The test truck, which was configured for five with front bucket seats, was surprisingly quiet, smooth, and civil in its behavior, more like a car than a truck inside. The glass is 20 percent thicker, mufflers are larger, and there's more sound insulation throughout the body and firewall than before. It drives bigger than it looks, with a hefty, Ram-like way about it, a nicely muscular street swagger.

The 4.7-liter Magnum V8 engine costs a little extra, but for us it was worth every penny, because fuel mileage barely takes a hit (EPA-estimated City/Highway 15/19 for the V6, 14/19 for the V8). 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. The 4.7-liter High Output V8 wasn't available at press time, but is expected to put out more than 250 horsepower and over 300 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. With only two occupants and no load, it really scoots from the stoplight despite the nearly 4800 pound weight of the Quad Cab 4X4. For towing, there's a Tow/Haul setting that alters the shift pattern of the automatic transmission.

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The new rack-and-pinion power steering is a bit over-assisted for our tastes but will probably be okay for most customers. The chunky steering wheel feels great in the hands. The Dakota tracks extremely well, responds quickly to inputs, and stays hunkered down during mountain road playtime. Its 265/70R16 BFGoodrich Wrangler tires were both grippy in corners and very quiet at highway speeds, adding a measure of plushness to the ride quality that we really appreciated. 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 Dodge 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.

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. This truck 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.