Dodge Caliber SRT-4

The original SRT-4 was a hoot: a big hunk of turbo four under the hood of the cheap, plastic Neon.  It was refreshingly performance-centric; it had chunky, grippy seats, a thick steering wheel, a great shifter and a nicely integrated boost gauge.  And almost nothing else; it even had roll-up windows in the back, which is still pretty funny.  But it was impossible to not have fun in an old
It spooled and ran like it got rear-ended by a dump truck, it would spin the tires clear through second on a wet day, and it was easy as pie to get 300whp out of it.
Then Dodge replaced the Neon with the Caliber, and what was a pretty bad car became a truly awful car.  I’m not sure Dodge ever really knew what the Caliber was supposed to be, but at the same time I’m pretty sure they got it wrong.  It’s got
proportions- all high and narrow and tippy – but sad little gravel-mixerenginesExcept thewhich packs a monsterous Mitsubishi-derived 2.4L Turbo motor, which cranksout 285bhp.Which is fun!  It really is.  But in a Caliber, what that equates to is homicidal weapons-grade torque steer,turbo lag that 80′s Saab owners would find uncomfortably long and dramatic, about 300lb/ft of resistance inthe clutch pedal, and a ride that only your chiropractor’s accountant could loveIs it fast?  Yeah, in a straight line.  But hustlingCaliber feels strangely like work, which means that Dodge missed the point of the whole hot-hatch thing.