The MP3 player/cell phone holder flips up out of the front of the center console armrest and, while properly sized for an iPod or similarly shaped MP3 device, adapts best to candy bar-style cell phones. Also, the sliding armrest covers a range of three inches, which is helpful for drivers of shorter stature, but when all the way forward, it blocks the rearmost of the two cup holders.

As the Caliber is relatively tall, standing more than four inches above the Neon, the seats are closer to chairs than cushions bolted to the floor. This eases climbing in and out.

The front seats are comfortable, but far from plush, with decently bolstered back cushions. Bottom cushions, or squabs in designer lingo, are more flat than sculpted and a bit short on thigh support. Front-seat headroom is impressive, topping the five-door Mazda3 hatchback by almost two inches, the five-door Ford Focus ZX5 hatchback by almost an inch. It falls short of the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix by about a half inch. Legroom up front is adequate, equal to the Mazda3, bettering the Focus by a full inch and matching the Vibe and the Matrix. A cautionary note about the driver's seat-height adjustment, however: It pivots at the front, which means trading legroom for height.

The rear seat is a bench and legroom is somewhat cramped, trailing all four competitors. Rear-seat headroom, however, tops both the Focus and the Mazda3, by about a half-inch, but loses to the Vibe and the Matrix by almost an inch. The Caliber bests the Focus and Mazda3 in cargo room (by more than 8 and 16 cubic feet, respectively), but falls short of the Matrix and the Vibe (by more than 5 cubic feet.) Compared with the old Neon, the Caliber is roomier and offers more than three times the Neon's cargo space.

Miscellaneous storage scores mixed ratings. The bi-level glove box, with a compartment on the top of the dash in addition to one in the traditional location, earns high marks, especially the innovative Chill Zone. But front door map pockets will hold maybe a paperback and a map, there are no map pockets in the rear doors, and the front seatbacks are bare of any magazine pouches. Illuminating the cup holders (there are only two, and they're in the front console) helps at night, though sliding the center armrest all the way forward pretty much blocks the rear holder.

Visibility out the front is good. Like many other modern designs, the hood drops away so quickly it disappears from sight; you may want to learn where the fenders are before you have to navigate a dark parking garage. The large backlight frames a good picture of what's behind, and the tall greenhouse and rear quarter windows show what's in the side mirrors' blind spots.

The stereos generate quality sounds, with the top level, Boston Acoustic setup rivaling home systems of only a few years ago. Called MusicGate, the Boston Acoustics system features nine speakers, including 3.5-inch tweeters, a subwoofer and a pair of speakers in a boom box attached to the inside of the rear liftgate and that swings down for tailgating or whatever when the liftgate is open. It's capable of entertaining the neighborhood

Driving Impressions

Dodge seemingly wants people to consider the Caliber as a downsized Magnum, and to believe this makes it essentially a sporty mini-minivan-cum-compact station wagon. Nice idea, but the package doesn't quite deliver. Everything it does, it does well, but absent some fairly substantive aftermarket add ons, it doesn't quite achieve the sporty part.

Of the three trim packages and powertrains, we believe the SXT with the 2.0-liter engine and five-speed manual delivers the best all around performance.

The 2.4-liter's 172 horsepower arguably does a better job of motivating the one-and-one-half ton hatchback, but the CVT was neither as comfortable nor as precise in its selection of gear ratios as we hoped, and as Dodge promises. Left in Drive, it constantly sounds and feels like an automatic in serious need of having its bands tightened, or like a manual gearbox with a slipping clutch. Even in AutoStick mode, which involves imposing an electronically managed shift pattern on a transmission designed not to shift gears, engine speed wandered noticeably within the selected ratio. And while Dodge says its testing shows the CVT improves fuel economy by between 6 and 8 percent over a four-speed automatic like that in the Neon, the 2.0-liter with five-speed manual outdoes the CVT by 3 or 4 mpg, according to the EPA's ratings. Also, the Mazda3's 2.3-liter engine with five-speed automatic returns an estimated 25/31 city/highway mpg, easily topping the Caliber CVT's 23/26 mpg.

The 1.8-liter base engine betters the 2.0-liter's fuel economy by 2 mpg in both city and highway driving, but with fully 10 percent less torque and peaking at 5200 rpm, it's also the least responsive to the gas pedal when you need it the most.