The Caliber is a family car that has been designed to look tough and to dominate the road. It's well within the affordable price range for large families looking for a sturdy car within a reasonable budget. The Caliber has comfortable room and would be ideal families looking for a vehicle that will blend in with off-road vehicles.

This car comes with three engines types that allow the consumer a larger choice. There's the manual 1.8-litre and a 2.0-litre with an automatic gearbox, are the petrol models. The 2.0 litre diesel model is sourced by Volkswagen with a six-speed manual gearbox. Amongst all three, the performance winner  is the diesel engine. The petrol options have perform on the same level so there is not much difference in their horsepower.

Even though the Caliber was designed to look like a 4x4, it's handling on the road does not spell 4x4. It's a car that is comfortable enough to drive around town and the grips are average but its bodyroll has been put down to the lowest level. It does not require a lot of thinking to drive this car as it is easy to drive.

There is a large amount of space in the vehicle and it's easy to adjust the seats. The design of the car's interior is tough like its body. The designers have used hard plastic around the car as well as the back of the front seats. It boasts a larger boot than the normal with plenty of space for a few suitcases. As it is a family-car, there has also been a split level glove box with air-conditioning to keep drinks cool, 60/40 rear seats split and a convenient holder for your mobile phones.

The base model comes with a CD player and electric windows. The SE version adds on air conditioning, cooled glovebox, front seats that can be folded and the rear seats are reclinable. The model after this, the SXT, is equipped with front fog lamps, alloy wheels, leather upholstery, front fog lamps and more. The more luxurious of the models it the SXT Sport model that comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, colour inserted fabric upholstery and options for a rack and tow bar. Because of the car's front windscreen pillars and big door mirrors, it creates a blind spot that could be a problem on some turns. There is also the optional extra gadget MusicGate that works as a sound projector when the tailgate is open thus making it possible to listen to music outside the car.

The tough exterior on the Caliber has a good defense against accidents. The vehicle comes with the standard airbags (including curtain airbags), electronic stability control, tyre-pressure monitor. The hazard lights have also been designed to be activated should the airbags go off.

Since the petrol engines are built in joint Hyundai and Mistubishi, the engines are expected to be reliable and not prone to breaking down as often. The diesel engine is provided for by Volkswagen so it's reputation should speak for itself.