| Goldilocks
would approve. Not too big, not too small. That's the claim to fame setting the
Dakota apart from compact truck crowd for more than a decade now. Truly, its larger
size comes in handy if you have any intentions of carrying more than one other
person with you regularly. And its muscular good looks, like a nice blend of Kenworth
and Ford Ranger, are stylish in almost any trim level or body style. Although
every Dakota comes standard with things like air conditioning and cassette stereos,
we urge you to set aside a few bucks to step up from the base standard cab 4-cylinder
to either a higher trim level or a club cab; in either case you'll find a pleasant
175-hp V-6 engine. And in many trims, a 235-HP V-8 is available, making more horsepower
than any other "compact" truck. But
as we noted, this is more "compact plus" than compact, with considerably
more overall length and width than the others in this guide, although it has nowhere
near the enormity of its big brother Ram. Especially in the good-looking and spacious
Quad Cab variant, size becomes an issue, as does fuel economy from the thirsty
engines. But if you want big truck space and muscle without big truck dimensions,
then the Dakota might fit just right.
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