Driving Dodge's Updated '05 Dakota
It's a bit bigger and sports a more powerful V-8.
Tom Berg
Equipment Editor
The midsize Dodge Dakota has built a following because it's trimmer than full-size pickups and roomier than compacts. Now comes the restyled '05 Dakota that Dodge says is bigger and more powerful, but still retains the size that current owners say they like. How can that be?
Because most of the "biggerness" is the body. The new Dakota, which Dodge recently showed off to the press in and around Nashville, has wider fenders, so they now cover the wide wheels and tires without add-on flares. To match the fender lines, the lower part of the doors and bed bulge outward.
The cab is the same as the current model so it's no bigger, except in the rear-seat area of the Club Cab, where thin doors add 3.8 inches of hip room. Yes, the Club Cab now has rear-hinged access doors, and the two-door Regular Cab has been dropped. The longer four-door Quad Cab continues to offer sedan-like roominess. Rear seats in both cabs fold for more storage room.
More emphasis on passenger room and comfort is true to the Dakota's basic mission of transporting people, family style. But the rear-seat area can keep tools and other valuables locked up, while the cargo bed allows it to haul bigger stuff than an SUV. The Club Cab comes with a 6-foot, 6-inch bed and the Quad Cab's bed is 5-feet, 4-inches long. Both sit on the same 131.3-inch wheelbase and have the same overall length of 218.8 inches.
Styling of the Dakota's nose is more bold and edgy, with a higher hood and squared lines in the fenders. The new styling is not as apparent in photos as in real life, where its Ram-like aggressiveness is obvious. Dodge fans should like it.
They'll also like the way the Next-Generation Magnum engines provide propulsion. The base engine is a lively 210-horsepower 3.9-liter V-6, and there are two versions of a 4.7-liter V-8: Regular Output with 230 hp and High Output with "250-plus" hp. Final figures are due out by October, when production begins in Warren, Mich.
The lesser Eight is more than adequate, even when towing a trailer weighing up to 7,200 pounds - the Dakota's rated capacity - though it's a little too quiet for enthusiasts. They'll choose the HO version anyway, as it's more lively under all conditions and has a throaty exhaust.
Dodge engineers tuned the V-6's and regular V-8's exhaust systems to get the quietness that people in focus groups said they want. A muffler and two resonators allow free flow of exhaust gases, yet keep noise way down. But engineers removed one resonator from the HO V-8's exhaust system, so it sounds as gutsy as it is. The HO needs premium gasoline to produce full power, but engineers say it'll burn regular gas if owners want to save some money and can accept some loss of performance.
Enthusiasts might also want the standard transmission, a smooth-shifting, close-ratio Getrag 6-speed manual. I wanted to like it, but found it more work than it was worth. In a lightly loaded truck with a V-8, 1st gear's 4.23 ratio is a little steep for normal launches from a dead stop and 2nd's 2.53 is not quite steep enough unless you're already rolling. The short 1st was good when starting out with a trailer, though, and the various ratios up to 6th-overdrive's 0.79 keep everything moving at appropriate engine speeds. Maybe a 5-speed is really all that's needed, but you can't get one anymore.
However, Dodge figures that more than nine out of 10 buyers will pick an automatic. The 42RLE 4-speed comes with the V-6 and a 5-45RFE 5-speed is mated to both V-8s. Both are smooth operating, even if they sometimes hunt annoyingly on highway upgrades while under load. You can minimize the hunting by pulling the 4-speed out of overdrive and into 3rd, and by switching the 5-speed to Tow/Haul mode.
The selector for the 5-speed reads P-N-D-3-2-1, which means there's no 4 position to pull the tranny out of overdrive-5th, which would be useful while drifting downgrade. However, Tow/Haul will cause a downshift to 4th for engine braking, and the transmission continues to downshift as road speed decreases. The automatic 5-speeds used by Ford and General Motors in their full-size heavy pickups also lack a 4 position, and work the same way.
Dodge has "freshened" the Dakota's interior. Cloth or leather covers nicely shaped and comfortable seats. A new instrument package includes a big speedometer and tachometer, and smaller gauges for fuel and coolant temperature. The gauges have no numbers, which is OK for fuel, but I always wonder what the coolant temps really are, and a smaller tach would've left room for oil pressure and volt meters (which Ram pickups have - but also without numbers).
There's a lot of electronic stuff, like a standard AM-FM-CD and available Sirius radio. Multi-stage airbags are standard and side-curtain bags are optional. Shoulder-lap belts are now at all rear-seat positions. Head restraints are higher to meet anticipated stricter federal standards, which might be beneficial if you're ever rear-ended, but meanwhile block part of your rearward view when you look back. Good thing the side-view mirrors are big.
Cornering is rather flat and ride really good on both two- and four-wheel-drive Dakotas, thanks to a new coil-spring front suspensions and at the rear, staggered shocks with link stabilizer bars. Cross-country ride in a couple of 4x4s was surprisingly smooth, except when bouncing over tree limbs and rocks.
Dodge will face new competition this fall from enlarged models by Nissan and Toyota, whose compact Frontier and Tacoma grow to middle size with bigger V-6s. And GM's Colorado/Canyon midsize pickups have an unusual 5-cylinder engine.
So the V-8s give Dodge a performance edge. Dodge says its base Club Cab with the regular V-8 will list at under $20,000 - a decent price for something capable of a lot of hauling.
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