Appearance
Power and Performance
Ruggedness, Reliability, and Comfort

Blind Spots
Fuel Economy
Typical Sales Staff

I own a 1999 Dodge Dakota SLT 4X4 with all the bells and whistles. Everything is heavy-duty, off-road suspension, skid plates, electrical, cooling, payload, and towing. The truck listed for $26,869 which was way more than I had originally planned on paying, but after 2 weeks of harassment (on my part) and walking out at least 3 times it was mine for $22,400.

I've had the truck for almost a year now and have been very satisfied. The exterior is classic Dodge and by the vast numbers of these trucks on the road today it confirms prior comments regarding looks and appearance. Performance is another plus, power plants of choice range from a 3.9 liter V6 to 5.7 liter V8. With a 3.92 drive ratio combined with this kind of power you better wear a neck support. The interior is extremely quiet and comfortable. A lot of thought went into its configuration. Dash, instrumentation, gauges, and all controls are at my fingertips. Another plus is its sound system. While it may not be the best one on the planet, It combines power and features with a 8 great Infinity speakers. I'll give this truck a thumbs up!

The biggest drawback was buying the vehicle. Wherever you go it's probably one of the most painful experiences next to childbirth. Unless you're prepared to fight tooth and nail for a reasonable price the dealer will rape you financially.

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Chevy

- Good looking
- lots of interior room
- built solidly
- rides very nice
- good turning radius
- Made in USA !

- Drinks gas like crazy
- could use just a little bit better acceleration
- rear wheels like to spin in the rain, but thats normal for most pick ups I think.

I paid just a bit over dealer invoice becuase I knew the dealership owner. I bought it towards the end of the 99 model year, but I could have ordered a new 4 door one at the time. I have yet to have any problems with it.
I would recommend a Dakota to anyone who likes the versatility of a truck, but would enjoy a car like ride. If you dont care about the gas milage, then go for this truck.

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- Ford Explorer
- Chevy Blazer

pretty solid truck and has been very reliable.

No real weaknesses, ohter than marginal detailing for things like the dashboard, the paint is peeling like craxy stuff like that.

Bought the car new at the dealer for about 13000. 5 spd, 6 cyt basic model. Have had very little problem, currently it has 230000 miles on it. got 190000 out of the clutch, just recently replaced the brain, and it still gets 20mpg on the highway.

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none

lots of back seat room, fun to drive, lots of power with the 4.7 V-8. drives better than my first choice the nissan frontier crew cab.

terrible mileage, only color available at dealer was red, bright red!

paid 22.5 fully loaded, except for the cd player. have not had it long enough to recomend.

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97 chevy lumina, 97 honda accord. my wife likes driving the truck better than her accord.

Looks.. no questions, 4.7 is BEAST! I can rip up the road in 3rd gear no questions asked. Heater works like crazy, gas gauge is always right on the dime. It has alot of class, and the stock rims are awsome looking. Full bench seat in the back is nice, lots of interior storage. The console is very large, Oh, did I mention POWER???

Sometimes in the cold, sounds like the engine fan is really loud in first gear. I am not going to complain about gas mileage, cause if i was really worried about it,i would have stayed away from a V8, kept my honda civic. Back end is really light, so i can't get high acceleration without spinning out like crazy. (sandbags would fix that, but not good for fuel)

The only problem i have had, is someone smashed the back window after owning the truck for three weeks, and stold my sony deck. The only thing damaged was the rear sliding window, and a few scratches around the trim of the sterio. It took the dealer over two weeks to get those parts and replace them (not the cd deck) and i was forced to drive a toyota echo. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

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Having owned a chevy 1/4 ton, it can't even compare with the dak!

Powerful and beautiful. This is the largest and strongest "compact" pickup there is...hands down.

Does not have four door capability like 99 Ranger. 18mpg freeway...12mpg city

I paid $22K before taxes, financing and all of that other stuff dealers pile on. I have never had a problem with anything. I am not the only one who thinks this truck is great because the 99 Dakota won the JD Power awards for "Most Appealing Compact Pickup" and "Best Compact Pickup in Initial Quality." Hands down the best truck dollar for dollar.

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Test drove 99 Ranger. Dakota has more power and interior space, but the Ranger had better gas mileage and 4 doors.

Great power, great looks, good capabilities in snow and towing. More room than the Ranger, S-10 or the imports.

Likes fuel just a little more than I would like. 12-14mpg city 18-20mpg highway

I like my Dakota. I'm disapointed in the fuel economy. It pulls my 18' boat with no problem. It also has no problem launching/retrieving the boat over a soft shale beach. Boat motor & trailer weighs approx. 3000 lbs. The truck has excellent climate contols and a decent sound system.

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Chevy 4x4 c/c s truck
explorer 4x4 c/c

Best looking truck on the planet

Breaks pull to the left and gas mileage.
The technicians that are employed by Dodge are DOLTS!

The truck is by far the best looking truck ever!
The cab is bigger thand any compact or midsize truck.
Mine has a V-6. The gas mileage is very bad. I get, on the average 16-17 miles to the Gal.
This week I got 17.8 miles to the gallon but I had to drive like a littel old lady. The key is no rapid starts and don't go over 2000 rpm.
The chassis is very well made , better than Ford's ranger or Chevy's S-10.
When I turn on the A/C it causes my ears to pop because the door seal are that good. Th A/C gets cold, real cold!
Other than the two problems with the gas and the breaks its a good truck.
If I had it do do again I think I would consider the full size Chey.
Oh, I forgot I payed $16.5K For my standard cab with a light pakaged and a wheel and tire upgrade and an over head console.
My Ranger had a Few problems that no body could fix too.
So there you are. You think about it.

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Ford Ranger: The ranger is smaller and funky looking but it gets better gas mileage.

It is a sharp looking truck with a nice ride. Rides as well as a big car.

Unreliable, poor quality, gas hog.

Within the first two years of owning this truck, the paint peeled off the front bumper. The CD player would not allow a CD to be inserted. The front ball joints had to be replaced. There is a rattle and vibration in the four wheel drive shifter. The front rotors rotted out at 22,000 miles.
Other then that it is a good truck but I would never buy one again. Dodge has been good about the repairs, but I don't trust this truck as far as reliability in the future.

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none

-Pretty decent value, if you get a good price
-Larger interior and bed than the comparable competition
-Good looking truck

-Horribly unreliable (15,000 miles and had major repairs done 3 times now!!)
-Horrible gas mileage (w/ 5 speed and V6, I never get better than 17 MPG. Even on long trips)
-Numb, bouncy, rubbery handling. Certainly doesn't insprire confidence
-without 4wd, this vehicle has NO traction, even on dry pavement
-V6 is completely unwilling to rev at any speed and any gear
-Weak engine, especially considering how bad the gas mileage is
-Cheap interior design and materials
-Hands down, the worst factory radio ever produced. I bet a 20-year old 8-track deck would have better sound
-Does not track straight and true (not even close)
-Useable RPM range of 1700-2200 RPM. The rest is just noisy, rattly, friction-filled noise
-Very hard to get at the oil filter, even though this truck sits high off the ground
-Cheap Goodyear tires that puncture on just about any rock bigger than a small pebble
-I've driven manual transmissions on beaten up U-Haul trucks that were smoother and more precise.

A good value, if you don't mind making several trips to the service department each year.
If you buy the base sport, make sure you upgrade the tires right away. It comes with cheap Goodyear Invicta's that will leave you stranded for sure. Also, buy an aftermarket stereo and speakers. The standard setup is better suited for a 1980 Ford Escort.

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Accord, CR-V, Sable