Power, 4.7L V8 flies at low Rpm's
Room, more interior room than any in class

Price, 1-2 grand more than ranger
Need anti-lock brakes for snow travel

Great truck, hopefully they beat the reliability bug

Very well designed ergonomically. Nice interior. Rides relatively good for a truck.

Poor Fuel economy...16mpg for a V-6! Numerous problems. Overdrive went out at 6,000 miles (warranty). Exhaust manifold cracked @ 27,000 miles (warranty). My speed sensor just went out @53,000 miles causing my overdrive to once again fail $160. Torsion bars were set unevenly from factory so the truck didn't even sit level upon delivery. It could use rear doors on the club cab without having to resort to that ugly crew cab that has less bed space.

I'm very happy about some things about this truck (interior space, bed capacity) and very disappointed about other things, mainly reliability. I think I'll go back to foreign vehicles since the overall reliability has been poor so far & future reliability seems to be extremely questionable.

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Toyota Tacoma

Ample lateral interior room. Well laid out controls. Great factory stereo system. A/C is powerful. Very comfortable seats. Good warranty - Great service at Irvine, CA dealership. Plush ride. Goodyear Wrangler ST's offer good grip in all weathers. Reliable drivetrain. Fuel mileage is average, at best, for a 2.5L I-4 (19 city/23 hwy).

Do NOT buy a Dakota with a 4-cylinder!! It is SEVERELY underpowered! Spend the extra bucks, and get at the very least the V-6! Recently took a 3,500 mile road tripto Texas and back (now have 10,000 miles on the odometer). Only problem was a burnt-out radiator fan motor; The Irvine dealership replaced it - no questions asked. Short and tight on leg room on passenger side. Driver side leg room is acceptable. Due to plush ride, body roll is considerable on tight turns, despite front factory sway bar; an accessory rear sway bar may be in order.

Paid approx. $16,000 for basic Sport model. Not bad, but not great value. Has been very reliable for commuting to work, and major road trips (to Texas, and Las Vegas). Quality of the factory-installed AM/FM-Cassette stereo is very good. Windshield wipers and headlights do an adequate job. Wind and road noise are minimal, but existent. Brakes are easy to modulate, but require a bit more foresight in driving to allow for longer stopping distances. All in all;I get my money's worth out of it; no more - no less. A decent buy for someone who needs a mid-sized truck, but are budgetarily limited (like myself).

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Dodge Durango (5.9L V-8), Toyota Tacoma

I guess the only strengths of this vehicle is its appearence,large cab space and stereo.

I have had several rearends in this truck, and now the frontend is acting up. Very poor fuel economy (v8-318) 9mpg average. I don't have a lead foot in this truck (can't afford too) While making turns, the rear tires seem to lose traction alot, like there is to much torque. Fireside Dodge in Modesto hasn't been very friendly or helpful about the whole problem. The hood is warping on the left side aprox 1/2" more than the right side, Fireside Dodge said that they couldn't fix this problem.

I paid 27,500 for this truck 2 1/2 years ago and it has been a big headache every since. At 400 miles the first rearend went out.I had it only 2 days, Fireside Dodge had it for aweek. It was like pulling teeth,to get them to rent me car, because I didn't buy the extended warrenty. Then again at 11,000 miles it goes out again, same thing happens, they have it for 4 days, again they didn't want to give me a car. At 15,000 miles it happens again the 3rd rearend goes, same thing, very poor reception at Fireside Dodge, this time they gave me a rental without much complaining, they have the truck for another week. I asked the service manager what the problem with this truck was, and his response was " looks like you brought a lemon". I am very disapointed with this truck and Dodge. This truck now has clicking in the frontend. There are only 22,000 miles on this truck. I am not hard on vehicles, I drive a Semi, and I respect equiptment. The poor fuel economy is another set back, was told by the sales person that it was going to get 13 to 17 mpg, I think I got 13 on one tank one time, mostly 8 to 9 mpg. I would think real hard about buying one of these vehicles, I know I will NEVER buy another Dodge!.

V8, comfort

Milage. I get a very consitant 15.4 mpg everywhere I go. I commute about 35 miles each way to work and no matter how I drive it the milage is always the same. In the snow, the V8 makes it very loose to drive. Needs more low end torque. Good pick up on the high end.

A very good truck to own. I have had the drive line replaced about 4500 miles. Other then that, no problems. Be prepaired for high fuel costs.

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Ford ranger

Power--lots of horsepower, especially with a few cheap add-ons
Nice interior--comfortable seats, functional dash (although tilted steering wheel covers a couple of gauges).

Front-end loose--after 60,000 miles, the front-end began to get loose and full of rattles. I have installed Koni shocks and urethane bushings, as well as larger end links, but it got only marginally better.
Factory wheels too small--running the widest tire these wheels can take (BFG T/A 235/60R15), traction can be easily broken.
Factory Goodyear tires--are these the worst tires made in the world? They were gone in 24,000 miles! Make the dealer keep these crappy tires for credit and buy a good, fat wheel/tire combination that will give you good traction and long-life.

I bought my '92 LE 5.2 with 7 miles on the odometer for $16,500, including the 5/100K extended warranty. Now, after 7 years and 125,000 miles, I'm still very happy with it. Its body is clean and very modern-looking, even though it has been superceded by the new Dakota. The interior is nearly perfect--no tears in the cloth, no cracks in the dashboard, no failures in the controls.

The motor is fabulous! I have always run super-unleaded gas and Mobil 1 oil, as well as Mobil synthetic ATF and gear oil in the rear-end. I have added the K&N FIPK (14 in. open air filter) and a Flowmaster 3 in. cat-back exhaust. Mustangs don't know what hit 'em! I can only imagine how it would accelerate with the 3.92 rear-end (mine has the 3.55). I am estimating that it has around 270 HP. My only regret is that I never bought the Mopar hipo computer, which would have pushed it to over 300 HP.

A major part of my satisfaction is the warranty service I got from my local dealer, Manuel Chrysler. Yes, there were some repairs needed during the life of the warranty, but Manuel Chrysler always handled them quickly and professionally. Plus, they had a rental waiting for me or a shuttle to get me to and from work.

If it wasn't for a growing family, I would be trading in my Dak for a Dak R/T. However, my needs dictate that I purchase a Ram 2500 Crew Cab. You can bet that I'll get the V10.

Spacious interior, powerful engine, fun in the dirt.

Gas guzzler.

I've been driving my Dakota for over 2 years with nary a complaint. As my only vehicle, sometimes its a bit impractical in L.A., but I'd rather have a truck when I need one.

comfortable, roomy, powerful

none

a great truck. couldnt ask for more

Appearance, Handling, Performance, Decent sound system, Good leg room. A beautiful aluminum driveline.

Towing capacity misrepresented by dealer and Dodge. It's actually about 4000-5000 pounds less than advertised.
Maximum speed limited by factory @ 110 MPH!!!
Slower than our 1970 340 Duster. I thought this is an R/T!
R/T model needs more of a high performance inspired dash.
Stereo balance control is very hard to control.
For large people the seats are too narrow and it's made worse by the console. Lumbar support is too high on my back and it only adjusts higher yet. I tried the split bench, but the folding armrest/console takes up too much width. The drivers area of the seat is actually narrower than the optional bucket seats.
Passenger side foot room is limited by the location of the heater/air contitioning box.
Rear seat is not easily removed and while the seat bottom can fold out of the way, there is a plastic storage compartment below it that makes it very difficult to carry grocery bags.

I like my truck. It's like having a good running two-door coupe with a really huge trunk. The power is adequate, but it is artificially limited by the factory to an idiotic governed speed limit of 110. It feels like it has a lot more to give.
Another thing that just doen't feel right is the disconnect between the gas pedal and the engine. Throttle response is generally good, but the engine speed doesn't always match the movement of one's foot. It lags sometimes and is very obvious when blipping the throttle.
When I was a kid, overdrive was often referred to as "free wheeling". Lift your foot off the gas on level ground and this truck will roll for what seems like forever. Engine (compression) braking is almost nonexistent. Punch the overdrive button on the end of the shift lever and you'll find that the truck is much more responsive to lifting your throttle foot.
I think the truck is more acceptable if one forgets the R/T heritage and simply looks at it as a nice pickup with the biggest engine and gorgeous wheels (17" X 9" aluminum).
The 6-1/2' bed is more than adequate for my needs, but I am very disappointed with the towing lie that I was told by the Dodge brochures and salespeople at several different dealers. Be forwarned, the towing capacity is either 2000 or 2500 pounds. I still haven't received a consistent figure. Whatever it is, it's a long way from the 6000-7000 pounds that was advertised. It also means that when I buy a boat, I'll be looking for a more capable truck.
Bottom line: This truck is a slightly modified production pickup that has reasonable performance, good handling, good looks, and a low rated towing capacity (I'm sure glad it has such a lovely trailer hitch!)

looks, comfort, room, Pony stompin' power, Infinity stereo sounds great, Amazing handling, huge aftermarket, found a pretty good service dept.

Gas Mileage, couple trips to the dealer, but nothing big. Oh, there is no Quad Cab R/T produced :)

I would recommend the Dakota R/T to anyone who wants a great sport truck. It has powers, looks, handling, comfort, and utility all in one package. You can get it with no AC, no power options, and no extra options for the speed freak or fully loaded with everything even radio controls on the steering wheel for those who like some posh with their speed. . This truck is just FUN however you buy it! I would definatly buy another, and actually hope to get a club cab R/T to park with the regualar cab R/T in the not so distant future.

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FIrst truck. Drove S-10, Ranger, etc, nothing even comes close!