Sits up much higher than passenger cars
4x4
Nice chrome bumpers
Solid feel to the truck
I feel safer in this truck than I did in my previous vehicles
V8 engine has lots of hauling/towing power
Many mod accessories are available; from body dressup to engine mods

Stock t-stat makes the engine run wayyy too hot
Pre-ignition ping
Likes gas, ALOT
You can hear the wind rustle by when you drive >= 70 km/h
Terrible turning radius
Many mod accessories are available in the US only. No Canadian distributors.
Handles like a truck ... wait ... it is a truck

My Dak is a SLT extended cab, with the 5.2L V8 engine, and not being a truck owner before, I really can't compare it to my other vehicles (1977 Dodge Aspen S/W, 1987 Plymouth Horizon, 1998 Plymouth Breeze). Since I traded in my 1998 Breeze (which was brand new with only 21 000 km) for the Dak (which was used and had 71 500 km), I have not regretted it since.

The truck has been super. I can't think of any major negative points about it. My only serious complaints are : the truck likes gas, and lots of it. Pre-ignition pinging; took it to the dealer to see what the rattle was, and they said it was pre-ignition ping. They did a tune up and the pinging was worse than before. Dealer recommended that even after the tune up the pinging persisted, try higher octane gas. Did that and the pinging still persisted. With the help from the people on the www.dodgedakotas.com forum, I have been able to reduce the pinging a great deal.

One word of caution, the stock t-stat makes the engine run very hot; with the a/c on, the engine can go way up to 205 degrees. No overheating problems though.

Overall, from trading a brand new car to a used truck, I have been thoroughly pleased with the decision; no regrets. I knew beforehand that coming from a car to a truck the fuel economy would be different, and that I would shell out more for gas, so that part was no shock or surprise. My only major cost from owning the truck was a 1600 CDN repair bill, but 95% of the items on that bill was maintanance items that the previous owner did not do.

One good truck !

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good power.

catalyic converor replaced three times with 58000 miles on truck.have went through three sets of tires.no explanation from dealer or dodge.truck races at times in high gear.

97 dodge dakota with a v-6 magnam motor.single cab.5 speed transmission.

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not as satisfied as my previously owned truck,chevrolet s-10.never buy another dodge product.

Good power for a V6, great handling and stylish looks. Great stock stereo too.

Gas mileage - should have gone with the V8 instead.
Customer service in Canada is terrible. Two hours for an oil change? C'mon!
Too many rattles, squeaks and squeals. In the 60mph range there is a high pitch hum from the rearend.

My 2000 Dakota with a V6 engine is a decent truck overall. It takes abuse witout much complaining. Other than the few problems mentioned in the weaknesses section, this truck is worth the money I spent. I would recommend this truck to other people - except with the V8 and the biggest tires you can buy. Having said that; if you buy this truck, be prepared for some of the worst customer service you will ever encounter - and the dealers know it: they will try to bribe a decent customer report out of you with a free oil change (which will probably take 2 hours).

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4.7 engine, AWD, size, rear seat area, looks

Front and rear seats lack head/neck support
Spotty paint/finish
No numbers on temp/oil gauges, no yellow/red line on tach

Have the Sport+ with everything but leather

Some fit and finish problems during pre-pickup inspection that were taken care of before delivery

Great power from the 4.7, 18MPG
AWD works great in the rain.
Surprised at it's road handling and ride characteristics.

Very roomy front and rear seats, rear doors opening at 90 degress a plus.

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4 doors, a real sized rear seat, and plenty of power out of the 4.7L V8

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Best value truck on the market. 4 doors, a real sized rear seat, and plenty of power out of the 4.7L V8.

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Ford Ranger, Chevy S-10, Avalanche, Nissan Frontier, Toyota Tacoma. All fall short in comparison.

4.7L engine has more than enough of power.
Interior is spacious and well laid out. Back seat is even more comfortable than the back of the full size quads of any P/U. Plenty of front leg room. great handling with the road handling option.

Front headroom is a bit low

Dakota QuadCab, 4x4, 4.7L.
I owned one before and thought I'd move up into a bigger full size truck until I test drove this model. It was an easy decision. Powerful V8, super handling and ride, plenty of payload capacity like a big truck. Seeing as I got 212k miles out of my last Dakota without a problem and she still runs great, how could I not move into another. The smaller bed is still plenty big if you're moving furniture or appliances. The handling option really makes this fun to drive. My collegues who all have the full size were all quite impressed with it's roominess, power and handling.
It's ability to serve two functions, SUV and Pick-up really make it an attractive choice. For those who maintain their own vehicles........The oil filter access could'nt be easier. Well designed throughout. Highly reccomend this even if you're looking at the full size monsters.

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Owned a 1994 Dakota Reg cab, 2WD, V6. Great improvements combining the interior and ride of an SUV and the frame strength and power of a full size P/U.
The vehicle is in a class of it's own.

Recomend 4 wheel anti lock for good breaking controll.
Good off road truck medium to difficult trails with factory tires and suspention.
Good power and pickup when needed/wanted

Ride is fair - has a tentancy to bounce on some roads at 65 - 70 mph.
Steering rack had to be relpaced at 24k.
Transmision is clunky.
Loud engine fan.
Engin ping on exceleration with lite load or up hill.
hard to find Dealers service open on saturdays. Dealers ignored pinging
issue when I had it in for service.
Found extra nuts and bolts from factory. Several items in engine compartment not secured well or missing nuts and bolts.

Fun truck lots of power. Good off road. Handles well. Plenty of room.
bed size is ok better with extender. I have some quality issues. Factory order with 4 wheel anti lock. Fully loaded w/o leather.

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Previouse pu was 2wd 4cyl ford Ranger. cant realy compare. quality about the same

Looks, handling, cab space, Stereo sound is very good. Lots of power.

Transfer case went out on 1st try at 4wheel drive. Engine sensor also went out causing it to miss badly. Both occurred within first 6 months.
Annoying wind noise at freeway speeds. Console needs to open from left side, not th end. Can't access easily. Transmission clunks at low speeds. Bed needs to be about a foot longer.

Overall I like it. Perfect size for parking and hauling loads if needed. Good looks and handling. Sporty ride, handling and appearance!

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GMC Sierra (lemon) was in the shop most of the time I owned. Traded it for the Dakota. Numerous problems.

comfortable,roomy,smooth ride,quite(inside),easy to read instrument cluster,good gas milage(21 highway)with 3in lift and 32x11.50 tires,solid,easy to drive, just a great engineered truck

Lack of performance upgrades
warping of front brake rotors

I have a 1999 Dodge Dakota slt club cab with the 3.9L V6 with 48K miles, so far it has been a very dependable vehicle, no problems except for warping the front rotors (my fault panic stop @110 mph), I paid 16900.00 in jan 99 and so far no regrets. After almost 48K miles of very hard driving, its still a very solid truck. There are no sqeeks or rattles and runs and drives just as good as the day I drove it off the lot. For power hungry drivers I would recomend the V8,, tho the V6 definatly holds its own with the 175 hp. The transmission seems to be pretty good, I had a 96 ford ranger and by 50k miles i had gone thru 3 transmissions and 2 rearends, with the same driving habits with both the dodge and chevy. This by far is the best new vehicle I have ever owned!

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tacoma,ranger

Looks great, good mileage, blows the doors off the other ones. Rides fair and drives good.

First year; emergency brake lever broke. Idle intake control had to be replaced, it was dying when I slowed to a stop. 22,500 miles lower ball joints. Front and rear bumpers repainted. Vacuum hose to ac and heater melted through. It took 4 trips to the dealer to get that fixed. The drivers side seat cushion kept coming apart. Dealer finally ordered a new one, said it would be in in a week...took 3 weeks and was the wrong one. 5 weeks later its supposed to get the right one on. The suspension feels really sloppy and as much as I've seen on this site and Lemontree.com, I'm going to have the brakes checked and also the catalytic converter. I hope it lasts until its paid off! Oh, also had to have the computer "flashed" because of engine rattle. The truck has to go to the dealer so they can call manufacturer so the manufacturer can link up with the trucks computer to reprogram the timing gasp, wheeze. Axle hose clip had to be replaced. It was clunking during shifting, added limited slip oil and many months later its clunking again. Sometimes I miss the old Jimmy.

I do like the truck (V6, 5 spd, 4x4) or I probably would have sold it a year ago. Its fun to drive and I'm pleased with the mileage, 21-22 in town and 24-25 on the hiway. Its only got 25000 on it and I bought it as a new truck although it was 2 years old. Thank goodness I got a full warrenty on it! I've had it almost 2 1/2 years and the second year has been the worst.

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No real comparison to my old GMC 4x4