The instrument cluster and center stack are the picture of efficiency. Gauges are large, round and gleefully legible. The center stack presents the stereo face and climate control panel in stark relief with functional knobs, buttons and switches and trimmed in matte metallic plastic or not-very-convincing wood grain.

The shift lever extends from the base of the stack; the notched gate on the CVT makes ratio selections intuitive, the manual gearbox less so, but not bad for a front-wheel-drive. The power point serves neither the cell phone holder nor a radar detector well; located at the extreme base of the center stack, it leaves cords either draped over the center console's cup holders or dangling down the dash between the instrument cluster and the center stack.

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.