Overview & Reviews

The enthusiast-oriented Dodge Caliber SRT4 makes its debut this year, bringing with it a turbocharged 285-horsepower engine. The rest of the 2008 lineup is pretty much unchanged. Caliber SXT and R/T models have some additional standard equipment this year, and all Calibers get new chrome accents within their cabins.

• Versatile interior, available all-wheel drive, wide range of engine choices.

• Sluggish acceleration from CVT-equipped models, low-quality interior materials, unimpressive build quality, several important safety features are optional rather than standard.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 115.00

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  Most Ridiculous Car Ever Made - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By Neal Buck - August 3 - 2:10 pm

  I cant believe this car was ever made. Its utterly ridiculous. First and foremost, the acceleration is practically non existent. The harder you push down the acceleration pedal, the slower the car accelerates. I think the issue is more with the automatic transmission than the actual torque, though, because it often feels like the car is starting from second gear and then realizes its not supposed to do that and jerkily downshifts to first. The suspension is a sort of princess and the pea situation with every little bump in the road translating into a spleen-rattling affair. From the outside, the Caliber looks like a spacious family car, but the inside is fully taken up with the dashboard, which is roughly the size of an eight-seat dining room table. The front seats have a fair amount of leg room underneath the dashboard, but any backseat passengers dont fare as well. And good luck fitting more than one kids car seat back there. You would think they could have taken a couple of feet out of the dash to provide more room for the back seats. I can only assume the engineer responsible for the Calibers design envisioned serving a large meal on the dashboard. There can be no other reason for that design. I have only two good things to say about this car. First, we have had to do no major repairs on it since we got it. But I think thats about to change. I believe the suspension and transmission will be requiring repairs before long. Second, the storage space is pretty decent, especially when you lay down the back seats. Overall, I wouldnt wish this car on anyone. Its two small perks do not compensate for a host of design failures and automotive mishaps. This car is actually really funny when you give it much thought. Its like the engineers planned it as a practical joke.

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  Had me hooked at first drive! - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By Rebecca - July 21 - 10:09 am

  Yes, it has lackluster acceleration, but overall, I LOVE my car!! Perfect size for driving daily to and from work alone, but also, easily fits 4-5 people without too much complaint. Great hauling capability with the fold down seats (although the angle of the back hatch has gotten in my way a time or two). Gas mileage is spectacular, even as it gets older, still holds well! Have had minimal maintenance (other than normal oil changes, new tires, etc.), two months ago was the first time I had to have something fixed, power steering pump lines had a hole and entire pump wasnt working correctly, but $400 later (the most I have spent on any repair or maintenance), brand new pump, and it is driving as good as new!! Acceleration could be better, and it is not a fan of going up in to the Rockies here in Colorado, but overall, I would say this is a great car, has been great for me, and I love it!!

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  Love my car! - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By Nicole - July 9 - 8:14 am

  This car was definitely not my first choice, but at the time I was still in college and dad pretty much decided for me. But Im so glad we went with the Caliber! Yes, it lacks many of the bells and whistles of a more expensive car/brand. It doesnt have heated seats, or a fancy interior. But my major repairs have been few and far between (and by major i mean nothing totalling over $300). This car is 7 years old and is still going like a champ! Its been so good to me and in turn ive been good to it. Im constantly surprised by how well its held up over all this time considering it doesnt have the best reputation. The Pros, in my opinion: Cruise control is an awesome plus. It also hasnt required many major repairs. I dont consider it a very noisy car, and the sound system is pretty good too. My favorite thing about this car is the storage. All the back seats fold forward and ive been amazed at what ive been able to fit in this car! Its only proven to me that I want to continue buying hatchbacks if i can. The couple "complaints" i have are: Lackluster acceleration, feels light enough to fly off the road if im going too fast (road holding?), doesnt do all that well in snow (totally fine in rain, though) and like i said, no bells and whistles. The one major repair I had other than the breaks is that the cord(?) connecting my shifter to the transmission broke, so my car wouldnt recognize what gear i was in. That was a $300 repair, and that was this year (so after 7 years). Overall Im extremely happy with this purchase, especially for the money we paid. I might sell it this year but thats only because id like to get at least a little money for it! But if money werent an issue, id continue to drive it until it died.

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  Wish I Had Never Bought It - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By brandeeboo_92 - January 23 - 10:14 am

  I just bought an 08 Dodge Caliber in August of 2014. I have put almost two grand into it since then...freaking thing breaks down it seems like every six months. Ive had to replace the clutch, three starters, buy a new battery, and have had countless issues with the axle and tires. Its not worth the money to buy this car because its so unreliable. Its comfortable and drives good but mechanically it sucks.

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  Bad Transmission - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By baddude1 - September 30 - 5:52 pm

  I bought it used with 30000 miles on it but I am on my 5th transmission. One of the transmissions was the wrong one installed. Why would I buy another Dodge?

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  Good, basic, reliable transportation - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By wk4x42007 - December 28 - 5:17 pm

  I purchased this car for my daughter back in 2010. It had about 30K miles on it. She drives 1.5 hours on the highway round trip everyday to school, so I needed good MPG, excellent safety and real reliability. The price was awesome ($10K) and this car has delivered. It has over 90K miles on it and all Ive done is change the oil, replace belts/tires/wipers and do brake jobs on a normal maintenance cycle. It has taken her through nasty weather without difficulty and protected her nicely through 2 occasions in which she has been hit by other drivers. For the price, its been a gem.

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  Whatever you do DO NOT BUY THIS CAR! - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By katatomic - September 9 - 3:03 am

  I purchased this car used in 2010 and I loved it at first mainly because it was the first time I had owned a car! My grandmother liked it so much that she bought one also about 6 months later. After that her transmission blew out after only 30,000 miles! She replaced the transmission costing her thousands and guess what? The second transmission started having problems. I thought it was just her car, but then today my calibers transmission also died and now I have to get a whole new car because it isnt worth having this car anymore. Plastic covers keep breaking off, the AC unit has alway been terrible, had to replace the accelerator. Save yourself the time and money and look elsewhere.

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  Help me kill my car! - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By kong4lucky - April 7 - 9:24 am

  I bought this car used in 2009 with 28k miles on it, I have replaced the alternator twice, replaced both thermostats and had to fix the A/C and now it has a bad oil leak (it currently has 81k miles on it). I dont know if this is typical of dodge cars but I do know that I will definitely research any car I buy from now on, especially if it’s from Dodge. The Caliber itself drives just fine, I have no complaints on its handling, but mechanically it’s been a nightmare.

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  Hidden Gem - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By blackwell2012 - February 28 - 11:10 pm

  I bought my Cali SXT with a 2.0 liter engine new in 2008. I read about pepole dogging the model, but let me tell you it handles great. Im a professional driver, and can attest to the cars nimble performance characteristics. I can routinely weave through 70 or 80 cars on a 23 mile early morning busy traffic run. The car is good off the line and mantains manuverability and tractionality at the 70 to 72 mile an hour range. Thats about as fast as anyone goes in traffic or highway crusing anyhow. The cabin is comfortable, the Sirius satellite radio sounds nice on the speakers, and you always feel in command.The doors make a nice thump sound when you close them. Well made for the money paid.

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  HORRIBLE CAR !!!!!!! - 2008 Dodge Caliber
  By swiet - December 20 - 8:18 am

  I bought the car with 41,000 KM on it and Ive had nothing but trouble with it!! The A/C broke, transmission had problems, it had so many problems that I cannot remember them all! The biggest issue that I had with it was the water leak! It took the dealership one year and 6 different times to figure out what was wrong with it! If i had not called head office, and they sent a specialist to look at it they would have never figured out what was wrong with it! Thank god it was under warrenty when I first went it, and when the problem continued they paid for it, because they knew they sold me a faulty car. My suggestion is: if you buy this car, or any other car, take it to a mechanic and check it