in making up for it top end wise, and it pulls really well for a stock application, and it can only get better as the boost gets turned up, and thats when the 8s have something to worry about The cars are too different to compare, and shouldnt be. The CSRT4 is a monster with its own characteristics, and the 8s are the same in their own world Gabriel
a simple comparson would be take a stock Nsrt in the ABQ (or another city) (probally very hard to find a stock one) and run that and the Csrt in an Autocross course as for comparing the 4 to the 8. Im sure the 8 will take the 4 for the fact its lower to the ground and its RWD and will be able to get around corners faster then the 4 where its trying to turn and pull at the same time. Edit: in a way you really cant compare the two because of the different platforms
