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Summary
The all-new 2005 Dodge Dakota represents yet
another bold move into the truck market for Dodge. With sales of basic
small trucks in steady decline, Dodge has redesigned the Dakota as a
much larger, much edgier and more macho midsize pickup.
2005 Dakota Full Review
Dakota competes against Ford Ranger, Chevrolet
Colorado, GMC Canyon, Toyota Tacoma, and Nissan Frontier. As with
full-size pickups, competition for compact or mid-size trucks is hot.
Dakota's biggest advantage, other than its larger size, is the
availability V8 engines, not one, but two of them. Built on a new frame,
the new Dakota is substantially longer than the previous model with
styling that complements the recently redesigned Durango SUV and Ram
pickup. Underway, the Dakota is smooth and quiet. The steering is light
for easy maneuverability in crowded parking lots. The Dakota responds
quickly on mountain roads and tracks extremely well on the highway.
2005 Dakota Trims
All Dakotas are Club Cab extended-cab versions or
Quad Cab four-door crew cab models and are set up for five- or
six-passenger seating. Standard-cab pickups have faded in popularity as
families are increasingly using pickups for recreation and as a
transportation alternative to a car. So Dodge doesn't even offer a
regular cab Dakota.
Either body style and all three trim levels come
standard with a 3.7-liter V6. A 4.7-liter Magnum V8 engine ($785) is
available on all models. A high-output version of the 4.7-liter V8 is
available for the SLT and Laramie trim levels. Each engine comes
standard with a six-speed manual.
Two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive are available: A traditional
part-time four-wheel drive system is standard on 4X4 models. Full-time
four-wheel drive with part-time differential locking is optional.
With the Club Cab, you get a 6 1/2-foot bed length;
with the Quad Cab you get a 5-foot 4-inch bed. Club Cabs now feature
small doors to access the rear compartment, which the old model did not
have.
Club Cab and Quad Cab are available in ST, SLT, or
Lariat trim levels. The ST trim level comes standard with 16-inch
wheels. SLT adds 16-inch aluminum wheels, fog lamps, tilt steering, dual
rear seats, and power windows, locks and mirrors. Laramie comes loaded
with leather seats, six way leather power driver's seat, an Infinity
six-speaker 288-watt premium sound system with six-disc changer, cruise
control, fog lamps, overhead console, and a leather-wrapped steering
wheel with remote audio controls.
Options include the premium audio system ($530),
Sirius satellite radio ($195), four-wheel ABS ($495), front-seat
side-curtain air bags ($495), towing packages ($455-$525), and 17-inch
chrome wheels ($820). Among them: a chrome air deflector for the top of
the grille, chrome accents, light bars, and roll bars.
Exterior Design
Starting out with a truck that's almost four inches
longer than the previous Dakota, with almost all the extra length
devoted to front crush space and deeper bumpers to meet future crash
standards, the new Dakota boats almost 56 cubic feet of interior space.
The intersection of the front fender,
multi-element, twin-lens headlamp and grille makes the whole design work
beautifully. All models come with front and rear tow hooks and
tie-downs in the bed.
New to the Dakota is an Enhanced Accident Response
System or EARS, which automatically turns on interior lights and unlocks
doors in the event of an air bag deployment, so that medical or response
personnel can help faster and easier.
2005 Interior Design
The angular center stack houses the sound system,
climate controls and vents. The thick four-spoke steering wheel features
audio and cruise controls. The rear seats are deliberately stepped up on their
bases so that rear-seat occupants can see out more easily, and they are
split into 40/20/40 folding sections with two rear cupholders.
The rear seat room in our Quad Cab test truck was
more than generous for family-style use, with 33 cubic feet of storage
behind the rear seat. New interior features for the 2005 Dakota include
standard head restraints and shoulder belts for all seat positions,
taller head restraints, optional Sirius Satellite Radio, and an optional
hands-free communications system that uses Bluetooth technology to make
a compatible cellphone work as part of the truck.
First Drive 2005
The 3.7-liter Magnum V6 is rated 210 horsepower and
235 pound-feet of torque. The 4.7-liter V8 generates 230 horsepower and
290 pound-feet of torque. Our Quad Cab with the standard 4.7-liter
accelerated with uncommon vigor and a wonderful exhaust note. At highway
speeds it settled down into a nice background burble in overdrive fifth
gear. Its strong torque means plenty of low-down grunt for pulling
payloads of up to 1,800 pounds or towing up to 7,150 pounds.
The transmission has perfectly spaced ratios for
trucking, and worked without complaint, roughness or harshness, even in
high-rpm full-throttle upshifts. For towing, there's a Tow/Haul setting
that alters the shift pattern of the automatic transmission.
The truck tracks extremely well, responds quickly to inputs, and
stays hunkered down during mountain road playtime. We'd rate the ride
and handling very high, though like all pickup trucks, it can get a bit
choppy over small, high-intensity bumps and ruts.
The Dakota offers only rear-wheel anti-lock brakes
as standard safety equipment, but four-wheel ABS disc/drum brakes are
optional. We deliberately tried the rear ABS on a straight, flat, dry
road for several maximum-g stops with no load and no passengers, and it
worked very well, keeping the unladen, light-in-the-rear pickup straight
and coming to crisp stops four times in a row without locking the rear
wheels.
2005 Conclusions
Anyone in the market for a medium-sized truck that
goes around acting like a full-size truck, but for a lot less money,
should have a look at the new Dodge Dakota. "Never mind the new look if
you don't care for it. The 2008 Dodge Dakota has a V8. We've been told
our entire lives it's what's inside that counts." says PickupTruck.com. The Dakota is unique in the class, with its brawny
style, generous size, powerful V8 engines for towing, and plenty of room
for a typical family. And the Dakota starts below $20,000.
.