America's Best Small Pickup

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: V8 power, smooth ride, towing capacity

The Bad: Mediocre interior, no regular cab version

The Bottom Line: A nice compromise for buyers who want to trade down to a smaller pickup, but not too far down.

Reader Reviews

These days, when Americans go out to buy a small pickup truck, likely as not they head down to their local Toyota dealership. In the first 10 months of this year, Toyota (TM) sold 147,964 of its Tacoma compact pickups, far more than the sales of the two next biggest sellers, the Ford (F) Ranger and General Motors' (GM) Chevy Colorado, combined. So, why even consider an also-ran like Chrysler's Dodge Dakota?

The answer is that the Dakota was redesigned for '08, and it's not only better than the previous model but offers features and capabilities that rivals can't match. For buyers who want the maneuverability of a small pickup combined with big-truck towing capacity, seating for up to six people, and a powerful V8 engine, the new Dakota may be the best small pickup on the market.

But that?s not saying much. Ford hasn?t given its Ranger a proper redesign in years, and the Colorado is underpowered and funny-looking. Effectively, Detroit ceded the category to the Japanese, for years preferring to concentrate on building more profitable, full-size pickups until the bottom fell out of that market. But now Dodge, which is getting pummeled at the dealerships, has to fight for every scrap of market share it can get and thought it could grab some by improving the Dakota.

A big plus for the '08 Dakota is its new 4.7 liter, 302-horsepower V8, the only V8 available in this class of pickup. The engine has 31% more horsepower and 13% more torque than the Dakota's previous V8?while also being more fuel-efficient. A V8-powered 2008 Dakota Laramie four-by-four with a big crew cab is rated to get 14 miles per gallon in the city and 19 on the highway. In 274 miles of mixed driving, I got a respectable 16.5 mpg.

That isn't stellar fuel economy, obviously. But the V8 Dakota nearly matches an entry-level Dakota with a less powerful 3.7 liter, 210 horsepower V6, which is rated to get 15 mpg in the city and 20 on the highway.

Dodge only offers the new Dakota with extended and crew cabs (there's no regular cab). There are six trim levels, ranging from the basic ST up to the fancy Laramie, which features standard leather bucket seats, a premium sound system, and V8 power. The starting price for a basic extended cab, two-wheel-drive model with a V6 under the hood is $20,080. A top-of-the line four-by-four crew cab Laramie starts at $31,745.

Among its many attributes are the Dakota?s unique looks. While the Tacoma can only charitably be called bland, the Dodge has a highly distinctive front end, with an in-your-face grille featuring a big ram emblem in the middle. There's also a spoiler on the rear lift gate and a choice of wild colors, including Sunburst Orange, Flame and Inferno Red, and Electric Blue.

I have a few caveats about the Dakota. The 78-inch bed available with the extended cab may be best in class, as Dodge claims, but the only available bed with the roomy crew cab Dakota is a mere 65 inches, 8.5 inches shorter than the longest bed in the crew cab Tacoma. The Tacoma's bed also is made of durable composite material that seems less likely to rust than the conventional metal bed.

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