Driving Impressions

Trucks keep getting better in ride quality, but they're still trucks. Unloaded, there's little chance the Dakota will make you think you're in a sedan. But like most pickups, the ride gets better with a load in back. Other aspects of comfort, like the decent seats and loads of front seat room, make the Dakota just fine for all-around driving. We think the Dakota's handling will feel pleasantly surprising, especially to those familiar with bigger pickups. It has relentless straight-ahead stability, yet it works well when the pavement takes a few turns, as well. One important day-in, day-out aspect of handling is nimbleness, the ability to deal with tight spaces and crowded conditions. Here, too, the Dakota will be appreciated, where its tidier size allows it to fit easily through traffic and into that last available spot in front of the grocery store. In short, as with several other characteristics important to truck buyers, the Dakota's just-right size seems to give it several advantages with few apparent shortcomings.

Final Word

Some truck buyers have been stuck in a quandary: don't need that big honkin' full-size pickup, but the next size down doesn't meet the power requirement to tow the boat to the lake. Like no other truck on the planet, the Dakota fills that niche perfectly. If you need to tow or haul something bigger than the Dakota will handle, then face it: You need a full-size pickup. If you don't contemplate heavy loads, one of the other compacts might do just fine. But if you have needs that are somewhere in that great middle ground, there's nothing else available that will do the job like the Dodge Dakota.