Looks,power,comfort,the way it drives. Oh and it is one of the few automatics than can be pulled behind a motor home.

None

I said I would never own a Dodge,but I love this truck it has leather CD everything. Sets good runs great. It really is an SUV and a truck in-1.

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Chevy extended cab 4x4. Chevy S-10 4x4. Toyota extended cab 4x4.

Comfort, style, off-road capabilities, power, durability

GAS MILEAGE, acceleration, and did I say gas mileage?

Great truck! I have done everything you can imagine with this truck. If you can afford the gas, go for it.

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1995 Chevy Blazer

Reliable Low Maintenance Good Performance Reasonable Mileage (for a truck)

Excessive brake wear

This has been an excellent truck. I've got over 140k miles on it with no major problems. Great performance, reasonable mileage. I've made a few minor upgrades, stereo, ported throttle body, cold air intake, ignition mods. The truck runs mid 15's in the quarter mile, gets 20mpg when I'm fairly gentle with it and it dependable. The only maintenance issue I've had is that the brakes wear much quicker than with other vehicles I've owned. 35-40k per brake job. The transmission (auto) has held up well to my "spirited" driving. I will definately consider another Dakota when the time comes to make another purchase

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No trucks. Honda Civic VX (another great vehicle), Celica GT (dependable, but not as sporty as I hoped), Cavalier Z24 (fun, but not very refined)

Power/Looks/Reliability/ Looks great when lifted/ I have 33's X 12.50 on a 3 Inch lift and it looks deadly!!! And the audio system sound unreal with the MTX thunderform subs with an upgraded deck.

Tires 8 flats in 90,000 Kms - A goodyear problem not the trucks, got BFG's and every thing is good now! The brake's warp every 20,000 KM's got vented racing rotors and no problems since.

By far the best vehicle I have ever driven. Keeping good maintenance and buying the proper packages (ie Cooling system upgrades and Towing package) will keep this truck running good! (I have used synthetic oil and Tranny fluid from day one.) Not one major problem!!!

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Ranger/F150/S10/Tacoma/4Runner

V-8 models with performamce kits almost get the same mileage as the V-6 engines. the 318 and 360 engines are the best and have been provin for years...very simple and robust...easy to work on. Lot's of after market performance parts for the trucks. with the ignition module. intake kit, headers driving a 3.55 posi rear end , I get about 20 miles per gallon ..with my foot out of the pedal... stand on it ..all the milage goes to the drain

Factory front end bobs up and down when going over bumps or freway overpasses. It's just to soft and it drove me nuts. To solve this problem I reto-fitted a Rancho 9000 fully adjustable shock and now it handle's like a NASCAR Truck

OK folks , I have read all of your articles on the Dodge Dakota's I have done studies on this truck and I'm here to tell you they are not all created equal.. the best one to purchase is the V-8 models with a 26G package. They have the least problems...I have 88,000 miles on my 1998 truck and only been in the shop once for a fuel pump problem. The key is buying the one with a V-8 with the tow package because you get all the trans cooler and heavy duty trans package and finally maintenance , maintenance, maintenance..it is very important that every 12,000 miles the transmission gets serviced. I don't baby my truck at all. I have headers, performance ignition and intake systems to even stress out the drive train even more and still no failures. Again the key is maintenance on these trucks

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still cheaper than chevy and half the problems

Fantastic 4,7 engine, rack and pinion steering makes this a very easy truck to steer. Excellent Air con, & heater. Very good quality, fit and finish are very good.

Cheap Good Year LT tires lasted 18600 miles. Dodge replaced THREE that were out of round at 1000 miles! The front cup holders are designed by a idiot! at night there hard to find and reach. I wish the underhood had a light. I consider these pretty trival.

The safety rating by NITSFA is very high, the Quad Cab has more back seat room than most large cars. The 4X4 with the 4.7 engine will go anywhere! I use the 4X4 30% of the time. This has more power than you will need, out does the old 5.2 and is a very efficant engine. 16 MPG over all. My old 5.2 got 12 to 14 mpg. The truck rides like car, and yet has the feel of a strong well build truck. This is my second Dakota and I am pleased all the way. Dodge has done this truck right,

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Ford Airostar, Ford 150, GMC full size, and Toyota both sizes.

Looks tougher than other trucks in its class. Infinity sound system upgrade is balanced nicely.

Definately not mechanically sound! Been told by dealer that they've seen a lot of other people having the same problems that I've had.

What a waste! The biggest mistake I ever made was buying a Dakota! I've got a 99 Dakota Sport which now has 56000 mi. So far, I've had work done on a cracked power steering pump, the rotors have warped twice and had to be resurfaced, the tires wore out within 20k, the engine cooling thermostat was faulty and replaced, the catalytic converter was replaced at 35k and now needs to be replaced again. Also the engine would race when using cruise control and then surge back and forth at 3000 rpms. A dealership looked at it and said they couldn't duplicate the problem. Through research I discovered it was a faulty throttle position sensor, which I replaced (can only get from a dealer-cost me $80 bucks for a part the size of a 9v battery!) -seems to have fixed the problem. The break line had a hole and was leaking due to rubbing against axle-vent hose. Engine light sponsateously comes on and stays on for days at a time and sometimes causes a stall. Dealer is baffled by this, and cannot find a problem! Loud rattle in right front wheel well, no clue...passenger seat belt replaced because the locking mechanism failed! The paint on hood and front bumber is peeling and causing rust spots! Finally had enough! No longer under warranty, and sick and tired of shelling out money to fix everything. What's next?! This truck is a real P.O.S! Don't be fooled by it's nice looks, it's not worth the almost $20k sticker price! Even a Ford Ranger is better than this puppy!

great power climbing mountains, very comfortable

can't seem to find the problem, which makes it uncomfortable going very far from home.

Have had transmission problems since owning for 2 wks. Dealership can't seem to find the problem but it sometimes shifts hard, sometimes won't back up when in reverse, and recently popped out of gear while driving 60mph. Dealership replaced transmission in Aug this year but still having problems. I'm not impressed and wish I'd kept my Toyota!

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Toyota Tacoma

size of the bed, looks, tough body, front seat leg room

cheap interior, brakes, 5 spd, backseat leg room never get a 4cycl in this size of a truck

the size of the dakota is nice. can haul a lot more than a compact but not a big boat. the 4 banger is really weak but the gas milage is around 20-22. the engine acs funny on cold mornings, probably something with the fuel injectors. brakes completely redone a 55000mi(rotors, pads, calipers, flush) goes through tires quikly. 5 speed is rough in 1st gear. shifter hits cups in the cup holder. cheap plastic interior and seats reupholstered at 60000 miles. body is solid takes alot to dent itplenty of space in the front for someone of my size(6'3'' 230lbs.) but no rome in the back. the four speaker stereo is pretty decent. seats dont recline far enough. felt piece on drivers window came off. engine bogs at high rpms

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f-150, chevy silverado, ford ranger, s-10, geo prism, hoda accord, dodge caravan,

Engine is primitive. Unforgivable error in exposed cable to convenience console from top. Rear floor mats were missing. Very noticable gas consumption in acceleration.

The worst thing is the seats; head restraint is totally missing. Chrysler is discriminating only Dokota users in its line of products, all other samll/large Dodge cars/trucks have much taller seats that will protect users from getting hurt in an accidient, even on Neon. Will not recommend this truck to anyone who is more than 5' 5" tall. Chrysler corp and dealer sucks too; they try to ignore this liability. Will try to seek safer seats installed and consider to organise a class suit. It is diapppointing to see this important safety issue was neglected.

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Many Rangers, Aerostar, F-150, F-250, E-150, Chevy pickup and GMC vans. Own more than 10 trucks/ vans.