2005 Dodge Dakota

After years of dormancy, the compact/midsize truck market is suddenly boiling over with new products. Last year brought fresh entries from GMC and Chevrolet, and before 2005 is over we'll see new rigs from Toyota and Nissan, plus the fresh Dodge Dakota pictured here.

This Dakota is a ground-up redo, borrowing styling cues and mechanical bits from its family-tied Durango (yet sharing no sheetmetal) and featuring a stiffer and stronger hydroformed and fully boxed frame. Dodge has decided to ditch its regular-cab configuration and will now offer only extended- and crew-cab versions. The old Dakota suffered from overboosted steering, which hampered control precision, but this truck's new suspension coupled with an improved rack and pinion results in noticeably enhanced ride and predictability.

Although the 3.7-liter V-6 and 4.7-liter V-8 carry over from last year's Dakota, a new optional high-output version of the 4.7-liter will add 20 horsepower and five pound-feet of torque to the V-8 for a total of 250 and 300, respectively. This makes Dodge the only manufacturer to offer two V-8s in this segment. Max tow rating for RWD trucks equipped with the V-8 is 7150 pounds.

So when do we see a Hemi in the engine bay of this new pickup? Mum is the word from Dodge, as it would say nothing more than, "A Hemi sounds like a great idea, but, officially, there are no plans to do it." Either way, the Hemi fits nicely into a Durango, so why not in the next Dakota RT?