Dodge Dakota vs Toyota Tundra

Utility
Drivers with frequent child-duty might favor the Tundra over the Dodge. There's no clear winner between the Dodge Dakota and the Toyota Tundra regarding transporting cargo. There's little the Dodge Dakota can tow that the Toyota cannot.

Performance
The Dodge Dakota is likely to feel a tad slow because of its high horsepower-to-weight ratio compared to the Toyota Tundra. As far as horsepower, the Toyota packs quite a punch and will knock the Dakota down a few rungs. However, note that high horsepower engines often command higher insurance premiums.

Dimensions
The Toyota Tundra is markedly more ponderous than the Dodge. Your wallet will hurt more every time you fill up the Toyota Tundra than the Dakota because of its larger tank. The Toyota Tundra rides lower than the Dodge, which is a good thing for its center of gravity and ease of access. The Toyota Tundra and the Dodge Dakota compete for the same parking spaces.

Convenience
The Dodge Dakota's fuel tank will need to be replenished a bit more often than the unit in the Toyota.

Cost
In terms of gas mileage, the Dodge Dakota and the Toyota Tundra don't differ much. The Toyota Tundra will tax your gas budget markedly more than the Dodge will. The Toyota Tundra isn't much more expensive than the Dodge when it comes to MSRP. The Toyota Tundra is significantly more expensive than the Dodge Dakota as far as out-the-door price.

Handling
The Dakota and the Toyota have roughly similar tires. With their comparable turning circles, the Dodge Dakota and the Tundra very likely handle roughly the same into and out of tight spots.

Drivetrain
The Toyota Tundra's engine is considerably more sizeable than the Dakota's. Remember that more massive engines may use more gasoline than smaller ones. The Tundra packs quite a punch compared to the Dodge Dakota with respect to torque, which is the force that lets you accelerate quickly. Torque is roughly equivalent to acceleration, and in this respect, the Tundra is significantly more powerful than the Dodge Dakota.

Comfort
While the front cabin in the Toyota Tundra offers a bit more head room than the Dodge Dakota, there frankly isn't much of a difference. While the rear of the Dodge Dakota provides a bit more head- and leg-room than the Toyota Tundra, there honestly isn't much of a difference.

Overview
The Toyota and the Dodge Dakota have the same basic warranty.

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Dodge Dakota

Utility
The Dakota will very likely prove handier than the average compact crew cab truck for those of you with frequent kid-cargo. The Dodge Dakota is likely a better choice than the average compact crew cab truck with respect to hauling capacity, especially if you frequently need to carry a lot of equipment or sizeable beasts. The Dodge Dakota outpulls the typical compact crew cab truck by a big margin.

Performance
Both the Dodge Dakota and the typical compact crew cab truck are likely to feel somewhat sluggish because of their high horsepower-to-weight ratio.

Dimensions
The Dakota is considerably heavier than the typical compact crew cab truck. The average compact crew cab truck's tank is about the same size as the Dodge Dakota's, though the Dodge Dakota's is a tad larger. The average compact crew cab truck and the Dodge Dakota compete for the same parking spaces. The average compact crew cab truck's shorter wheelbase will give a nimbler feel in daily traffic. However, the Dodge Dakota is likely to have a smoother, more stable ride.

Convenience
You likely won't have to visit your friendly gas station more often with the Dodge Dakota than with the typical compact crew cab truck, as both offer similar ranges. The average compact crew cab truck's fuel tank will need to be replenished a tad more often than the unit in the Dakota.

Cost
The destination charge is a standard charge for transporting the vehicle from its point of origin to the dealer. It costs approximately the same to get the Dodge Dakota to the dealership as the average compact crew cab truck. With respect to fuel economy, the average compact crew cab truck and the Dakota don't differ much. The average compact crew cab truck won't save you much money at the pump compared to the Dodge Dakota. The Dodge Dakota consumes a lot of gas compared to the average compact crew cab truck. The average compact crew cab truck is considerably less expensive than the Dodge Dakota as far as MSRP. The average compact crew cab truck isn't much less costly than the Dodge Dakota regarding out-the-door cost.

Handling
The Dodge Dakota has quite a bit bigger tires than the typical compact crew cab truck. Remember that wider tires may improve handling, while narrower tires might provide better handling in deep snow. With their comparable turning circles, the typical compact crew cab truck and the Dodge Dakota indubitably handle approximately the same into and out of tight spots.

Drivetrain
The Dakota's engine is markedly larger than the typical compact crew cab truck's. Keep in mind that larger engines may use more gas than smaller ones. Torque equals pickup, and the Dodge Dakota will have picked up and gone by the time the average compact crew cab truck finally gets moving.

Comfort
While the front cabin in the Dodge Dakota offers a bit more head room than the average compact crew cab truck, there really isn't much of a difference. The average compact crew cab truck is not particularly roomier for your passengers than the Dodge Dakota.

Overview
Although the basic warranty that comes with the average compact crew cab truck is slightly longer than the Dakota's, the difference isn't too significant. In terms of after-sale protection against rust, the average compact crew cab truck and the Dodge Dakota have markedly similar coverage.

Other
The average compact crew cab truck emits fewer smog-forming pollutants per 15,000 miles than the Dakota.

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Dodge Dakota vs Toyota Tacoma

When your kids reach a certain age, they won't want to sit at the kids' table at parties. They won't want to order from the kids' menu. And before you know it, they definitely won't want to be called kids anymore.

By the same token, DaimlerChrysler's Dodge Dakota and Toyota Motor's Tacoma pickup--both of which were recently overhauled--are trying to shake off their former images as compact pickups. Both have grown so much in size that we can't call them compacts anymore.

Such is the nature of pickup development: In America--the only pickup market that really matters--we like our trucks to continue to get bigger over time, and more rugged.

Redesigned models of the Dakota and Tacoma went on sale last fall, and both are considerably bigger now. The Dakota is trying to look and feel larger-than-life. It has an optional V-8 engine--a power plant usually reserved for full-size pickups--and its aggressive looks mimic the styling of the full-size, cars-don't-get-any-more-aggressive-looking-than-this Dodge Ram pickup.

If Dodge prepared the new Dakota to look meaner, that makes sense: The Dakota is on its way to a dogfight. While pickups and truck-based automobiles such as sport utility vehicles make up one of the last arenas in which American automakers can and do compete, Japanese automakers have been slowly mounting an attack on the truck market.

The Tacoma and other Toyota trucks offer buyers pickups--the most popular vehicles in America due to their versatility--that come with the same bullet-proof reputation for reliability that consumers have come to know in passenger cars such as the Toyota Camry sedan. Add to this the fact that the entry-level Tacoma is one of the most affordable pickups available, and you can see why the Tacoma is handily outselling the Dakota in this country. In the first quarter of 2005, Toyota sold 34,000 Tacomas in the United States; Dodge sold 25,000 Dakotas.

While Dodge's Dakota tally in the first quarter of this year was an improvement over sales in the first quarter of 2004, Tacoma sales declined 8% compared with the first quarter of 2004. This is unusual. Typically, sales decline in a model's last year and increase after the arrival of the new model.

"There was a considerable ramp-up lag by the time we got all the different models in the pipeline. There are something like 18 different configurations [of the Tacoma]," said a Toyota spokesperson in a recent phone interview. In other words, Toyota is following its usual strategy with the new truck: build the volume slowly and conservatively.

While America's three best-selling vehicles are ordinarily Ford Motor's F-Series, General Motors' Chevrolet Silverado and the Ram--all American pickups--the beating the Dakota is taking at the hands of the Tacoma demonstrates that Wall Street analysts aren't being paranoid or delusional when they say the Japanese are assaulting the truck market. The Japanese are--and American automakers should be terrified. For a closer look at the situation, please follow the link below.

by Dan Lienert