On the road, the 2007 Dodge Caliber proves itself to be a likable little truck-ette. Not an exciting performer mind you, but likeable nonetheless. We had a chance to drive both a front-wheel-drive SXT and an all-wheel-drive R/T, both equipped with the CVT automatic. Of the impressions those two cars left us with, perhaps the most striking is how little difference we noticed between them.

Acceleration with the SXT’s optional 158-horsepower, 2.0-liter engine can be described as leisurely, lacking the oomph we were looking for during several passing opportunities. Suffice it to say that you’ll want to plan ahead and give yourself plenty of room in similar situations. That being said, we think most buyers will find this engine entirely passable for daily driving. What surprised us most, however, is that the 14 additional horses under the R/T’s hood didn’t make nearly as much difference as we expected. The 172-horsepower, 2.4-liter engine’s pickup was only marginally better than its smaller sibling, a result we attribute to the additional 269 pounds of curb weight it has to cart around thanks to the standard AWD system.

We also noted that both engines sounded a little coarse when pushed, an attribute that’s accentuated by the CVT’s tendency to let the engine rev at a high level for a long period of time under hard acceleration. While we didn’t get to drive either model fitted with the five-speed manual, we expect that setup would be a good bit more lively than the cars we drove. Should you feel the urge to run through the gears manually, we should note that the AutoStick manual shift mode on the R/T’s CVT produced reasonably quick up- and downshifts through its six simulated gears. If they’re anything like us, however, we expect most buyers will be perfectly happy to cruise along with the shift lever in “D.”

Overall, both models displayed sure-footed handling that inspired confidence both in traffic and on the open road. Both exhibited a good amount of body roll in enthusiastic cornering, but the car always felt stable and its handling secure and predictable. The Caliber’s four-wheel independent suspension gives the car a better than average ride quality, especially when compared to most small sport-utes. Small pavement imperfections melted away while the impacts of larger bumps felt very well-controlled. Steering action feels sharp, precise, and nicely-weighted in both models. Both the SXT’s front disc/rear drum brake setup and the four-wheel discs on the R/T proved entirely competent in panic stops despite a fair amount of nose dive.

Our day-long drive through the mountains northeast of Phoenix leads us to conclude that the 2007 Dodge Caliber’s got the goods to attract buyers who had previously written off the idea of driving a compact car. And if there’s a performance deficit – even in the sporty Caliber R/T model we drove – the rumored Caliber SRT-4 model should prove just the remedy for the acceleration and handling blues.