Aesthetically, the Caliber certainly lives up to the ‘anything but cute’ tag line of its marketing campaign. The front end projects plenty of SUV-like visual purpose, with the side profile defined by the chunky wheelarches and the swooping, low, coupé-inspired glassline towards the back of the car, while the rear end seems to be a pastiche of Range Rover themes.
The overall effect is certainly striking – you’re unlikely to lose it in a car park – but the design is let down by big panel gaps and some cheap-looking details, most notably the nasty black door handles.
Value for money is high on the Caliber’s list of attributes, undercutting mainstream rivals by a healthy margin. The entry-level 1.8 S boasts 148bhp and has a list price of £11,495, which is £2500 less than the Focus 1.8 LX – although the lack of standard air conditioning and presence of plastic wheel trims will discourage most.
A more potent 2.0-litre petrol engine is also available in conjunction with a CVT automatic gearbox, but the best engine in the range is this 2.0-litre CRD diesel version, which uses a bought-in version of VW’s familiar 16-valve, 138bhp turbodiesel. At £13,495 in standard S trim, the Caliber CRD is actually the cheapest way to get hold of this powerplant (the Seat Leon 2.0 TDI Reference Sport is £14,995), although we’re testing the considerably plusher CRD SXT, which comes with leather upholstery and 17-inch alloys as standard and costs £15,290. Expected sales figures are fairly low, though: Dodge reckons it will only sell around 7000 Calibers a year in the UK.